cultural mapping in barrie, ontario

Creative Cities Movements

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The stars were aligned

• We had supportive staff that grasped the value of the arts and moved the agenda forward.

• We had a supportive Mayor that had attended the Municipal Cultural Planning Forum in Orillia.

• We were in the midst of producing a Downtown Revitalization Master Plan.

• Many other municipalities were engaging in culture and producing policies and plans.

Culture is:

•The beliefs, attitudes, customs, and practices of a people and a place;

•A celebration of the people of Barrie;

•Activities and places…

“Cultural mapping involves the identification and recording of an area’s indigenous cultural resources for the purposes of social, economic and cultural development.”

Our research began with the local groups:

•24 arts organizations

•7,800 pieces of information

Levels of Public Activity & Commitment to Culture:

The challenges arts & culture groups are facing:•They were working without a municipal arts policy.

•There was no planning to assist them in building stronger, healthier and more sustainable organizations.

•Funding for them was an ad-hoc and politicized process.

•They had pressing performance, facility and storage needs.

The results of these challenges:•The retained economic value of the

arts & culture sector had declined by 14% since 2001 (or -$2.62 million);

•Attendance at productions and exhibitions has declined by 29%;

•Expenditures on artistic programmes and festivals has declined by 24%.

2005 Impact of Spending by Arts Audiences for Barrie Arts Organizations, Festivals and Events:

How much do they contribute?

About $15.36 million annually in consumer arts related spending.(within the total of $95 million)

About 16% of that economy, which results in $650,00 in municipal taxes collected.

In excess of $5 million in arts entertainment spending leaves Barrie each year and is spent elsewhere!

Total Cultural Goods & Services Spending in the next 10 years in Barrie:

That makes our arts and culture groups a $220 million – 10 year economic sector

that will generate $7.5 million in municipally retained taxes.

$1 Billion

What we have learned…•In Canada, cultural goods and services spending is $27 billion annually.

•In Barrie, cultural goods and services spending is $95 million.

We must build capacity and excellence through:

•Investment in the artistic programmes of our organizations, festivals and events.

•Building solid arts business practices.

•Planning of arts & culture facilities to support a healthy and planned sector.

•Formally recognizing arts & culture

achievements.

•Oversight and marketing.

To build a creative future, we need a strong arts & culture sector.OVERSIGHT RECOMMENDATION:

The creation of a Department of Culture within the City of Barrie.

The Department of Culture will provide oversight and guidance for the complete arts & culture sector through:•The development and implementation of cultural policy for Barrie;

•The collection and maintenance of arts sector data and reporting;

•Continuing analysis and monitoring of the health of the arts sector;

•The evaluation of arts organizations based on artistic programme excellence, business practices, and commitment to community;

•Administering the independent jurying of ongoing operating grants to institutions;

•Administering the independent jurying of arts events grants;

•Oversight of city grants to organizations, events and festivals;

•Formal recognition of the achievements of the arts;

•Planning for the future of the arts as a recognised partner with other city departments and other levels of government;

•Creating an arts advisory committee to give feedback on policy and recognition;

•Building awareness and integration of creative cultural opportunities into all city initiatives, programmes and projects;

•Reporting and submitting an arts and culture budget to Council each year.

Bigger than a bread box!

• We quickly realized that mapping was a larger task than just measuring the arts and culture groups in the community.

• Program needs dictate facility needs and we needed to assess first what facilities were needed and what currently existed.

• Then we needed to develop a business plan.

Facility Recommendations:

1. Develop a Cultural Community Centre to include a 250-350 seat theatre along with technical, workshop, rehearsal, and administrative space.2. Relocate Georgian College’s School of Design & Visual Art in the downtown and build programming connections with the MacLaren Art Centre.3. Work with Georgian College and Laurentian University to attract a School for The Performing Arts to the downtown.4. Acquire strategic private properties for cultural development.5. Retain significant publicly-owned properties for cultural development.

Facility Recommendations:

9. Develop a permanent indoor/outdoor Market Hall.

10. Develop storage facilities to meet with the unique storage needs of our arts organizations.

Facility Recommendations:

6. Develop an Outdoor Performing Arts Place.

7. Plan the development for a Major Performing Arts Centre.

8. Upgrade the Fisher Auditorium to serve as an Interim Performing Arts Centre.

Implementation Timeline:

Unleashing the economic potential of the creative economy begins with unpacking and seeing its value.BUSINESS PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Support excellence in artistic programme development and continue to build capacity through the Cultural Development Office (CDO).2. Maximize the participation and investments of other levels of government and other organizations in the development of cultural facilities and cultural planning.3. Support the creation and enhancement of arts education programmes within the work of arts organizations.4. Formally review and recommend further cultural facilities development by 2010.5. Work with Georgian College in the relocation of the School of Design & Visual Art and Laurentian University’s School for the Performing Arts to the downtown.

Business Plan Recommendations:

6. Develop a marketing strategy for the arts in coordination with the CDO and Tourism Barrie.

Business Plan Recommendations:

7. Build and encourage strategic opportunities and programming between for-profit and not-for-profit cultural organizations.8. Implement the ArtCity public art strategy and investigate the incorporation of other cultural activities. 9. Measure and evaluate cultural activity and growth and report to Council annually.

10. Formally recognise cultural excellence and achievement including the recognition of volunteers.

National Governors Association (U.S.)

The Role of the Arts in Economic Development Report 2001

“Cultural activities attract tourists and spur the creation of ancillary facilities such as restaurants, hotels, and the services needed to support them. Cultural facilities and events enhance property values, tax resources, and overall profitability for communities. In doing so, the arts become a direct contributor to urban and rural revitalization.”

Successes• The cultural plan was approved in May 2006.

• The cultural granting program was implemented and $207,000 was awarded to community arts groups in 2007 and $260,000 in 2008.

• The Cultural Development Office was approved and we hired Rudi Quammie Williams in the spring of 2008 as Director of the Department of Culture.

• We formed an Arts Advisory Council from interested community members.

• City Council purchased the old Scotia Bank property at Five Points and it is now a small performing arts centre, it opened in November 2008!

• We rolled out the first Barrie Arts Awards and recognized five local people for their contributions.

and Challenges . . .

• The challenges are mostly financial. We would love to have a cultural policy and within it an public art policy (and funds for public art), and these items are pending in 2009 budget.

• It is difficult to move as quickly as we would like to with limited staff resources.

• The arts has been a difficult sell in this community.