Cultural Asset Mapping in Niagara

Presentation for the Ontario Rural Council

Municipal Cultural Planning Forum, November 2008

Welland Canal Lock 3 and the St. Catharines Museum

Cultural mapping is a process of collecting, recording, analyzing and synthesizing information in order to describe the cultural resources, networks, links and patterns of usage of a given community or group. - Cultural Mapping Toolkit

Regional Culture Committee

Goals/Purpose:• To advise the Regional Municipality of Niagara

regarding ways to enhance arts, culture and heritage in the fulfillment of its responsibility to its citizens.

• To act as advocates on behalf of the arts, heritage and cultural sectors.

• To develop a Cultural Policy and Strategy that is endorsed by Regional Council.

The Four Phases of CAM

• Collect

• Record

• Analyze

• Synthesize

Who’s Doing the Work?

War of 1812 Re-enactment in Fort Erie, Niagara

• Establish Working Group and Network

• Ensure a variety of sector reps, ie, music, theatre, visual arts, museums, libraries, heritage committees, educational institutions, cultural industries

• Resource base, ie. staff, funding, expertise

• Review geographical mix and other representation issues

Define Culture• Arts – performing,

written, visual and media arts

• Cultural industries – the for profit sector

• Heritage resources – buildings, collections, sites, stories and traditions

Artwork by Carolyn Wren, photo by Sandy Fairbairn

Primary Categories

• Cultural Facilities

• Organizations

• Festivals and Events

• Sites

• Moveable Heritage

• Cultural Human Resources

Port Dalhousie Inner Range Lighthouse

Why CAM?

• Purpose: to better understand our community, articulate the extent of the sector and change perceptions towards culture.

• Strategy for First Phase: Undertake a broad mapping, with limited information (not a survey).

• Longterm Strategies will include: collating information with culture-friendly sectors and industries, ie. wine industry, culinary attractions, educational opportunities etc.

COLLECTINGStrategies for Information Gathering• Who gathers what?• Where can you find some of this pre-existing

information? – Niagara Premier Ranked Destination project database– Chamber of Commerce business directories– Other municipal databases– Information Niagara database– Museum network, multicultural centres, arts service

organizations etc.

Collating Data

• One point person for data entry ideal

or . . .

• On-line excel-based system for multiple contributors– Avoid duplication– List alphabetically– Drop-down lists for categories– Drop-down lists for fields, ie. Street, City etc.

Format – More important than you think!

Street

St.

St

Str.

ON

On

Ont.

Ontario

PO Box 30, RR #1

P.O. Box 30 R.R.#1

RR#1, P.O. Box 30

R.R. #1

PO Box 30

Community Buy-In

• Clear communication is essential• Pipeda needs to be considered• Consultation mid-process can be helpful

The Results?

Presentation to Regional Council in November 2007

Cultural Assets by Type(Total 3628)

Cultural Facilities

Cultural Organizations and Education Providers

Cultural Festivals and Events

Cultural Businesses and Industries

Cultural Sites

Artists

Uses of Asset Inventory

• Research and Development• Growth Management • Economic impact• On-line database• Marketplace Gap Analysis• Cultural Districts and Neighbourhood

Identity• Measure impact on crime reduction

Niagara’s Heritage Assets

Heritage Districts 4, with plans for 5 more

Designated Heritage Buildings in 7 municipalities

1,064 buildings

Artists By Region In Ontario

• 2006 study by Hill Strategists Research• 1,490 artists in Niagara, including:

– actors;– artisans and craftspersons;– conductors, composers and arrangers;– dancers;– musicians and singers;– other performers;– painters, sculptors and other visual artists;– producers, directors, choreographers, and related

occupations; and– writers.

www.creativecity.ca – Free on-line toolkit

Tara Rosling in the Shaw Festival production of

Saint Joan, Niagara-on-the-Lake. Photo by David Cooper.

Thank you

Rebecca Cann, Cultural Planning SupervisorCity of St. Catharines905-688-5601 ext 3158rcann@stcatharines.ca