New arts policy takes shape, aims to help local artists

A Wednesday evening town hall meeting offered the public an opportunity to give its feedback on the civic arts policy.

The policy is one of the Prince Albert Arts Board’s primary undertakings since stepping out of its role in the E.A. Rawlinson Centre’s day-to-day operations. The civic arts policy will set out the arts board’s new role, as well as the City of Prince Albert’s obligations to it.

The reason for it all is to foster the arts in the city, and lay out the arts board’s advocacy role.

“It serves as a guideline for City officials and city council to engage with artists and art in the community,” Prince Albert Arts Board executive director Roxanne Dicke said.

“So with a policy, it is something they can come back to, refer to and use as a guideline when they’re making decisions about, for example, installations of public art, or how to best support a certain organization or group.”

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The civic arts policy, a City policy, is nothing new. Prince Albert has had an arts policy in place for years. The arts board is working with the City to revise it.

One of the more noticeable changes is that the board would act with City administration and council to “recognize, promote, and enhance and economic, cultural and societal benefits” of the arts. As well, the arts board would “serve as an advisory committee to City Council on matters of civic issues pertaining to arts, culture and community aesthetics.”

The policy will help local artists in the sense that it recognizes that the arts play a very significant part in the community, Dicke said.

“That alone is acknowledging the arts on a civic level, on an everyday level,” she said. “Ultimately, the arts board is serving as an advisory committee to city council, so that individuals have a place to come to possibly express concerns or to come for ideas about how to better network, access to possibly grant writing through the City.”

She said the arts board could also serve as a “nexus” for the arts community – so many artists work in isolation. This would give them a unified voice to go to the City.

And although the arts board is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of the E.A. Rawlinson Centre, Dicke said what it still can do is work with the City on policy that would protect the number of community event days. This would help keep access to the facility affordable.

To the Mann Art Gallery’s curator and director, Jesse Campbell, vibrant and successful cities have an arts policy to give advice on cultural events and opportunities.

“There’s a bit of a gap in that regard in Prince Albert at the moment,” she said. “If you look at many other cities of all sizes across the country, you will see that there is either an arts policy or a cultural plan or a cultural policy in place. So this is what we’re looking to really develop for the future in Prince Albert.”

For local artists, she said the arts board will be a place to access information and resources, but it will also let them know that within their community, the arts are being supported.

Campbell feels quite strongly that the city’s at a turning point to focus on how the arts can strengthen the community.

“The arts board is going to have a new purpose and a new direction and this is a time to really capitalize on that opportunity, because it doesn’t arise frequently. There’s also new positions in the City, there’s also renewed interest in the arts from the City, as well.”

During the town hall, Dicke said ideas started to bubble up near the end of the meeting about how everyone could best work together.

“Getting that engagement on a civic level from community members is crucial if you’re going to create a policy that represents the people.”

Attendees put forth their ideas about networking, and feelings that the arts should serve as one of the pillars of an economically developing city. The meeting was also a forum for sharing with the public what the arts board could do, as well as the importance of the arts to a healthy community, according to Dicke.

There are plans in the works for another town hall meeting, in September. In the meantime, Dicke said the arts board will review some of the ideas presented at this week’s meeting to see if it will lead to policy revisions. From there, the policy will go to city council for approval.

The policy has been a main priority for the arts board, but it is also planning upcoming special arts events. One is the arts “free-for-all”, which a one-day event to be held in September at the E.A. Rawlinson Centre. It will be an opportunity for organizations and individuals to network. It will be free to the public.

The arts board is also planning the second annual Prince Albert Arts Hall of Fame, and is taking nomination submissions.

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames