IN THIS ISSUE

BCTC Summer Schedule
Pacific Contact 2009 Showcase Applications online – Deadline July 31st
Arts On Tour Directory
New Jobs On BCTC Website
BCTC Fall Board and Members Meeting
Industry/Sector News

Summer Greetings!

BCTC Summer Schedule - The office will be closed for summer holidays beginning July 2 and re-opening July 27th. Showcase applications will be processed and you can email and leave voicemail messages as they will be monitored and returned. 

Showcase Applications for the 34th Pacific Contact March 26 – 28, 2010 are now available online. Deadline July 31st, 2009. http://www.bctouring.org/pacific-contact/2010/showcase-app.html There are new forms and process and a total of 175 applications will be accepted. Don’t wait to the deadline to get your application in. Apply today! General information about showcasing and Pacific Contact can be found on the Pacific Contact link at: http://www.bctouring.org/pacific-contact/

ArtsOnTour website at www.artsontour.com is a great one-stop shopping for booking seasons & series and your plans for upcoming tours. This comprehensive website has agent roster, full contact information and descriptions, genre specific and family and adult classifications and photos. www.artsontour.com

New Job Postings can be found on the BCTC website at www.bctouring.org/job-opportunities/. Submit postings to the office by emailing fyi@bctouring.org

BCTC Goes North to Smithers B.C. in September – BCTC is please to announce that its fall board and members meeting will take place in Smithers from September 25-27th, 2009. This meeting will be part of a larger Northern Arts Summit partnership with 2010 Legacies Now (Arts) which will bring communities from all over the North West region.

Industry News

2010 Legacies Now - has moved the deadline for Innovations to 5 pm on Tuesday 29th September, 2009. Updated guidelines and application forms can be found on: http://www.2010legaciesnow.com/innovations/. 
Creative Communities Program – Deadline: Ongoing - The Creative Communities guidelines and application forms have been revised to include a category for the development of a cultural tourism strategy. The steps for creating a cultural plan in your community begin with a mapping process, followed by a planning process. Once both the mapping and planning processes have been completed, your local government can apply for funding for the development of a cultural tourism strategy.
A cultural tourism strategy would expand the relationship between the tourism and arts and culture sectors while also building capacity and bridging understanding between both sectors. This category of our Creative Communities program supports local governments including municipal councils, bands or tribal councils in developing a Cultural Tourism Strategy as an enhancement to an existing Cultural Plan. For more information, guidelines and application forms please visit: http://www.2010legaciesnow.com/creative_communities/.
Toolkits - Two new resources have been created and are available in PDF format:
1. Reflecting the Community: A Guide for Building Culturally Responsive and Inclusive Organizations assists individuals, organizations and groups providing programs and services to the public in becoming more responsive to the cultural diversity in their communities. The guide includes ideas for building culturally responsive organizations, steps to begin achieving this objective and suggestions for assessing the results.
 2. The Curatorial Toolkit: A Practical Guide for Curators is designed for emerging curators and individuals working in the non-profit sector with public art galleries, museums, and artist-run centres in Canada. The toolkit provides an overview of the complexity of organizing exhibits and the steps involved in the curatorial process. The toolkit is a suggested framework that assists curators in developing their own working process and provides recommended practices, as well as tools such as budget and planning templates and sample agreements.  To download these and other resources, please visit: http://www.2010legaciesnow.com/207/  

Regional Arts Summits - The Arts area at 2010 Legacies Now is excited to announce that Regional Arts Summits will be held across the province over the next two years. 2010 Legacies Now will be partnering with BC’s arts service organizations to offer professional development to a diverse cross-section of artists of all genres and disciplines, arts organizations including arts councils, arts presenters, museum and gallery representatives, facility managers, students, businesses and government representatives. The summits are being held to enhance the skills, knowledge and expertise of those working in the sector, as well as to strengthen regional networks to encourage increased communication, collaboration and cooperation.
The areas and approximate timing of these summits are as follows: 
Metro Vancouver – June 25 and 26, 2009
North West (Smithers) – September 25 and 26, 2009
Vancouver Island (Nanaimo) – October 26 and 27, 2009
Thompson/Okanagan – to be announced
Kootenays – to be announced
North East – to be announced
North Central – to be announced

Strategic Investments - In addition to its contribution programs, the Arts area at 2010 Legacies Now has made strategic investments in other areas of need, primarily focusing on projects that advance specific disciplines in the arts and culture sector, establish links between the arts and other sectors in the province, or generate new sources of revenue. To find a full list of these investments click here: http://www.2010legaciesnow.com/611/. 

CREATIVE PLACES + SPACES October 28-30, 2009 - Creative Places + Spaces is a multi-media, interactive conference designed to inspire, empower, and connect thinkers, policymakers and practitioners working to build vibrant, dynamic, sustainable and creative places. Delegates and speakers together will have the opportunity to hear, see, exchange and practice global perspectives on collaboration and connect them to local opportunities for change. For full conference details and schedule go to: http://www.creativeplacesandspaces.ca/.
The City of Vancouver and Vancouver City Savings Credit Union are pleased to announce a bursary opportunity for up to ten individuals to attend the Creative Places + Spaces: The Collaborative City conference, October 28 to 30, 2009 in Toronto, ON. These bursaries are designed to enable participation in the Creative Places + Spaces conference by Vancouver-based, professional artist / creators, representatives from Vancouver arts / culture organizations and others involved in creative space development. Bursary Application Guidelines and forms at: http://vancouver.ca/creativecity/placesandspaces/index.htm
http://vancouver.ca/creativecity/placesandspaces/bursaryform.pdf
Inquiries: 604.871.6875 or OCARSVP@vancouver.ca
BURSARY -Bursary Application Deadline: July 13, 2009, 10am
The Creative Places + Spaces Bursary is presented by the City of Vancouver Cultural Services in partnership with Vancouver City Savings Credit Union

ReGenerating Community: Arts, Community and Governance National Conference - Sept 2 - 4, 2009, RMIT University, Melbourne, Austraila
Registrations are now open. http://www.cdngenerations.net.au/register.htm
Register early for early bird prices.
ReGenerating Community Conference is about ways in which global issues are being addressed locally through collaborations between artists, communities and local government.
Conference themes:

• addressing global issues locally through collaborations between artists,
• communities and local government
• the links between creative communities and civic engagement
• the ways creative processes can mobilize communities for positive social
• change
• cultural citizenship and cultural rights, as an aspect of a broader
• human rights agenda

Arts Research Monitor - Culture and the Creative Economy - A number of reports on the creative economy, including the role of arts and culture in stimulating innovation and creativity. An international forum examines the creative economy around the globe, while other reports highlight the prospects for the creative economy in two Canadian provinces. The International Forum on the Creative Economy, a two-day forum in Gatineau, Quebec in March 2008, provides “evidence on the current and future economic forces and trends impacting the innovation, creative, and knowledge-based economies”. Presentations at the Forum delved into various facets of the creative economy in many countries around the globe, not just Canada. Compendium of Research Papers: The International Forum on the Creative Economy Conference Board of Canada, August 2008 http://www.conferenceboard.ca/documents.aspx?did=2701
http://www.HillStrategies.com
http://www.ArtsResearchMonitor.com

National Aboriginal Professional Artist Training Program - This program will provide training towards the career development of professional Indigenous artists including writers,  visual artists, storytellers, drum makers, carvers, weavers, and traditional performers. The focus of this program will be specific to indigenous world-view and expression in traditional format and concern as well as in fusion with contemporary forms including storytelling,  performance arts, painting, sculpture, and installation art. Established Aboriginal artists and mentors will provide professional training to engage artists in projects, marketing, promotion of works and exhibitions. Upon completion artists will receive a Professional Indigenous Fine Arts Certificate awarded by the En'owkin Centre.  
The En'owkin  Centre is an Indigenous cultural, educational and creative arts institution  located in Penticton, BC, which offers university/college transfer diplomas and certificate programs. The Centre is comprised of highly qualified educators who are also professional artists and writers, facilitators and Indigenous advocates. The En'owkin Centre provides a culturally  sensitive learning environment in a nurturing and challenging atmosphere. The En’owkin Centre is a dynamic institution  which puts forth into practice the principles of self-determination and the  validation of cultural aspirations and identity. An Indigenous cultural, educational, ecological and creative arts organization, the En’owkin Centre is taking a lead role in the development and implementation of Indigenous knowledge systems, both at the community and international levels.
Contact: Tracey Kim Bonneau, Public Relations, En'owkin Centre
Phone 250 493 7181 Ext 28 www.enowkincentre.ca

Arts News Canada is planning a comeback from a year-long hiatus. They plan to once again bring the daily news and other great features to promote the arts in Canada, and the new site will be updated to be Web 2.0 friendly allowing greater access and interaction among the readership.
What started as a labour of love can no longer been done without some sort of revenue stream. So while the news and other features will be free to use, the new site will be making use of pay-per-click advertisements, commission-based affiliate ads, and paid announcements. To get started, Arts News Canada ’s is asking its most ardent supporters, for a very small, one-time, $10 contribution. If you miss Arts News Canada, and want the conversation to continue, please contribute today. http://www.artsnews.ca/

CITT News - Spring has gone so fast and unforeseen circumstances has delayed the publication of StageWorks, therefore the Summer issue of StageWorks is now available here: http://www.citt.org/newsletter/2009-06.pdf

Federal Government Renews Funding - The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, recently announced the renewal of arts funding for the next five years. He made the announcement at the Vancouver Arts Summit, where he also discussed the benefits of the creative economy and the opportunities presented to the arts and cultural sectors by the changing technological landscape.

"The cultural sector needs stability in this time of economic uncertainty. With ongoing investments by our Government, artists and arts organizations can plan their activities for the longer term and continue to create, produce, and present innovative works that will make Canadians proud," said Minister Moore.

These renewed investments in the arts represent $504 million in support over five years and are in addition to measures announced in Canada's Economic Action Plan. These measures include a 41 percent increase in the budget for the Canada Arts Training Fund* and additional funding of $60 million over two years for the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund,* doubling the budget for the program this year and extending it to 2010-2011.

This brings total Government of Canada investment to $1.51 billion for the fiscal years from 2010 to 2015. Of the funding announced today, $25 million per year will go to the Canada Council for the Arts, maintaining its yearly funding at its highest level ever-$181 million.

BCTC Board Chair Paul Gravett responded with this comment, “In a year of fiscal restraint and belt tightening, the renewal of the Government of Canada's arts funding of $504 million over five years is very welcome news. In particular, the continuation of Arts Presentation Canada, administered through Department of Canadian Heritage, will ensure the financial stability of many of BC’s presenters. The continuation of this and other funding programs will ensure our communities, large and small, can work towards a solid foundation of arts and culture for their constituents”.

Congrats to 2010 Legacies Now (Arts) and the Alliance For Arts & Culture on hosting and producing the first regional Arts Summit in Vancouver at the end of June. There are many items on the Alliance’s new blogspot but be sure to check out Diane Ragsdale’s effervescent keynote address, Surviving the Culture Change. http://www.allianceforarts.com/

Joanna Maratta, Executive Director
BC Touring Council
PO Box 547
Nelson, BC V1L 5R3
T. 250-352-0021 F. 250-352-0027
www.bctouring.org
Pacific Contact 2010 - March 26 - 28