Email from I. Case Re: Motion to reduce Arts Funding
Resident and artist expressing concern that reducing regional arts funding would hurt local organizations and artists.
From: Ian Case Sent: September 3, 2024 10:13 AM To: Info Address info@viewroyal.ca Subject: Re: Motion to reduce Arts Funding at September 3, Council Meeting
Dear Mayor and Council,
My name is Ian Case. I have been a resident of View Royal for about 20 years and an active artist, arts administrator and advocate for over 35 years in the Region. I am currently the Director of the Farquhar at UVic and was previously the General Manager for Intrepid Theatre who produce the Victoria Fringe Festival and other programming.
I supported and spoke to View Royal Council when the motion to move to Level 1 funding of CRD Arts was put forward. View Royal residents are active participants in regional arts and cultural. Council recognized this at the time and agreed to move to Level 1 regional funding.
As a View Royal resident and a regional artist, I ask you to reject the motion put forward by Councilor John Rogers to reduce the level of support provided by View Royal to the CRD Arts. I also hope that this motion and subsequent letters speaking to the need for, and importance of regional arts funding might spur Council to advocate for non-contributing municipalities to join in funding CRD Arts at Level 1 – specifically Langford and Colwood who have never contributed yet continue to receive the benefits of region arts funding.
CRD regional arts funding contributes to the vitality, health and wellbeing of the region. CRD Arts supports over one hundred arts organizations throughout the region. That funding supports thousands of individual artists who contribute to the artistic vitality of the region and to their municipalities through taxes.
I am not advocating against a Westshore Arts Centre. Such a venue would be a valuable addition to the region’s arts infrastructure. However, the creation of a Westshore Arts Centre will require significant investment (a multi-million-dollar investment) – far beyond the suggested annual contribution in this motion – and should not be considered at the expense of supporting the regional arts sector.
One question I would pose to Council, should a Westshore Arts Centre be built at the expense of supporting existing arts organizations and artists, who do you expect to populate the new Centre with creativity and art? Any support for a Westshore Arts Centre cannot be at the expense of continuing to support the regions artists and arts organizations who will be the ones to activate any new arts infrastructure. The two cannot survive without the other.
I urge you to reject this motion and to continue to support regional arts funding through the CRD at Level 1. I am happy to speak further about this should you wish to reach out.
Many thanks,
Ian Case View Royal Resident and Artist