New Council to Oversee Provincial Investment

Artists, cultural groups and community organizations will benefit from a new Arts and Culture Council that will oversee provincial investment in arts and culture.

Tourism and Culture Minister Rodney MacDonald announced the creation of the new council today, March 27. The new model, which replaces the Nova Scotia Arts Council, will result in broad community input into investment decisions and administrative savings that will go directly to artists and cultural organizations.

"We believe Nova Scotians should have input into cultural priorities and this new council will make that possible," said Mr. MacDonald. "The new model will better serve the broader needs of government, which include fair and equitable investment across the sector and across the province."

Last month the department held a series of public consultations provincewide. It also met with industry groups and associations and with individuals who work in the sector or who are simply interested in cultural development. In response to some of the concerns raised, the government is broadening community involvement in decision-making and ensuring resources are directed to artists and cultural organizations throughout the province.

"People are asking us for fair decision making when dealing with money available to support the arts, artists, cultural industries and community cultural organizations," said the minister.

Artists also expressed support for peer assessment. The new council will continue to distribute funds to artists through peer review.

"The peer assessment model will be protected and in fact, we will be extending the jury process to other programs delivered by the department, including our support for cultural activities," said Mr. MacDonald.

He added that the $270,000 in administrative savings related to this initiative will be redirected into arts and culture programming.

"That means more money for artists and cultural organizations."

Mr. MacDonald said this new approach builds on the previous work done by the Nova Scotia Arts Council. The new council will have a greater focus on partnerships and shared decision-making.

"We will continue to work in the spirit of partnership to support this sector. We will continue to make significant investments in our artists and cultural organizations. And we will continue to look for ways to make our programming more responsive to the needs of the sector," he said.

The Arts and Culture Council will have 12 members: 10 from the cultural sector and community organizations and two from government. It will be responsible for ensuring peer assessment for individual artists; for forming juries to make recommendations on the allocation of funding to cultural activity; for advising the minister on other investment programs administered by the department; for providing input into setting priorities; and for helping the department map out future direction.

In making this announcement, Mr. MacDonald also referred to other initiatives under way to assist the sector in its growth. The department will immediately reinstate the purchase portion of the Art Bank program. A committee of visual artists and others interested in the works of visual artists has made recommendations to the minister that involve reinstatement of the purchase program and expanding the scope such that artistic works are displayed in more public places. The juried process for selection will be under the auspices of the new Arts and Culture Council.

"We are also discussing with the design and craft sectors, the music industry, the publishing industry and others how government can best support their growth," the minister said. "To accomplish this we will work with all government departments and strengthen existing ties with other agencies such as the Film Development Corporation to ensure that all available resources are working together to the betterment of the sector."

The Department of Tourism and Culture has undergone significant change in the past three years, with new culture programs created to focus on export growth and community cultural development. The focus of such programming is on access, accountability and clarity. The department invests more than $5 million in cultural programming. Additional provincial resources support cultural tourism and cultural heritage activities throughout the province.