By Pepper Parr
July 18th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Getting community culture funded in Burlington is a tricky business.
Culture and the arts gets managed at the Parks and Recreation level, Burlington has not yet grown to the point where it has a group dedicated to culture – there isn’t yet a full realization that culture is an economic driving force that has to be managed and effectively promoted.
In the past few years a cultural underground that is a lot bigger than most people realize has begun to organize itself – it is more vocal than effective at this point – but it does have potential.
Herding cats is easier than getting artists to sing from the same hymn book. At some point the political leadership or the administrative will come to the surface and changes will take place. In the meantime we muddle our way through a mushy place where most people mutter the right words but not much real change takes place.
Selina Eckersall chose Village Square as the location for the second No Vacancy vent which they called Cirque. It was a huge success.
Last week the fissures in the cultural file were evident when ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward put forward a motion to grant a group putting on a significant cultural event for the fourth year. The group had previously been turned down by the Parks and Recreation program because they weren’t a new event.
Meed Ward wanted the group to be given $4000 which members of Council went along with at the Standing committee level – it has yet to be approved by Council.
In her memorandum to city council Meed Ward explained that “No Vacancy is a non profit charitable agency whose mission is to bring contemporary art and culture to Burlington. They have previously sponsored two other art events: Cirque (2014) and Super Nova (2015).”
Meed Ward didn’t mention the first No Vacancy event that was held at the Waterfront Hotel in 2103.
Council provided one-time funding support for SuperNova, as well as funding for the Car- Free Street festivals in wards 4,5 and 6 and a Janes’ Walk in ward 1.
Funding was not sought by the No Vacancy people during this year’s budget for their Moonglade, because they were pretty sure funding would be available under the new Community Investment Fund (CIF). However, that fund turned out to be for new events. Moonglade is new in the sense that it is a different location and theme, although still run at the same time of year by the same organization. As such, the event doesn’t neatly fit the existing criteria of the CIF.
Tomy Bewick intoned in a strong passionate voice while Teresa Seaton spread the stained glass feathers about the ground. The event was one of the strongest features in the 2015 No Vacancy SuoerNova event.
Mead Ward said that “this is an event and an organization we want to support until such time as criteria are developed for ongoing community-delivered events. Currently, staff are working on a revised festivals and events strategy. The issue of ongoing event funding will no doubt be a topic of discussion, given the city currently does fund some existing events year over year (eg Sound of Music), and has funded Car Free Festivals again this year.
Meed Ward trotted out the line we are going to hear for the next five years – “the event aligns well with Burlington’s new Strategic Plan, the direction of an Engaging City.”
The strong point in Meed Wards request that Council contribute funds was the additional partners the event has brought into their tent. The Art Gallery of Burlington and the Burlington Downtown Business Association are very much on board with the No Vacancy initiative.
This year the event will be held in Brock Park behind the Art Gallery and inside the building as well. The city can be a partner as well. The request got past the Standing committee and goes to city council Monday evening.
Selina Eckersall, head of No Vacancy, the group that has put on three events, two of which were unqualified successes, had managed to put together an agreement with the Art Gallery of Burlington to hold the event at that location for their fourth event.
Culture – it was in 2014 at the No Vacancy Cirque event.
This has to be looked upon as a marriage made in heaven. The Art Gallery has all kinds of nooks and crannies that are ideal for the kind of event that No Vacancy does. Their first event at the Waterfront Hotel was small but broke new ground in terms of cultural audacity for this city. The second, held at the Village Square broke records in terms of audience attendance and the eclectic mix of participants that ranged from Belly Dancers to Teresa Seaton Stained Glass – and that is a stretch when it comes to art in Burlington. But it worked and the No Vacancy people heightened their ambitions and decided to hold their third event on Old Lakeshore Road. It suffered from overreach and too large a space – and not enough in the way of volunteer help. Lessons were learned.
Robert Steven is showing the city that he is prepared to do things differently.
Having a CEO at the Art Gallery prepared to reach out and try something new was just what No Vacancy needed. Robert Steven showed the city that he was prepared to do things differently when he sponsored a concert at the Performing Arts Centre where he made better use of the space than the staff over there do.
Inviting the No Vacancy crowd into the AGB was a brilliant move that was aided by the fact that Eckersall, was named the Arts Person of the Year award in the 2014 Burlington Best event now also sits on the Board of the AGB.
With at least some of the core funding they need in place – MoonGlade can now continue with their plans and show the city what they can do in perhaps the best location available in the city.
Lone Garden will again be part of No Vacancy’s MoonGlade this year
Kune Hua, one of the 17 participants, is growing an even bigger Love Garden. There is a man in blue wearing red sneakers that is somehow involved in promoting the event.
