Arts and culture groups must balance their individual needs with those of the entire sector to better lobby for B.C. government support, says the manager of a Vancouver drama company.

“We need to act and speak together,” said Ivan Habel of Green Thumb Theatre.

Habel called for a more co-ordinated approach to advocacy in an address today (June 25) before attendees of the Alliance for Arts and Culture Arts Summit 2010, a two-day series of workshops and panel discussions being held in a Surrey recreation centre.

The comments come as criticism swells over provincial government cuts to B.C. Arts Council funding and the introduction of more strict eligibility requirements for gaming-grant support.

Habel, former director of planning and education for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, acknowledged arts and culture groups often have conflicting financial priorities that can prevent them from supporting initiatives that may not provide them with a direct benefit.

But Habel suggested better understanding of the differing priorities between B.C. arts and culture groups will strengthen collective advocacy efforts.

Habel also encouraged internal debate among groups, while maintaining support for collaboration when arts and culture advocates make their case in public.

Arts Summit 2010, which concludes today, brought together people with backgrounds in the arts, politics, education, the private sector, and other fields.

Amir Ali Alibhai, executive director of the Alliance for Arts and Culture, said the conference is about exploring differing points of view.

“It’s a healthy gathering because we don’t have everyone just nodding their heads,” he told the Straight. “We’re being challenged on some of our assumptions that we might have.”

“There was no expectation that we’d have full agreement on everything and the panels and the programming has been designed to be a little bit provocative.”