The recent Arts Summit 2010 conference provided a forum for debate on a range of pressing issues, says Amir Ali Alibhai, executive director of the Alliance for Arts and Culture.

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

Alibhai said arts funding was “top of mind” for many who attended the Alliance organized summit, held June 24 and 25 at Surrey’s Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre.

Anger continues to simmer over the loss in the past year of B.C. Arts Council and gambling-grant funding for many groups.

“If you really look at it, the amount of money that’s been cut from the arts isn’t going to make any difference to anyone’s bottom line at the provincial level. It’s more of a symbolic cut,” Alibhai said.

The summit included panel talks, workshops, and presentations that covered a range of topics, from copyright law and government policy to lobbying strategy and public art.

Asked why the summit was held, Alibhai said: “We did do one last year and it gave us the idea to do one this year. We would hope to continue, if it’s not a full two-day summit, to at least have a forum on an annual basis to just convene the community so that we can have the opportunity to talk about our differences and our commonalities.”

Alibhai said organizers had hoped to assemble a panel of provincial politicians, but B.C. Liberal government representatives declined to attend.

“That was something we wanted to see happen,” he said. “Ultimately we want to have a better relationship with government, whether it’s municipal, provincial, or federal.”