A twist on the typical debate format saw a panel of arts and culture professionals responding to questions from municipal election candidates today (September 26).

As part of the event organized by the Alliance for Arts and Culture at the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at SFU Woodward’s, the arts panelists weighed in on everything from affordable housing for artists to the challenges of setting up new performance venues.

Panelist Bob D’Eith, the executive director of Music BC, said it’s still “extremely difficult” to open a live performance venue in Vancouver.

“We need to look at some models like Austin, Texas, and how they’ve created these really cool streets, where it creates a whole vibe and scene,” he said.

“We need more of that in Vancouver. It’s just too hard to open a venue here, and we look at Toronto—Toronto’s trying to become the new Austin for Canada, and why Toronto? Why shouldn't it be here?"

Elaine Carol of MISCELLANEOUS Productions cited the challenges involved in finding temporary venues for performances.

“We’ve often worked in spaces that are so decrepit and so horrible that we were sending our youth to the hospital with asthma attacks,” she said.

“We’ve gone into agreement with the city to spend three hours in the Emery Barnes Park on Sunday to do an open learning rehearsal with one of our musician composers…well, getting the park permit—oh my God. I sent one of my best young staff to do this…and the hours and hours and mounds of paperwork for three hours in the park was absolutely ridiculous.”

Much of the forum also focused on the issue of arts funding.

Kenji Maeda of DOXA Documentary Film Festival argued the city should be much more active in advocating for the arts across the community, including the business sector.

“I think that when the city has a conversation at the Board of Trade, or has any kinds of conversations when it comes to investments or corporations or anything like that, there needs to be a discussion around how arts impacts their interest in actually living and housing themselves in Vancouver,” he said.

Maeda also talked about the importance of arts administrators in the sector, and noted the city has seen people leaving arts administration jobs over recent years.

“I think that we can’t underestimate the power of the arts administrator,” he said. "If the organizations had a stronger base and a foundation with strong arts administrators…the trickle-down effect for the artists is immense.”

D’Eith also urged local politicians to “push back” to senior governments on arts funding.

“We have the lowest funding per capita in the country in this province in arts and culture,” he told the political hopefuls in attendance.

“We’ve been fighting this battle for 20 years, and we’re tired, because we’re not getting anywhere, so we need our leaders to step up, and so when you get into council, please advocate for us, because we need more funding.”

Rob Gloor, the executive director of the Alliance for Arts and Culture, said the event was intended to allow candidates from all parties running for city council to hear about arts and culture issues facing the community, and some of the proposed solutions from leaders in the sector.

"Some of the issues facing arts and culture are the issues facing all of Vancouverites," he said in an interview. "But to think of it in the context of how it impacts arts and culture is where we might see unique challenges.

"So affordability is a challenge that affects not only individual artists and the ability to afford housing so that they can stay here in Vancouver and keep producing great work, rather than feeling the need to move elsewhere...that affordability trickles down to the cost of organizations operating here, the cost of space to present artists."

The arts and culture panel also featured Mike Forrester of Coastal Jazz and Blues Society, Catherine Murray of the SFU School of Communication, and Lou-ann Ika'wega Neel of the Authentic Indigenous Arts Resurgence Campaign.

The candidates who submitted questions to the panel on behalf of their parties were RJ Aquino of OneCity, NPA councillor Elizabeth Ball, Green councillor Adriane Carr, the Cedar Party’s Nicholas Chernen, COPE’s Jennifer O’Keeffe, and Vision Vancouver council candidate Niki Sharma.