Login / RegisterArts and culture advocates criticize B.C. budget
B.C. arts and culture advocates have expressed dismay over what the province’s new budget means for the sector.
“The budget is essentially what we were expecting which is no increases here in funding to the arts. Unfortunately, when you look into the details it actually projects a freeze in arts funding for the next three years,” said Rob Gloor, executive director of the Alliance for Arts and Culture.
“Ultimately that equates to a decrease when you factor in inflation. And I think that the result will be that B.C. arts organizations will have a diminished capacity to serve their communities,” Gloor told the Straight by phone.
Finance Minister Kevin Falcon today (February 21) tabled the financial plan in Victoria, saying the province is committed to balancing the books in the coming years.
While Gloor acknowledged the goal of eliminating the deficit, he remained critical of the government’s approach to the arts.
“I know that it’s not easy for governments to address these historic challenges but British Columbia remains absolutely the lowest per capita funder of the arts in Canada,” he said.
“Every other province invests more, and in many cases much more than B.C. and a long-term promise of frozen funding means that will not be addressed by this government.”
Ida Chong, minister of community, sport, and cultural development, touted the government’s support for the arts.
“Despite challenging economic times, arts and culture funding continues to be well supported by our government through this Ministry,” Chong said in a statement.
“The BC Arts Council core funding has been maintained, at the second highest level ever, helping arts and cultural groups tell B.C.’s story and showcase B.C.’s diverse heritage to the world.”
Chong’s ministry estimates spending on arts, culture, and sport will be $20.9 million for 2012-2013, down around $59,000 from 2011-2012. The province plans to keep that funding level at $20.9 million until 2014-2015.
New Democrat arts and culture critic Spencer Chandra Herbert questioned Chong’s claim about support for arts and culture funding.
“The Liberals continue to effectively cut arts funding through inaction after making the deepest cuts to arts and culture in B.C. history. I’m disappointed because arts and culture and the creative economy is vital for our future,” Chandra Herbert told the Straight by phone.
“I’ve certainly been saying that arts and culture, the creative sector, and film industry needs much closer attention,” the MLA said.
Both Chandra Herbert and Gloor also took issue with a new children’s arts tax credit the province has announced. The tax credit will allow families to claim up to $500 in expenses “per child, per credit, per year” for eligible programs.
“There’s problems here because the government has addressed the challenges of the arts by introducing good-looking tax credits that don’t actually have much benefit to accessibility to the arts,” Gloor said.
“I would like to see incremental growth in the investment in the arts sector through the organizations that are already set up to provide great accessibility in the communities to a huge range of arts and culture activities.”
For those who insist that an "advocacy group" is intrinsically illegitimate somehow, and that public subsidy to the arts should be unnecessary, why not look at the amount of public subsidy given to industries that reap vast profits and are backed by substantial capital, whose "advocacy groups" don't need to complain about government policy because they get everything they want. What community benefits do they deliver? (Aside from large campaign contributions, and lucrative directorships for retired politicians, that is.) Compare that to what our non-profit galleries, museums, media art centres, publishers and performing arts companies contribute to public life -- not to mention the amount of economic activity generated from what is basically a rounding error on the overall provincial budget.
And I don't think anyone has suggested that the arts are more important than "health issues, funding our justice system properly, feeding the hungry, free needles for the addicted" -- we are, after all, arguing with a government that inadequately addresses justice, addiction, health, child care, education, and basic public services. To insist that people in underpaid (and often unpaid) work in the arts are trying to take money away from these things is serious foolishness. Our spokespeople have insisted again and again that public services need to be properly funded.
In fact, this rhetoric resembles the BC Liberal rhetoric during the deepest cuts to the arts back in 2009 -- that artists were trying to steal resources from children and the needy. The people shoveling this shit, primarily Rich Coleman and Kevin Krueger, were also sinking in the mire of their own lies as they enthusiastically cut programs for children and kept welfare frozen at sub-starvation levels.
If you want your community's culture to be determined strictly by investment and profits, you are welcome to watch access to culture be restricted to the wealthy, or to a select few living in upscale urban enclaves. I don't want to live in a place like that, and I suspect that anyone who would is a malignant idiot.