Arts council awarded funding and praise

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The BC Arts Council has awarded the Oliver Community Arts Council a total of $7487 for its 2013 – 2014 operating costs. The award includes Basic Assistance funding of $1587 (based on population and geographical distance from the Lower Mainland), Local Government Matching grant of $3500 (matched by Oliver Parks and Recreation Society), and an Annual Performance Award of $2400 (requiring a separate essay and based on merit).

Oliver’s arts council applies annually in September and, after a period of adjudication by a BCAC advisory committee,  receives notice of this award by March of the following year. This award is in response to the  September 2012 application, and will be directed to 2013-14 operations.

Besides notice of the financial award, the Oliver Community Arts Council received the following praise from the adjudicators:

“A wide variety of community accessible programming” in 2012 with special commendation given to the liaison with the Oliver Community Garden Society, noting that “the cross-purpose of maintaining the facility grounds and teaching kids to garden was seen as practical, very creative, and inclusive.” The arts council has a Memorandum of Understanding with the garden society and also allotted funding in support of the summer-long “Art and Gardening” program for children
The BC Arts Council wrote: “Congratulations are given for the high membership numbers which indicate your success in meeting your mandate. The application indicated the arts council is working in collaborative ways which was great to see in a small community.” Also noted for artistic achievement and community accessible events were our participation in Oliver’s Sunshine Festival Parade, a big band concert in the spring, several children’s activities, and student bursaries.

The adjudicators were also enthusiastic about the arts council’s organizational capacity, including Board training opportunities. “Overall capacity of the arts council is now seen as very high, [with efforts to] stem potential Board burnout through tangible solutions.” Some of those solutions included restructuring committees to spread the workload,  and maintaining good Board turnover rates.

Praise was also forthcoming for the arts council’s publicity. As part of its application package, the arts council submitted copies of its marketing materials for review including its brochure, monthly newsletter and links to its blog website.  “Marketing materials were well-received [by the BCAC] including the logo and motto ‘Art Learned ~Art Loved~ Art Lived” .

Renovations at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre were lauded,   noting that “plans for use of the space were considered” when prioritizing work to be done. A number of capital improvements were completed in 2012, including rollup doors, interior kitchen renos, and exterior landscaping.

Commendation was received for inclusiveness in administration and programming.  Special mention was received for accessible events, hiring SOAICL for some of the  cleaning and maintenance of the property, and for featuring Aboriginal art at the Fall Art Show and Sale.

The Oliver Community Arts Council wishes to thank the Town of Oliver and the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen, through the Oliver Parks and Recreation Society, who generously match our provincial funding with $3500 in local dollars. We cannot operate without this added boost!

The arts council also thanks its individual (65), group (17) and business (15) members. Your tangible patronage through the purchase of an annual membership doubles the benefits to the OCAC by offsetting our expenses AND by influencing the amount of operational funding we receive from the Province of BC.

The British Columbia Arts Council is an independent agency that supports arts and cultural activity in communities across British Columbia through the dispersal of Province of BC funds. Besides funding professional artists, arts organizations, community initiatives, training and scholarships, the BC Arts Council also acts as an advocate for the Arts in B.C., provides public education and conducts research that helps inform provincial arts policies.