After a lot of back and forth, Penticton city council voted to top up Penticton Art Gallery’s funding to $125,000.
It was Coun. James Miller, who beat out Coun. Ryan Graham, and jumped on the motion to top up the grant funding to $125,000 which is how much the gallery received in 2021 and 2022.
“I see this as being urgent,” said Miller on his motion to increase the gallery’s funding by $70,000.
Council voted 5-2 in favour of topping up funding to $125,000, after it had initially been set at $55,000 during the March 16 budget deliberations.
Mayor Julius Bloomfield and Coun. Helena Konanz were opposed to changing the funding. Konanz made a failed motion to postpone any decision until council was given PAG’s full 2022 financials.
Earlier on Monday morning, PAG curator Paul Crawford made an impassioned plea for council to invest in the arts the same way they invest in sports.
The city is paying out $500,000 this year to bring events like Ironman and Gran Fondo here.
But as Crawford pointed out, those sporting events are here for a week of the year, whereas Penticton Art Gallery offers year-round exhibits, community festivals and partnerships including working with several Indigenous groups to foster the arts.
“What are they (sporting events) doing to create a stronger, healthier community other than that one weekend a year?” said Crawford.
The cut to the gallery’s funding would have forced them to reduce programming.
Coun. Amelia Boultbee commented that she didn’t appreciate the public pressure put on council to change its mind.
Coun. Campbell Watt said he’d like to see staff look into having the gallery become a line item in the annual budget versus the current status where the gallery has to apply for a grant each year.
Bloomfield agreed and later made a motion that staff work with the gallery to see if they can establish a partnership with the city to become part of the budget.
The motion called for staff to prepare a report on potential changes to major grant process in the future.
In front of a packed council chambers, Crawford spoke about being blindsided by council’s decision a week before the 10-day Ignite the Arts Festival got underway.
Since 2020, the gallery has received around $125,000 in grant funding but this time around, council went with staff’s recommendation to slash the funding to $55,000.
Crawford said there was no phone call or consultation with him before staff sent the recommendation to to council.
“Something we always have to consider is if Mr. Crawford were to leave, a new curator may not provide that exceptional level of service,” said Miller.
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