Cutting funding to the arts shows Penticton council out of touch with community
Dear Editor:
Invest in the arts. You get a good return on investment. A 2007 study commissioned by the provincial government on arts investment found that for every $1 invested in the arts, there is a return of $1.06, in some cases even as high as over $1.30 – that’s a return on investment from 6 to over 30 per cent. That’s pretty wise investing.
Invest in the Penticton Art Gallery and you will get a good return on your investment, and help a community institution provide much needed activities for children during professional days, and spring and summer breaks. Childcare is critical for working parents, particularly if you’re trying to attract a younger workforce to the city. The art gallery’s Creative Camps are among the first spring and summer break camps to be fill up in Penticton.
If you’re thinking that it’s okay to cut more than half of city grant to the Penticton Art Gallery without any prior discussion, you’re missing out on a great return on investment, you’ve made life a little more difficult for working families, and shown that you need to work on your communication skills.
Chandra Wong
Penticton
Dream Cafe board chair questions if this is how city council wants to celebrate PAG’s 50th anniversary with funding cuts
Dear Editor:
I’d like to register my opposition to the drastic funding cut to the Penticton Art Gallery as well as the way in which it was done.
The arts, including the PAG, are integral to the spirit of Penticton. Indeed at one time there was consideration of branding Penticton as the festival capital of Canada. The PAG is a pivotal contributor to our community artistic energy.
Paul Crawford and his team have succeeded in raising the bar for arts in our small city. It would be impossible to describe all that they’ve accomplished over his tenure to date, but a few examples are, building community engagement through events and workshops, attracting iconic exhibits (like Bob Ross, Buffy Saint Marie, and the artists from Oaxaca and so many more), and taking the initiative to create the unique Ignite the Arts Festival.
I recognize that there are always competing priorities, (and never enough money), however this underscores the need for a measured and thoughtful approach - including extending the basic courtesy of discussions with the PAG leadership.
A successful community enterprise balances the diverse needs of the community, while also responsibly keeping an eye on their bottom line. The PAG is a shining example of this.
2023 is the 50th anniversary of the PAG, is this how our new council chooses to celebrate this local gem?
Lori Keith
Dream Cafe Co-op Board Chair
If you want a vibrant and not beige, boring city, invest in the arts
Dear Editor:
Eight years ago, my husband and I moved from Victoria to Penticton. We chose Penticton because of the Shatford, the Penticton Art Gallery and all the small art galleries.
The streets lined with huge trees would be beautiful places to create outdoor art, sculpture walks, paint-ins, and murals and we would share the enthusiasm, wonder and joy with tourists. These tourists take our great Penticton vision of a vibrant society and promote cultural change in their own home towns and cities.
Art brings thousands of people through our city, fosters enthusiasm, culture and joy. By cutting our funding for Ignite the Arts, this council is not thinking about the thousands of dollars bring to our city because of art. By stripping away our ability to create art festivals, taking away the funding we need, this city will become a place I will not want to live in. This beige and boring city is filling up with cell block style housing.
This beige and boring city is losing and has lost much of its art culture. You know how it went. The Shatford was
“too expensive to upkeep.” The Shatford brought tourism and money. The Shatford brought new Pentictonites to help
create a vibrant culture.
By cutting the funding we so desperately need, you are taking money from all artists: performance artists, visual and audio artists. You are greatly impacting children and their dreams for the future. You are saying that art is not important.
You are also taking away our self-sufficiency: you are taking away our ability to pay our rent and feed our families.
Art makes us happy. Festivals make happy cities. If you want a vibrant city, we need you to support this valuable work and the artists and galleries that create our jobs. Art Tourism fills our streets, prevents vandalism with hundreds of people wandering around downtown and that means that everyone is safer. We’ve had so many conversations with tourists as we walk along Okanagan lake to see the sculptures. They are more than curious, these visitors, they are part of our success, supporting our economy, filling hotels and restaurants, spreading joy.
Please help us by returning full funding for Ignite the Arts. Either way, City Council, you will be part of Ignite the Art’s
failure or success.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be the Penticton City Council known for a wonderful cultural vision?
Penticton: World’s Greatest Art City.
Come for the beauty: Stay for the Culture.
Lynn Greene
Penticton
READ MORE: Absolute shock after city council unanimously cuts PAG’s funding by more than half
READ MORE: No shortage of vibrancy at Ignite the Arts Festival