Arts and Culture Task Force Calls for Provincial Museum

Arts and culture task force presents recommendations

As published by The Guardian on January 16, 2013 
by Dave Stewart
 
 Establishing a full-time cultural affairs officer position with the City of Charlottetown is one of the key recommendations listed in an arts and culture strategy for the capital.

It was one of 29 recommendations contained in a report released at a press conference Tuesday in Charlottetown by the mayor’s arts and culture task force.

“I’ve said many times, when it comes to (arts and culture) Charlottetown gets it. We’d like you to get it a little bit more,’’ said Henk van Leeuwen, chair of the task force.

Mayor Clifford Lee created the task force in 2011, the year Charlottetown was designated a Cultural Capital of Canada. Such a designation brought in approximately $500,000. Lee wanted the members of the task force to set out and look for ways the city could better connect with, grow and promote its arts and cultural community.

Besides employing a full-time arts and cultural officer with the city, the task force also suggests creating a permanent advisory council, an annual awards program and an artist-in-residence or open studio program, designing ways to increase the business community’s support and investment in the arts, promoting and commissioning more work by P.E.I. artists, creating ways for artists to use empty buildings, offices and outdoor spaces for rehearsal, performances or artistic creation and expanding the Heritage Incentive Program.

“I think the sooner the city can dedicate a full-time person . . . the sooner they can create a cultural advisory council then you’ve got the arts and culture always at the forefront, always on the minds of city staff, city employees and city politicians,’’ van Leeuwen said.

“We want the city to think every time it is making a policy move or a planning decision or embarking on some sort of strategic project or initiative it’s always got arts and culture in mind.’

Members of the task force include van Leeuwen, Alan Buchanan, Jessie Inman, Ghislaine O’Hanley, Murray Murphy, Rob Oakie, Julia Sauve, Harmony Wagner, Josh Weale, Natalie Williams-Calhoun and Darrin White.

The task force would like to see mixers organized that would bring together members of the arts and culture community with those in the business world.

Creating an international festival, which would appeal to those across the province and off-Island, is another idea being floated. Task force members stress this doesn’t mean chasing a one-off rock concert.
Lee said he likes the idea of creating a full-time cultural affairs officer at City Hall.

“I think that makes a lot of sense . . . (but) that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve got to create a brand new position and bring somebody new into the public payroll,’’ Lee said, adding that he has asked senior management to look within the existing structure of the city government to see if someone could possibly be re-assigned.

“If we’re going to grow this industry one of the first things you need to do is have staff to do the work on a day-to-day basis.’’

Rob Oakie, also known as the executive director of Music P.E.I., said the task force tried to be as realistic as it could.

“We didn’t feel we recommended anything that was too outlandish, too expensive or too hard to accept. We tried to be very pragmatic about it,’’ Oakie said.

He said the idea of utilizing empty space downtown really appeals to him.

“We all know there are some empty spaces downtown that really don’t do the city any favours because of its look. They could be used creatively with some great attractions.’’
dstewart@theguardian.pe.ca
Twitter.com/DveStewart

We Can’t Miss This Opportunity

Letters to the Editor (The Guardian)

Published on November 29, 2012

Editor:
I was very interested to read a brief item in The Guardian on Nov. 23 in which city councillor Rob Lantz says it's time to rethink the future of Founders' Hall, as part of a new waterfront master plan that will focus on creating a waterfront district that is vibrant and active year-round for residents and visitors alike. "I think Founders' Hall has a huge role to play in that goal and it’s time to rethink the use of that very important building," Lantz said.

That item brought back memories for me: when plans were first underway for construction of the building and I (and others) wrote letters to then-premier Pat Binns urging him to have it designated as a provincial museum.

Obviously that did not happen. Are we now being given the opportunity to rethink that decision? My image for Founders' Hall is to have it not only as a repository for Island artifacts, but as a ‘learning place’ where Island students could be bused to the building to explore some of the Island history and university students could conduct research; that would fit the above goal to make it "vibrant and active year-round for residents and visitors alike."

What an ideal project for 2014. Let’s not miss out on it again.
Laura Mair,
Charlottetown

Let's petition for a museum

As published in The Guardian - August 8, 2012

Editor:
In response to the story 'New MLA office building being proposed' (The Guardian, Aug. 2, 2012), we need a legacy for all Islanders to enjoy, not just a few politicians and judges.

Let's support a real museum for all to see. There is a tremendous collection of P.E.I. artifacts stored, but not shown. Some Islanders don't even know they even exist, especially the younger generation.

Could you imagine the stories our grandparents could tell about an artifact that they used on the farm or in their businesses? Politicians tell stories - some true, some not - but live artifacts tell real stories about real life. Now that's a legacy.

The anniversary of P.E.I. is coming in 2014 to celebrate the past. Show it in a museum. My suggestion is to spend the so-called dollars to purchase the old experimental farm property and construct a museum that all can enjoy all year round. Set up field trips for our school children, bus tours for visitors and all. Maybe even our politicians would learn a thing or two. Come on, Islanders, petition for a museum, not another building full of hot air.

Frank Murphy,
Charlottetown

Provincial Museum Tops City's 2014 Wish List

Dave Stewart

Published on August 15, 2012 in The Guardian

The City of Charlottetown is in the process of putting together its wish list for the 2014 celebrations.

Right at the top of the list is going to be a provincial museum even though Premier Robert Ghiz shot down the idea earlier this month.

"I can tell you that number one on our list is a provincial museum in the city of Charlottetown,'' Mayor Clifford Lee says. "I know the province has said we're not going to get a provincial museum, (that) nobody is but we weren't going to let that sit aside and then discover some other municipality was given a provincial museum because Charlottetown didn't indicate (the request) on its wish list.''

Government is leaning towards building a new legislative office. It's believed it would cost $12 million to $15 million.

Ghiz said the proposed new building would be a lot less expensive than a provincial museum, which many believed would be the legacy project for the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown conference in 1864.

"This is not a project, from my understanding, that's in the $50 million range — what a provincial museum would be under — but it's something that, if it can prove to be worthwhile, is something that will be explored and if it's good for the province I'm sure it will get its due consideration,'' Ghiz said.

The city will be submitting its list, which is now being called a working document, to P.E.I. 2014 Inc., the agency handling planning for the 2014 celebrations.

Lee said there's a reason why there's been so much talk surrounding a museum.

"Quite honestly, it seems to make sense to me that the province needs to have a provincial museum,'' the mayor said.

As for other items on the city's wish list, it will only say they are of cultural and historic significance, such as festivals, that will have impact on residents and visitors alike

Lee acknowledges the money may not be there for a big-ticket item.

"I think what the province is saying is that they can't afford a provincial museum and if that's the case then that's the case. At the same time, I think we need to ask the question, is there going to be a legacy?''

In 1964, for example, to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the 1864 conference, Queen Elizabeth II helped open the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

Lee doubts Islanders will support a new office building for MLAs as the big gift in 2014.

"That's not a legacy for the citizens of Charlottetown or for the citizens of P.E.I. That's a legacy for MLAs. I'm not sure that's what 2014 is all about.''

The city didn't budget any money this year for 2014. Should it decide to do so in the future, it would require council's approval.

dstewart@theguardian.pe.ca

twitter.com/DveStewart

Community Forum Report

The Community Forum Report related to Prince Edward Island 2014 is now available - several key points under the category "Honour the Past Museums and Heritage" were:

• A commitment to creating a centralized museum was expressed by many, while others felt that more resources could be devoted to the existing museum network

• Committed programming, rather than the construction of new space, is key to the sustainability of such a large infrastructure project

Community Forum Report - Prince Edward Island 2014

The Community Forum Report is now public. Developed over the last year, the report looks at options for celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference leading to Canadian Confederation.

Still Hope for a Provincial Museum

Published on June 28, 2012 
Letters to the Editor (The Guardian)  

 It seems our ability to dream is caught up in an economic straitjacket."At one time there was no library system on the Island - no university or community college - all these ventures took vision and effort and now have been accepted as a part of the services a province provides for advancing knowledge. 

 
By Ian Scott
Commentary

The column by Gary MacDougall (May 19, 2012) on planning for 2014 activities, and the response by Senator Percy Downe on June 16 both indicated that conflicting views have emerged related to potential commemorative events for the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference. These camps seem to be polarized around whether the focus of the event should be 'big party' versus 'legacy project', amid the economic realities affecting all sides.

The case for a proper provincial museum to complete our decentralized museum system remains an important public policy issue as indicated by the number of letters and editorials of support published within this paper over the years, not to mention recent studies and reports. From an election promise made by the Liberal government when they first formed government in 2007 to the 2011 policy convention of the Liberal Party of P.E.I., we have been told that planning for provincial museum development is a priority, yet the provincial five-year capital plan has yet to show a provincial museum project included. The P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation is the designated Crown agency charged with fulfilling the role under the Museum Act with what provincial dollars are allocated annually, yet the provincial cabinet remains effectively in charge of any new developments that would allow for appropriate facilities to carry out that role.

The idea that 2014 would be an opportune time to advance the provincial museum project has been discussed for several years now; moving ahead with planning a central museum facility is essential before more of our historically significant objects are lost. We sometimes seem caught in a cycle - without a central museum facility we lack exposure to the role museums can play, which could be producing a lack of commitment to planning for the future. We can hope that MacDougall's words are not ringing true, "The thought that today's generation has neither the interest nor the foresight to think of a lasting legacy for the 150th anniversary is disheartening. It seems our ability to dream is caught up in an economic straitjacket."
At one time there was no library system on the Island - no university or community college - all these ventures took vision and effort and now have been accepted as a part of the services a province provides for advancing knowledge. The same vision for improving the Island led our legislative assembly to create the P.E.I. Heritage Foundation in 1970 and in 1983 to grant it new powers as our provincial museum. Over the years, much has been achieved, but to realize the full mandate, which includes both human and natural history, much more needs to be done. Clearly the hope for a modest start on provincial museum development as the legacy project was heard loud and clear from the public at the consultation events I attended; one can only hope that the message has not fallen on deaf ears.

Ian Scott is president of the Natural History Society of P.E.I. In the 1980s, he served as executive director of the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation.