I am excited to announce my involvement with a special initiative from Saskatchewan Arts Board!
Over the next few months, the Saskatchewan Arts Board will be examining how it supports independent artists in the province. While this review will look at the Independent Artists Program, it aims to go beyond a basic survey. Early plans for review activities include artists’ roundtables, that everyone will be invited to, around the province. I am a member of the panel which will advise the Arts Board during this review. The panel is comprised of seven independent artists based in Saskatchewan specializing in varying artistic mediums (visual art, film, media, theatre, music, literature, poetry). Click here to see the complete list of advisory panel members.
The Arts Board has just released dates for the artist roundtables. Whether you are an independent or collaborative artist (both emerging and professional), I would highly recommend attending one of these artist roundtables. The Arts Board wants to hear your feedback on the current funding models for independent artists, as well as the challenges and obstacles emerging and professional artists face in the twenty-first century in Saskatchewan. We are interested in who and what you feel the Arts Board should be supporting. You should strongly consider attending if:
- you have ever applied for funding from the Saskatchewan Arts Board, whether or not you received it;
- you haven’t applied for Arts Board funding before, and you want to help shape the program to better suit your needs; or even if
- you just want to want to learn more about how the Arts Board funding programs for individual artists work
If you’re thinking about attending, that’s great! Click here to find out more information on what will happen at these consultations. If you’re wondering about how to get the most out of the consultation, you might want to think about a few of these questions beforehand:
Who should the Arts Board be supporting?
What should the Arts Board be supporting?
How should the Arts Board be supporting artists?
How do you gauge your own success as an artist?
Thinking about these questions will help get you warmed up to share your thoughts and ask questions of your own to the Arts Board panel members.
I would love to see you out at these roundtables! Please contact me if you would like more information. Here is a complete list of the roundtables happening throughout May and June:
Yorkton: May 20, 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Godfrey Dean Cultural Centre, 49 Smith Street East
Saskatoon: May 24, 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., The Refinery Arts and Spirit Centre, 609 Dufferin Avenue
June 13, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., The Refinery Arts and Spirit Centre, 609 Dufferin Avenue
Regina: May 30, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Saskatchewan Arts Board, 1355 Broad Street
June 7, 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saskatchewan Arts Board, 1355 Broad Street
Prince Albert: June 4, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Prince Albert Arts Centre, Heritage Room, 1010 Central Avenue
Swift Current: June 8, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Lyric Theatre, 227 Central Avenue North
La Ronge: June 14, 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Kitsaki Hall