How many halls to (sic) we need?: A brutally misinformed opionion piece

Arthur Williams wrote an opinion piece riddled with errors and one that shows his lack of understanding of the subject.

Read the full article here

This was Bill Russell's response sent in the form of a Letter to the Editor:

Arthur Williams opinion column in your Feb 23 edition entitled "How Many Halls Do We Need?" is a bewilderingly short sighted, shallow, tired and ridiculous point of view.

How Many News Papers Do We Need, Mr. Williams? After your misinformed forray into this topic I should think one less would be my answer. Opinions are easy to find. Informed ones are apparently a little more difficult, but I would have surely appreciated a more diligent attempt on your part.

If you want to be taken seriously then at least do your homework? How is a performing Arts Centre different from what we have now? You're the reporter, call someone, ask and get a decent answer. Spend a moment to educate yourself and your readers about this topic before you dribble on.

Printing silly, misinformed comments such as yours on a topic which is obviously beyond your depth is really quite a waste. You could have taken this opportunity to learn, grow and improve the quality of our daily lives. Which, by the way, is truly the fundamental reason we must build a performing arts centre.

Mr. Williams, it's not so much your opinion that I abhore. It's your ignorance..

Bill Russell

Why Culture Matters: a talk by cultural commentator Max Wyman

Those wanting to learn more about the positive economic and social impact of arts and culture will be interested in reading this speech, and perhaps getting a copy of his book. I have a copy, should anyone like to borrow it.

The following are (lengthy) exerpts from Max Wyman's luncheon speech from 2004:

We have known for a long time that the availability and variety of cultural activity is one highly significant factor in this complex livability equation. Businesses increasingly choose to locate in cities that not only satisfy their needs in terms of transportation, distribution, and access to materials, but also provide the cultural density that will attract that workforce.

But as we move toward a society in which imagination is supplanting physical production as the basis of work, a city or region's economic health becomes increasingly to depend on its ability to attract what's been called the creative class - innovators - scientists and engineers, poets and architects, doctors and computer programmers, editorial writers and choreographers (sometimes hard to tell apart in their fancy footwork) ... as much as 30 percent of the workforce.

What they have in common is the ability to add creative value to a society; creative value that contributes to a climate of innovation and economic growth. They also generate, as a group, certain requirements from the places they choose to call home - not just the traditional elements of livability but an openness to eccentricity or difference; a broad range of cultural diversity and acceptance; and an active participatory, multi-dimensional lifestyle with a youthful orientation.

Now, these elements of openness and diversity of lifestyle are particularly interesting as cities begin to realize that traditional infrastructure investments like retail malls and sports complexes and industrial zones are less important than investment in people oriented amenities: parks, performance spaces, galleries.

Not everyone benefits from the public swimming pool, but we all pay for it. Very few individuals, in proportion to the size of our population, can take advantage of Canada's network of national parks, yet an overwhelming proportion of Canadians support their funding. The plain fact is, funding culture is neither an imposition of taste nor an act of charity - it is an investment in the health of the community, in the same way that building roads and hospitals is an investment in the health of the community.

What's clear is that both government and the private sector have a vested interest in making sure culture thrives. If nothing else, it's an investment in social health.

The full presentation is found here.

Location seen as critical: Free Press

Temporary.

Read the full article here

Northern Sports Centre: The Model of Success?

Cliff Dezell, the board chair for Northern Sports Centre Limited, says it’s very satisfying to see the soon-to-be opened facility being held up as a template for other community drives, according to Opinion250 News.

With no obvious funding sources, but a definite desire in the city’s arts, cultural and academic communities, City Centre Ventures is hoping to spearhead a community-based effort to build an Arts Centre downtown. The first public forum went last week.

The bid for the sports centre began in much the same way, Dezell says. When UNBC couldn’t afford a sports facility, reps from the city, regional district, university, business and sporting communities formed an ad hoc steering committee to further the cause. He says it was fortuitous that the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics were coming, so the local group successfully lobbied the government for funding.

The former long-time councillor says the community has a proven track record of some weighty accomplishments because all the various stakeholders work well together - the city, regional district, community groups and the provincial government.

"And that unified approach, he says, looks good when lobbying for funding. "It’s perhaps the most important reason why Prince George and the region has done pretty well over the years - is that, we have generally, as a community and as a region, gone to senior government as a unit, not as competing interests."

Full article and comment thread here.

Video from meeting

Paul Alberts from BoredInPG.com has put together a pretty awesome video.

Click below to watch. (25:58)


Bob Martin had a great quote towards the end:

Now is the time we have to start talking it up, really talking it up, whatever your thoughts are, because we've got to go out and get money for it.

I hope you are all "talking it up!"

Better city planning needed to form a cultural district

Nice letter to the editor in today's Citizen, written by Jovanka Djordjevich. Some exerpts:

Organizers of the Feb. 15 downtown performing arts meeting, better termed cultural centre meeting, said that they were “surprised” at the turnout.

It reminded me of “southerners” who say Prince George has “about as much culture as a tub of Astro yogurt." Not true. We have a long list of talented artists, writers, musicians, singers, performers, a rich farming community and natural beauty that nourish our souls.

These are the elements of culture, but I realize that unlike communities such as Fort St. John, Vancouver, and Kelowna, we have not forged a forum in which to collectively celebrate these riches. Surprisingly, we feel cultureless. To put it bluntly, we as a community have failed ourselves and the Feb. 15 “surprise” is evidence that we are long overdue for change.

Food, art and a central gathering place make our homes places that we want to be and we take great time and expense to create them. Why is it then, that we cannot understand the need for public funds for the facilities needed to make the art, secure healthy food sources and foster the basics of community?

With the “surprising” interest in an a cultural centre, as well as strong support for a public market and provincial funding available for public gathering places, now is the time for us to refocus on the downtown core. It needs art, it needs a year-round food source, and it needs an inviting gathering space.

With good planning, strong leadership, a supportive community, and perhaps a faulty clasp on the public purse, we may even be proud to call it home.

Read the full letter here.

How will succession at IPG affect the drive for a Centre of the Arts?

For those who don't know, Gerry Offet is working on a year-to-year basis at Initiatives Prince George. Opinion250 News has a story here.

Given his expected timeline for the Centre of the Arts initiative (18 months at minimum), one might expect Offet won't be there to see the project to completion, and that it will be handed off to someone else, likely the new president of IPG.

I think this issue of succession planning is an important one for the upcoming Task Force to deal with immediately, and to quickly communicate its plans to the arts community at large.

Making the Case for Culture: a must-read

If ever there was a must-read resource for those wishing to help achieve a Centre for the Arts in Prince George, it is this.

Making the Case for Culture is an amazing web resource that is part of the larger site CreativeCity.ca.

The site has two great downloadable pdf reports, Culture as an Economic Engine and Personal and Social Development of Children and Youth, as well as four other on-line reports that will soon be in a downloadable format.

These are great in that they provide very powerful, concise arguements as to why a Centre of the Arts makes good business sense. And the links to additional resources are awesome.

The more people that know and can enthusiasticly articlulate this information to those who don't fully understand, the better.

Feedback Strong for Arts Centre: Opinion250

Opinion250 News has another follow-up story on the results of the public meeting on Thursday:

IPG President Gerry Offet says CCV received more than 100 registration forms from those at the meeting either offering suggestions or willing to join a ’Friends of the Arts Centre’ steering committee, or both.

He says the initial strong show of support has been very gratifying. "I think the other part of it that I was really grateful for is that, while people were keen about the project, they also wanted to make sure that it was developed in such a way that it was going to be successful as an arts centre, first, and as an urban revitalization project, second, and we got that message loud and clear."

Offet expects to hold another public meeting in about one month’s time. An early goal is to establish a 12-person task force that will lead the charge in everything from determining user groups’ needs to securing funding for the future facility.

Full article and comment thread here.

CCV sorting data, keeping moving

I had a brief meeting with Gerry Offet this afternoon. He told me they received some great feedback from the meeting in terms of what kind of people should be on the Task Force, and other comments.

While staff is busy with budget issues next week, they are in the process of sorting out all of the "Friends of the Performing Arts Centre" from the signup sheets, and consolidating a list of those who've identified themselves as willing to serve on the "Task Force." Mr. Offet says they will be working the lists in the next few weeks to quickly get things in place.

For those who were unable to attend Thursday night's meeting, signups and comments are still welcome. Kathy Lachman has forwared me the agenda, signup sheets and backgrounders and I've placed them in the "Initial Public Meeting Resources" section of the sidebar (or you can simply click the appropriate links above.)

For those wanting to sign up as a "Friend" or identify themselves as a candidate for the "Task Force," you have a few options: You can download the pdf and bring it in to Initiatives Prince George (in the Via Rail building on 1st Avenue) or fax it to 649-3200. Alternatively, you can send your information to Kathy Lachman via e-mail.

Also, CCV would like to know the following:

What are the skill sets you see as being important for membership on the Task Force?

Your ideas here are particularly valueable, and can be sent to Kathy Lachman using the contact info above.

PGPG News covers the PAC development meeting

From PGTV News:

City Centre Ventures was very pleased, but not surprised by the big crowd at a special forum last night to explore the feasibility of having a performing arts centre in Prince George . Over 250 people turned out to the event hosted by the downtown development arm of Initiatives Prince George. Initiatives President Gerry Offet, says the purpose of the meeting was to get a feel from the community on exactly what they're looking for in such a facility in terms of location, use and costs.

BoredinPG.com covers the meeting

Local arts scene forum BoredinPG.com covered the meeting with a camera and video:

I went to the meeting to grab some video and hopefully edit it soon, I was quite surprised on the turn out, the room was packed! I thought it was going to be like 20 people! They have an email address setup and I didn't catch it at the time but will get it for you guys, so you can send in your comments! Hopefully this all comes together, having a kickass venue, and then bring some cool groups up!

I hope to get some video from Paul, and also from Bill Russell, and post it here soon.

Arts centre forum attracts big crowd: Citizen

"Whether it's called a Performing Arts Centre or a Centre for the Arts, it looks like it's going downtown Prince George," according to the Prince George Citizen.

The first meeting in the long process of exploring the feasibility of having an arts centre in Prince George was attended by more than 250 people at the Ramada hotel Thursday night. It was hosted by City Centre Ventures, the downtown development arm of Initiatives Prince George.

"This will be a community partnership, with City Centre Ventures providing administrative and technical expertise to that committee," Offet said.

He added the arts centre needs to be a facility that will be in constant use, where a large number of people will be using the facility during a 16-hour day. He suggested multi-use is the key to success with studios, galleries, activity centres, arts programming, and performances taking place under one roof.

Click here for the full story.

Full House for Performing Arts Centre Forum: Opinion250

Some nice coverage of the meeting by Michelle Cyr-Whiting from Opinion250.

The capacity crowd of more than 150 people at the Ramada this evening included representatives from: the Prince George Symphony Orchestra, Cantata Singers, Downtown Prince George, Theatre Northwest, Exploration Place, Enchainement Productions, CNC, B&B Music, and the Conservatory of Music - just to name a few of the close to 30 groups present.

UNBC’s Vice-President Special Projects, Dr. Sharon Cochran, is one of the steering group members. Dr. Cochran says such a centre would provide the University with an opportunity to pursue one of the elements of its new academic vision - artistic/cultural expression. Dr. Cochran says it would also further enhance the educational experience for students and build further partnerships between UNBC, the city and region. She says, "The bottom line is, we’re strongly supportive of this."

Many in the crowd voiced their support this evening. The PGSO’s Chris Monroe says that the Symphony is enthusiastically supportive, has a centre of this type in its long-term business plan, and wants to participate.

Downtown Prince George President, Shari Green, says "We are definitely in support of this and are hoping it will be a downtown facility. We believe it will certainly enhance the quality of our night life in our downtown and that people won’t be rolling up their shutters and going home at 5:30. We’d like to see a much longer day in our downtown core." The group represents over 200 property owners and 300 businesses in the city’s core.

Click here to read the full story and follow the comment thread.

What are you're thoughts from the meeting?

Please use the comment link on this post to write about your impressions of the meeting, the opportunities you see, the challenges you feel we face, and ideas you have to move the project forward.

Thanks so much for your input.

Also, if you'd like to be notified periodically when this blog is updated, please send me an e-mail here.

Gerry Offet talks with James Evans on CBC

This morning Gerry Offet was interviewed by James Evans of Daybreak North on CBC:

When I came here three years ago I was really impressed with the variety and quality of the local performing arts. It astounded me when I learned that the venues were scattered all over the city, that one group is using a converted warehouse, another group a converted firehall, and many groups are using an auditorium in a high school.

Most communities in North America of our size and with our cultural diversity do make an investment in a performing arts centre.

Here's the entire interview (5:44):


powered by ODEO
Offet makes reference to an investment marketing study that was done last year. That report, entitled "Downtown Prince George Marketing Implementation Plan," can be found here.

Creative Economy resources added to sidebar

I've added a number of information resources to the sidebar. Of course, more will be added as I acquire them, but here's a nice sample:

From the Memphis Manifesto:

Creativity is fundamental to being human and is a critical resource to individual, community and economic life. Creative communities are vibrant, humanizing places, nurturing personal growth, sparking cultural and technological breakthroughs, producing jobs and wealth, and accepting a variety of life styles and culture.

and

1. Cultivate and reward creativity. Everyone is part of the value chain of creativity. Creativity can happen at anytime, anywhere, and it’s happening in your community right now. Pay attention.

2. Invest in the creative ecosystem. The creative ecosystem can include arts and culture, nightlife, the music scene, restaurants, artists and designers, innovators, entrepreneurs, affordable spaces, lively neighborhoods, spirituality, education, density, public spaces and third places.

From the New England Council Creative Economy Initiative we have this:

Arts education teaches the very skills that will be required by the 21st century workforce as a whole, not just those who work directly in the arts and cultural sectors.

and

Because creative activity affects all area of the economy, including those that aren't necessarily directly associated with the arts, decision makers at every level will need to have a hand in determining cultural policy.

Happy reading!

Invitation to download, print, e-mail, share

For those who want to help spread the word, here's and invitation you can download and print, or e-mail to your contact list.

It's the one I've been using as I go all around downtown to encourage more people to attend the meeting — I think it's important that those who own businesses or work downtown also attend to support more positive development downtown.

The pdf can be downloaded by clicking here.

PGSO gets grant, or how our community gets an economic shot in the arm because of performing arts

The Prince George Citizen reports today that the Prince George Symphony Orchestra has received a $60,037 grant from the Vancouver Foundation, Canada's largest community foundation.

The dollars match those from private donations earmarked for endowment, which have been invested with the Prince George Community Foundation, and the investment income will be used by the PGSO to maintain fiscal stability and pursue new initiatives which will enhance programming for the community.

This is a perfect example of how big money comes to our community from the outside because we have professional performing arts organizations. The BC Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and BC Lottery Corporation are also big funders of this particular organization, and this "reclaiming" of our tax money sent out of our community depends on organizations like the PGSO.

Imagine what more could be done with a propper facility.

How BC won the Olympic opportunity: artists

Many likely read this when it appeared as a Citizen letter to the editior September 1, 2003.

An excerpt:

Supporters of our winning bid have artists to thank, and should know the bid, from the logo to the bid book to the promotional video, was a result of hundreds of artists working in numerous disciplines. Graphic designers, musicians, writers, photographers, dancers, cinematographers, architects and other creative talents are primarily responsible for winning "the first gold medal of the games," as Gordon Campbell is fond of saying. Quite literally, our art beat their art, and we've won an economic opportunity we didn't have before.

Full letter here.

Which companies will thrive in the coming years? Those that value ideas above all else

BusinessWeek had a great issue about the Creative Economy back in August, 2000. Most of the infomation is still relevant today. Some exerpts:

Now the Industrial Economy is giving way to the Creative Economy, and corporations are at another crossroads. Attributes that made them ideal for the 20th century could cripple them in the 21st. So they will have to change, dramatically. The Darwinian struggle of daily business will be won by the people--and the organizations-- that adapt most successfully to the new world that is unfolding.

I suggest it is also the communities that must adapt to the new world of the Creative Economy.

Let's start with the most important force of all: the growing power of ideas. In Adam Smith's time, most people worked on farms. Later, industry was ascendant. But the advanced economies have gotten so efficient at producing food and physical goods that most of the workforce has been freed up to provide services or to produce abstract goods: data, software, news, entertainment, advertising, and the like.

And finally

In the Creative Economy, the most important intellectual property isn't software or music or movies. It's the stuff inside employees' heads. When assets were physical things like coal mines, shareholders truly owned them. But when the vital assets are people, there can be no true ownership. The best that corporations can do is to create an environment that makes the best people want to stay.

So what are we doing to attract and retain the most creative people?

Full article here.

Time to invest in a Performing Arts Centre

Some background information, originally posted February 28, 2006. Some exerpts:

In the broader view, arts education and capacity has more economic payoff now than anytime in our history. We live in a world of abundance, not scarcity -- just look at the number of tubes of toothpaste you have to choose from at the store. More and more of a company's success is based on design, packaging, marketing and the "cool" factor.

That is art. It’s the ultimate value-added product.

Full article here.

"Creative City" as an Economic Development Strategy - or Why we should invest in ideas, not industry; in people, not companies

This was a talk I presented to the Winstons Breakfast Club October 16, 2003, and subsequently at the January 14, 2004 Chamber of Commerce luncheon when the scheduled speaker's plane did not arrive. Some exerpts:

Different economies require different approaches to building them, and they are built on different concepts. If we want to build an industrial economy we can't use the strategies of an agricultural age to grow it. Today we have what I call a Creative/Knowledge Economy that is different from the economies of the past. We need to understand how this economy is built and what drives it in order to grow it.

To succeed in this Creative/Knowledge economy, we’re going to have to ensure that we not only have a decent business climate, but more importantly, an excellent people climate. While there have been initiatives to make Prince George "open for business" and "business friendly" there has few if any corresponding "open for creativity" and "creative friendly" initiatives at City Hall.

The fact is talented people are attracted to cities with status, amenities, creativity and creative energy, diversity, and quality of place.

I suggest we are weak in many of those areas so highly esteemed by the creative class, and we need to do better.

I suggest we make a sincere effort to become a Creative City, one that goes out of its way to encourage and support creativity of all kinds, and one that is know for its high creative energy. This means finding ways to invest in creative infrastructure, from large items like a Performing Arts Centre and significant aesthetic improvements to downtown, to supporting and nurturing a thriving music scene. Prince George must develop a strong creative culture, one that values ideas and the sharing of ideas, to a higher degree than other jurisdictions.

Full article here.

Is there something the average person doesn't know about a George Street PAC?

I found this statement a little odd when I read in in the Prince George Citizen this morning:

Further work is also planned for the lobby, restaurant, pub and the 120 rooms in the original tower, but how quickly it will be pursued will depend on whether a new performing arts centre will be built somewhere on George Street.

Is there already some kind of plan in place, or is just based on the ideas presented in the 2001 Official Community Plan? (pdf map here) After all, many times the OCP is ignored and written off as simply "a guideline."

Full Citizen article here.

Arts Centre Worth a Look: Citizen

According to Dave Paulson, Managing Editor of the Citizen, Prince George has a "dire need for (a performing arts centre)."

It his Saturday, February 10, 2007 editorial Paulson says "The city’s arts, theatre and dance groups hold their performances at cramped, antiquated and inadequate facilities," and "Vanier Hall, the city’s largest performing arts venue, is a particular nuisance."

The piece goes on to point out the mistake the City made when they built the Multiplex at recreation place instead of downtown, and that a performing arts complex downtown could turn back the clock to a certain extent.

Paulson concludes the piece by asserting "a performing arts centre is a necessary component for improving Prince George’s status and making this city a better place to live."

The entire article can be found here.

PGTV covers Downtown Performing Arts Centre meeting

PGTV has also previewed the special meeting to discuss the development of a Perforing Arts Centre.

From the CKPG website:

The development arm of Initiatives Prince Goerge is acting on results of a study done last year on downtown revitalization. A performing arts centre was identified as a project that could help boost the citys core. The issue is now going to the public to gauge both need and support.

To download the video from the CKPG website, click here.

Arts centre meeting set

The Prince George Citizen reports on the special meeting to discuss the development of a performing arts center on page 13 of the Friday, February 9th issue:

There's been so much interest from the community for a performing arts centre that there will be a special meeting held next week to discuss feasability.

Full article can be found in the library archives (Canada Newstand) here.

PACs from around the Province

For those that want to look at Performing Arts Centres in similar sized communities from around the province:

Prince Rupert
Vernon
Nanaimo
Kelowna
Abbotsford
Kamloops

Performing Arts Centre takes centre stage: Opinon250

Opinion250 is the first to report on the open community meeting regarding a new performing arts centre for Prince George:

City Centre Ventures, the downtown development arm of Initiatives Prince George, is hosting a public meeting next week, "open to anyone interested in the development of a multi-use Performing Arts Centre."

"We are confident that there’s a solid business case to build a multi-use performing arts centre in Prince George," says Initiatives Prince George President, Gerry Offet, "But what we need to know is exactly what the potential users would be looking for."

Full story and great discussion thread here.

City Centre Ventures invites residents to development meeting

Verbatim from the press release:

City Centre Ventures invites you to attend a special meeting to discuss the development of a performing arts centre for Prince George. Representatives from the Prince George Arts and Cultural community are invited to come together to share ideas about the development of a multi-use performing arts centre in Prince George.

Discussion points will include:
• What would user groups require from a performing arts centre
• What steps need to be taken to build the business case for the performing arts centre
• What kind of organizational structure can be developed to move this forward

The meeting takes place Thursday, February 15 at 7:00 pm in the Ramada Hotel Downtown Prince George.

For more information, please contact:

Gerry Offet
President, Initiatives Prince George
564-0282

Kathy Lachman
Manager, City Centre Ventures
649-3204