SAA Bulletin – February 2003

February 2003

2003 Arts Congress

Planning is underway for the 2003 Arts Congress to be held in Regina on May 2nd & 3rd. Gather with your colleagues to discuss issues of joint concern and socialize. If you are an individual artist, or a member, on the staff or Board of an art organization or just interested in the arts, please plan on attending.

SAA provides a limited number of travel bursaries to help professional artists attend the Congress. Call the SAA for information.

Arts Stabilization Fund

The Arts Stabilization Fund has achieved the interim goal of collecting $1.5 million in financial commitments from private and public sectors. This goal was required by funders before the program could be implemented. The Stabilization Fund reports that as it enters the next phase, the Board is dedicating itself to introducing the stabilization program and raising an additional $500,000.

The Stabilization Fund has dissolved the Advisory Group assembled to help the organization in its initial stages of development although reports that it plans to assemble another advisory group in the near future. Saskatchewan Arts Alliance was represented on the Advisory Group through its president Allen Lefebvre.

Joint Advocacy Committee

Saskatchewan Arts Alliance, SaskCulture and Saskatchewan Arts Board have formed a joint advocacy committee consisting of three representatives from each organization. Committee members are:

• SAA: Lori Green, Kate Davis, Marnie Gladwell
• SAB: Ken Sagal, Maggie Siggins, Jeremy Morgan
• SaskCulture: Ann Kipling Brown, Rose Gilks, Diane Ell.

The committee is developing an advocacy plan compatible with the mandate of all three organizations while maintaining the autonomy of each. SAA members will be informed of the plan as it develops and of any opportunities to share in the advocacy activity.

Advocacy Activity

SAA is busy preparing for the pending provincial election. Provincial parties were asked for their arts policies and while we have not received any policies, the Liberal and Saskatchewan parties have expressed interest in further communication with us on arts matters. SAA will meet with the Saskatchewan Party Standing Policy Committee and plans to provide information to the Liberal party in time for its policy convention in March.

Goodale Meeting

SAA met with Hon. Ralph Goodale, MP to bring him up to date on SAA activity and the arts sector. Topics of discussion were wide ranging including Canada’s Innovation Strategy in relation to the arts sector, taxation, creators rights, status of the artist and international trade agreements. Goodale expressed interest in the arts sector and in being kept informed of SAA activity. SAA will happily oblige by maintaining the dialogue.

Artist Stories Project Phase II

Following the success of Phase I, SAA commissioned Steven Ross Smith to write a second phase of the Artist Stories Project – newspaper articles that profile Saskatchewan artists. The Saskatoon Star Phoenix is running the articles as a biweekly series. The Regina Leader Post has declined use of the articles on the basis of insufficient space in the arts and entertainment section to accommodate them. The articles are also available for SAA membership use.

Cultural Policy

The provincial cultural policy is still in development. Watch for the policy framework this spring when it will be taken to the community for feedback.

Status Of The Artist

The Minister’s Advisory Committee on Status of the Artist has met four times. According to the Minister’s reports, the committee has been looking at a number of items including the definition of a “professional artist” to clarify to whom the measures will apply. To monitor its progress and structure its final report, the Committee has developed a framework delineated in three broad directions: promotion, income security, and education/training.

Other items the committee is examining include:

• PROCUREMENT: The Committee has indicated that further research is needed on this issue related to Saskatchewan First procurement policy and the government’s desire to abide by industry standard rates for artists.
• OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY and the need for more information available to artists and for systems to be developed to ensure awareness of existing resources.
• EMPLOYMENT DESIGNATION: The Committee continues to research and discuss this issue.
• PUBLIC ART: Research will continue on the issue of the purchase of art for public places in capital development projects. Research has been undertaken on other jurisdiction’s policies.
• STATUS OF THE ARTIST LEGISLATION IN QUEBEC has been reviewed with attention paid to the regulatory organization, and mechanisms for setting industry standards and monitoring artist contracts.
• INCOME STABILIZATION AND SECURITY FOR ARTISTS: Research on models that exist in other countries and on the federal government program Net Income Stabilization Account is being undertaken.
• A MODEL OF EXISTING PROVINCIAL AND NATIONAL SYSTEMS AND SUPPORTS FOR ARTISTS that impact on compensation and benefits is being prepared.

To learn more about artist equity, SAA has written two power point presentations – one that gives a general overview on artist equity and one that gives general information on collective bargaining. Please phone the SAA office if you would like someone to make a presentation at your upcoming meeting.