Arts groups are applauding the provincial government for offering up a new series of grants aimed at endearing arts and culture to a new generation and making sure there are qualified, creative individuals to continue their tradition.
Coralee Oakes, minister of community, sport and cultural development, joined MLAs Naomi Yamamoto and Jane Thornthwaite at Presentation House Theatre Tuesday to announce $2.6 million in grants available through the B.C. Arts Council.
The first $2 million goes toward programs that help youth experience and participate in the arts. The other $600,000 is earmarked to help offer apprenticeship work for recent graduates from creative programs at B.C. colleges and universities.
"We are committed to helping young, talented British Columbians build satisfying creative careers. These new programs are unique because through the B.C. Arts Council, our province's dynamic arts and culture sector will help youth in their communities access opportunities to experience and participate in the arts," Oakes said in a press release. "It's a win-win situation for young British Columbians, established arts and culture organizations and British Columbia's creative economy."
The announcement is strongly welcomed by Kim Selody, Presentation House Theatre's artistic director.
"We found it was very good news," he said, noting that Presentation House Theatre recently expanded its mandate to include programming for children and youth. "It's not just because children are the future and they're going to be consumers of art, but it really is about building community and connecting the community to the art. By being multigenerational, you're starting to build that."
If PHT is successful in applying for the youth grant, it will allow the company to offset costs and allow North Shore schools to send students at a rate that won't harm the schools' increasingly tight budgets. The same applies for PHT productions they are hoping to tour Canada within the coming year.
"You have adult-sized expenses with child-sized revenues so there's often an economic barrier there," Selody said. "It's hard to tell kids they're too poor or their parents are not wealthy enough for them to go see a show."
PHT is a "poster child" for the early career development grant, according to Selody.
With an international co-production currently showing in Germany and due to come to Canada next year, PHT uses both professional help and limited internship help from Capilano University's theatre and film program students. But when a big production is on the line, those with little experience get few call-backs, Selody said.
"Without assistance, our tendency is to hire much more experienced people to come in, and often the real challenge for people in their first two years out of these training programs is it's almost impossible to get a job and get that kind of experience. It's a catch-22."
"It means we get to extend the relationship with these people and they get a real apprenticeship and they get a professional credit working on this production."
But, with arts and culture organizations from around the province able to apply, Selody suspects only about one in five will get the grants they apply for.
