Posts Tagged ‘municipalities’

Toronto Public Library Application Form

May 6th, 2011 by Aubrey Reeves

Please note: the application deadline (midnight on June 10, 2011) for artists seeking venue spaces at the Toronto Public Library during Culture Days has now passed. Notifications will be sent out by July 15, 2011.

The Toronto Public Library (TPL), the Neighbourhood Arts Network and Culture Days are pleased to announce an exciting partnership called Culture Days @ The Library to help artists and arts organizations to share their creative work with the public. The Toronto Public Library is offering free venues to Toronto-based artists and arts organizations wishing to be part of Culture Days. Some 45 TPL branches spanning the city will provide various types of venues at no cost. Often described as the living-rooms of the city public libraries are important community spaces in our neighbourhoods for learning, exchange of ideas and connecting with others. This partnership enables artists to take their practice out of their private studios into the accessible spaces of library branches so that the public can discover and engage with their work.
To be considered for a space, the arts activity must be free and interactive. Toronto-based individual artists, small and medium-sized arts and cultural organizations, collectives or groups that wish to organize their events at a TPL branch are invited to submit an application by June 10, 2011. These will be assessed by a jury and matched with an appropriate branch location. Decisions will be based on the suitability of the activity for the branch’s venue space and the interactive nature to the activity. Artistic merit will not be assessed. Activities in all artistic disciplines are encouraged as well as those that appeal to families and to audiences of diverse ages. Whenever possible, artists/organizations will be matched with a branch in their own neighbourhood.

View Comments | Posted in Ontario, community organizers, for activity organizers, role of arts and culture, ways to get involved | Tags: , , , , ,

Innisfil Public Library – “Where Culture Lives”

April 8th, 2011 by Reuben Finley

Nazanin Shoja, Ontario Arts Council Culture Days Animator/Coordinator, recently spoke with the Innisfil Public Library, which hosted a number of Culture Days activities in 2010. Here’s an account of their experience and thoughts on the active role that can be played by libraries in promoting local talent.


Celebrating Culture Days 2010

Innisfil Public Library is a multi-branch system within a geographically diverse community located in central Ontario.  The Culture Days initiative complements the library’s mandate as a community gathering place providing progressive, user-oriented library service that anticipates the educational, cultural, leisure and other informational needs within the community.  Participation in the program achieved several organizational goals including collaboration with local partners to enhance community involvement, promotion of the library in order to encourage the widest possible use of services, and focused attention on the achievements of local artists.

Innisfil Public Library has participated in artist studio tours and regularly displays artwork in its main branch.  However, through the Culture Days planning process, staff realized that we had neglected to promote artisans in our communities.  As a result, Culture Days became an opportunity to highlight a neglected aspect of local talent.  Through previously established partnerships with arts groups, possible participants were identified. We were specifically seeking artisans whose work would engage the public with hands-on activities.  For example, at the Cookstown Branch, woodcarving and quilting were highlighted and library customers were fascinated to watch the works unfold before them.

Through Culture Days, the perception of the library’s role within the community is shifting.  Libraries are viewed, not only as a source of information, but also as a place “where culture lives”.  Library customers have come to view the library as a destination that will continually surprise and delight them with the breadth of arts programming and variety of experiences to be shared.  This perception will continue to grow as the library continues to participate in futureCulture Days weekends.   As a largely rural population, Innisfil residents can take pride in participating in a cross-Canada celebration of culture.  Participation in this event was worthwhile for the Innisfil Public Library and we will most definitely continue in the future.  In 2011, the Culture Days theme will be “performers” and we anticipate an even more exciting celebration of community talent.

View Comments | Posted in Community spotlight, Culture Days 2010, Culture Days stories, Ontario, community organizers, for activity organizers, role of arts and culture | Tags: , , , ,

Spotlight: Onalee Groves – Barrie, Ontario

March 3rd, 2011 by Culture Days

Culture Days 2010 demonstrated that municipalities can play a key role as community organizers. By convening a broad suite of partners and creative activities while leveraging their resources to provide local marketing support, they generated community excitement and participation in the event. In this Community Spotlight feature, you’ll meet Onalee Groves, Cultural Officer, in the City of Barrie, Ontario’s Department of Culture, who played a key role in Barrie’s successful Culture Days event in 2010.


Culture Days: What is your name and role? What city and province are you in?

Onalee Groves: Onalee Groves, Department of Culture, Culture Officer, Development – City of Barrie, Ontario

CD: How did you first hear about Culture Days?

OG: I think our Provincial Consultant sent out emails informing us of it and encouraging us to participate.

CD: What inspired you to get involved and what opportunities did you identify for your community’s participation in Culture Days?

OG: I loved the idea of raising the awareness of the arts on a national scale and felt strongly that it was a wonderful opportunity for collaboration, not just with our arts community, but our businesses, our politicians, our tourism industry, our BIA, and our residents. It was inspiring to feel a part of something that was so grand and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to profile our community through the many ways that Culture Days offers, such as the website, newspaper ads, CBC etc.

CD: How did you approach organizing Culture Days in your community? Who were some of the people and organizations you worked with in organizing and promoting your community’s celebration of Culture Days?

OG: We formed a cross sectoral committee. We had representatives from our BIA, our Art Gallery – the MacLaren, the Barrie Folk Society, one of our Theatre organizations, Theatre by the Bay, members of our Arts Council, several of whom are vested in social media organizations like Rhubarb Media and MH Connects, and some local businesses such as the Flying Monkeys Micro-Brewery. We also involved internal partners from the City, as we utilized our recreation facilities for performances and our Communications department to develop promotional materials.

Each of the organizations on the committee had their own contacts that we called upon in an effort to provide opportunities throughout the entire city.

CD: Please describe what you did to promote Culture Days activities and spread the word in your community.

OG: We utilized the Culture Days website, the City of Barrie’s website and the media opportunities that are available to us through our Communications Department, such as “Barrie This Week” in our local paper, The Barrie Examiner, as well as issuing press releases to profile the events. We created booklets, ‘Passports to Culture’ that outlined all of the activities and we dispersed them to all of the designated locations in advance so they could begin to raise the awareness of Culture Days.

We tried to involve locations where people would not ordinarily expect to see art, so we planned a flash mob with our Opera company, Opera Belcanto in one of our malls. The malls and the businesses and recreation facilities all assisted us by putting up posters that outlined some of the exciting performances and told people where they could get their ‘passports’.

CD: How did your marketing campaign come together? Were you able to convince media and promotional sponsors to get involved?

OG: For a first year we managed to acquire support from the local media, although this year I would like to involve them earlier in the process and perhaps have sponsors for each medium, i.e. one local paper, one television and one radio partner, in order to gain a higher profile.

CD: Are there any moments during the lead up to and during Culture Days weekend that really stand out in your mind?

OG: We could feel a buzz in the community as the event approached – like the excitement was building. I think the performers were giving off a lot of positive energy as the day approached.

CD: After your first experience with Culture Days in 2010, what longer-term benefits or lasting outcomes have you identified for continued annual participation? Challenges?

OG: For a first experience I saw this event as having enormous potential. We started last year with it being a one day event and I plan to grow it exponentially over the next few years, involve more artists, more businesses, more performing locations, more partners etc. I believe that the sky is the limit with this project! Challenges will be to find sponsors to shoulder some of the projected costs as we grow, but I think that we can work on building relationships with those that see the value of the arts, such as the media and business partners.

CD: What advice do you have for other community organizers who are planning for Culture Days 2011?

OG: If I were to give advice to other organizers, I would just say that some of our experiences weren’t quite as positive as others. We had a few single performers for some locations that were not reliable and did not show up, so the business owners were angry with us. This year, I will make every effort to trouble-shoot these kinds of issues, by having volunteers checking every location. If a performer doesn’t show up then we will have extras that we can allocate to fill the performance space. So the advice would be to pull in lots of volunteers, as last year we only placed volunteers in locations where we held multiple performances.

CD: Was there anything you learned in 2010 that you’d count as a lesson for the future or a key success factor?

OG: We are quite excited that this year we are going to be combining our Culture Days event with Doors Open and another event at the MacLaren Art Centre entitled Carnegie Days. We are hoping that by cross promoting we will gain a larger audience and a higher profile. I think this is a great partnership in the making, with huge potential for growth.

CD: Is there anything else about your experience of Culture Days that you’d like to share?

OG: I would just say “get involved” to anyone that is out there sitting on the fence. This is an exciting opportunity for municipalities, large or small, and it has the ability to benefit your entire community, not just the arts sector. What are you waiting for?

Watch the Opera Belcanto flash mob in action at a local Barrie mall.

Share your Culture Days story! Email and upload your Culture Days photos to Flickr. You can also post to the Culture Days blog, add your comments, photos and videos to Facebook or tweet with the #culturedays hashtag and we’ll re-tweet your message.

View Comments | Posted in Community spotlight, Culture Days 2010, Culture Days stories, Ontario, Results and impact, community organizers | Tags: , , , , ,

Spotlight: Liesl Jauk – Richmond, British Columbia

March 3rd, 2011 by Culture Days

Culture Days 2010 demonstrated that municipalities can play a key role as community organizers. By convening a broad suite of partners and creative activities while leveraging their resources to provide local marketing support, they generated community excitement and participation in the event. In this Community Spotlight feature, you’ll meet Liesl Jauk who is the Manager of Cultural Development for the City of Richmond in British Columbia and played a key role in Richmond’s successful Culture Days event in 2010. Liesl is also a member of the Culture Days BC Task Force.


Culture Days: Can you briefly describe your current role and your background?

Liesl Jauk: I am the Manager of Cultural Development for the City of Richmond and have been in this position since fall 2008. Prior to that I have worked in the Vancouver arts community for about 20 years. Most recently co-running Rebus Creative which produces The Word On The Street festival, BC Book Prizes and does marketing for the Circle Craft Christmas Market among other things. I did/do graphic design for a range of arts clients, coordinate marketing and some event production. In terms of education I have a BA in Art History and MA in Social History of Art, plus some college courses in visual art (painting, drawing, printmaking, etc.)

CD: How did you first hear about Culture Days?

LJ: Via email from Culture Days. Not sure how I was on list, perhaps through Creative Cities Network, or Alliance for Arts & Culture.

CD: What made you want to get involved? What opportunities did you identify for Richmond’s participation?

LJ: Honestly, my boss, Jane Fernyhough, told me to do it ;)

CD: How did you approach promoting Culture Days? Who were some key people and organisations involved in organizing the community’s celebration of Culture Days?

LJ: First I contacted CD to find out exactly what was being offered and not offered; that is, how were we allowed/expected to use the CD branding, acknowledge sponsors, etc. The key issue was that this was a broad national toolkit, rather than a marketing campaign that would have any resonance “on the ground”. From a marketing perspective (beyond its “cultural call to action” raison d’etre) CD is basically a graphic identity and a website. The CBC and Globe and Mail ads are nice but meaningless outside of a pretty specific audience in urban centres. For CD to have any impact in a community like Richmond, it would need to be promoted on a local level in community newspapers, etc. This would require cash, arts community support and bringing on local promotional partners like The Richmond Review and Tourism Richmond.

CD: Richmond had an impressive marketing campaign for Culture Days. Describe what you did to advertise and spread the word.

LJ: As part of my position, I have compiled an email list of hundreds of local artists, arts organizations, umbrella organizations, businesses, etc. I use this list to get the word out about events and initiatives of interest to the arts community. So, it was through this list that I informed the local arts community about CD, and outlined the promotional opportunities offered through the Richmond campaign. These emails provided clear instructions re: what events would be eligible to participate, deadline dates to be included on printed promotional materials, etc. and over several weeks provided new info as new opportunities arose and updates were announced. Basically, I was inviting everyone to take part and enjoy some free promotion. I also invited them to subscribe to the CD e-bulletin.

CD: How did all the marketing activity come together? How were you able to convince media and promotional sponsors to get involved?

LJ: We met with reps from Richmond Review and Tourism Richmond, inviting them to help us shape the campaign, as this was as new to us as it was to them. I think that by making them true partners in the development of the program, there was a deeper “buy in” to the campaign  as they became creatively involved. It was through those meetings that the idea of the mini-bus tour for media and bloggers came to be, as well as the Fall Arts & Culture Preview issue of the newspaper, which had a 4-page wrap around supplement listing all the registered CD events in Richmond.

CD: Are there any moments from the lead up to and during the Culture Days weekend that stand out in your mind?

LJ: The mini-bus tour was a major highlight. We lucked out with good weather and enjoyed interesting behind-the-scenes tours at the Gateway Theatre and the Museum collections warehouse. Ending outside at the Terra Nova Rural Park to see the newly-built cob oven, experience “heritage” farming in a hands-on way and then eat food made from local ingredients was fantastic. Everyone there was beaming, feeling like they had had a very special experience.

Also, seeing so many people visit the Gateway Theatre for tours, where they had costumes, set design sketches and maquettes, masks, etc. on display was a big highlight. The visitors were clearly really engaged and fascinated to learn about how theatre happens.

Also, we made our Cultural Centre a hub of activity that weekend given many events were happening there. We put a large poster with balloons in the foyer that listed the dates, times and rooms of CD events. That helped attract people who just happened to be there, as did CD-branded directional signage to the various rooms.

CD: After Richmond’s first experience with Culture Days in 2010, what longer-term benefits have you identified for continued annual participation? Challenges?

LJ: Richmond’s Culture Days experience was extremely positive. The newspaper wrap supplement landed on the doorsteps of just about every resident. So just in terms of raising awareness of arts/culture/heritage in the community, as a legacy, this was a very beneficial experience.

Moreover, the participating artists and organizations enjoyed profile as well as the opportunity to share their work and enthusiasm with the general public. There were some community-based volunteer-run groups that participated and, I think, they were surprised at how fun it was and how much they had to gain by increasing their profile.

I can’t think of any specific challenges. For next year, we’ll assign volunteers as “greeters” at the Cultural Centre so visitors have a go-to person for information and directions.

CD: What advice do you have for other community organizers who are planning for Culture Days 2011? Was there anything you learned in 2010 that you’d count as a lesson for the future or a key success factor?

LJ: Establish a partnership with your local newspaper, the one that is delivered to everyone in the community. If you do not have an email contact list of artists/cultural organizations, partner with someone who does. The key is to communicate directly as possible with potential participants, outline in an upbeat way what’s in it for them, and then deliver. In our case, most participating artists do not have the capacity to do much beyond operate their event. They depend on you to provide the marketing, advertising, etc.

CD: What’s in store for Culture Days 2011 in Richmond?

LJ: Obviously, programming will be up to the participating artists and cultural organizations as to what is offered. Otherwise, we were really pleased with how things went so will likely repeat, as-is with perhaps a few minor tweaks.

CD: Is there anything else about your experience of Culture Days that you’d like to share?

LJ: In the first year, Culture Days in Richmond was a success that surpassed expectations, thanks in large part to enthusiastic partners Richmond Review and Tourism Richmond who came to the project as creative partners, eager to work with us to develop a city-wide campaign.

Culture Days went from being “one more thing we are expected to do” to an unprecedented opportunity to showcase Richmond’s cultural community, an opportunity that was enthusiastically embraced by residents and the participants who shared their passions beyond their usual circle.

We managed to not only participate in a national weekend of arts and culture, but to leverage the Culture Days brand for our own purposes, raising awareness among local citizens and raising Richmond’s profile beyond city limits and even nationally.

Share your Culture Days story! Email and upload your Culture Days photos to Flickr. You can also post to the Culture Days blog, add your comments, photos and videos to Facebook or tweet with the #culturedays hashtag and we’ll re-tweet your message.

View Comments | Posted in British Columbia, Community spotlight, Culture Days 2010, Culture Days stories, Local marketing & promotions, community organizers, for activity organizers, marketing & PR | Tags: , , , , , ,

Spotlight: Crystal Kolt – Flin Flon, Manitoba

March 3rd, 2011 by Culture Days

The story of Flin Flon, Manitoba and their Culture Days 2010 celebration, is an inspirational example of what can happen in a small northern Canadian community that has art in its heart. In this Community Spotlight you’ll hear directly from Crystal Kolt who works with the Flin Flon Arts Council and has been described by others in her community as the “spark” that ignited the amazing Culture Days celebration in what she calls “North Central Canada.”

Dancing Down Main Street. Photo: Julian Kolt, Cottage North

Throughout the weekend, Flin Flon, MB,  Creighton, SK and Denare Beach, SK heard opera, jazz, country, hip hop, classic pop, medieval lite, a cappella voice, instrumental music, choirs, solo voice, musical theatre, heavy metal, rock, fiddling, Metis, Aboriginal, and Celtic Music.

They saw acrylic, batik, face painting, pottery, birch bark biting, caribou tufting, weaving, quilt making, water colour, mixed media art, fibre art, mask making and sidewalk chalk art.

We experienced theatre, improv, storytelling, museums, history, heritage, literature, dance, artist studios, Aboriginal, Metis and global cultures.

We celebrated our very first Couture Fashion show, we celebrated our talented youth in film and the unbelievable happened when approximately 300 people Dance(d) Down Main Street to K’Naan’s Waving Flag.

My name is Crystal Kolt and I am the Cultural Coordinator of the Flin Flon Arts Council. I also organized the CULTURE DAYS events which took place in the area that I call North Central Canada which takes in Flin Flon, MB, Flin Flon, SK, Creighton, SK,  Denare Beach, SK and in 2010 this area included Thompson MB, Cranberry Portage, MB and The Pas, MB.  I am also on the Manitoba Provincial Task Force for CULTURE DAYS.

I first heard about CULTURE DAYS through Jean Giguere who Chairs the Manitoba Task Force and is on the CULTURE DAYS National Committee. As soon as Jean explained to me that there was a new Pan-Canadian movement starting that intended to celebrate simultaneously Canadian arts and Culture throughout the country, I was hooked.  I had felt for quite some time that CANADA needed something to boost its belief in the strength of its Artistic self.  Living in a small and rather remote Northern community I was excited to finally have the opportunity to link up with the rest of the Country in solidarity as artists and appreciators of our art.  With the backing of our largest media organizations I felt that it truly might be a possibility that we as Canadians would have the opportunity to share our contacts, artists and communities and network as we have never had the chance to network before.

Initially I had thought that Flin Flon and Creighton would have a minor role in Culture Days.  Nay sayers thought that it would be too cold,  too close to summer for the Schools to be involved,  too close to winter to enjoy the outdoors,  too new for organizations to want to participate, too new to have a vision of what to do, and eventually there would be those that would think that it was becoming too big, too …. whatever.  But of course you always get  some of that whenever you start a new initiative.  The surprise for everyone including myself was that quite the opposite happened.   The weather was gorgeous,  dozens of organizations took part,  thousands of people showed up,  the museums stayed open for hours after closing time,  over 1000 students, virtually every student in the Flin Flon and Creighton area participated in CULTURE DAYS events. Calm Air made it possible for Northern artists to have a presence in the National Culture Days Launch in Winnipeg allowing us to feature the fabulous Thompson Soprano Maria Luz Alvarez with Flin Flon composer/pianist  Mark Kolt and northern artists, Irvin Head, Elaine Angelski,  Sarah Trevor, Linda Mandes and Angelique Merasty. Stittco supplied heat in the outdoor Cafe to keep it cozy in the evenings.  Hudbay Mining saw the vision and kick-started us with our initial funds and all other funding bodies followed suite including The Flin Flon Neighbourhood Revitalization Corp, and the Manitoba Arts Council and of course CULTURE DAYS MB.  Artists and entertainers came from far and wide to take part in the weekend.   Over 100 volunteers manned the over 40 stations that were available for the general public to experience that weekend.  Our MP,  MLA and Minister of Housing cheered us on with a visit during the inspiring Opening Ceremonies where the Tent was blessed with Sweetgrass as male and female Aboriginal Drumming Groups from nearby Cranberry Portage inspired us with chant and drum.  CBC Radio North Country also walked our path recording the event from beginning to end, taking in and sharing with the rest of the north the many beautiful details small and large that surrounded us that weekend.

Initially I approached the Flin Flon Arts Council  (The artistic heartbeat of our area) about becoming involved then went directly to the artists themselves as well as the City of Flin Flon, The Town of Creighton and the Creighton and Flin Flon School Divisions requesting support of any kind.  Absolutely no one refused me.  Both the City of Flin Flon and the Town of Creighton offered venues as Gift-in-Kind.

Creighton School started organizing their very own in house Culture Days.  When a local subcommittee started thinking up ways to offer an equally wonderful experience to every child in the area we came up with programs such as SUPERSTAR! and ALL FOR THE ARTS.  We found storytellers and mask-makers, visual artists and musicians all willing to help out.   Organizations such as the Rotary Club, Knights of Columbus, Catholic Women’s League, and Lion’s Club stepped up to the plate offering what they could… a pancake dinner here,  serving at the Gala Cafe there, offering the Hand-Van to take guests around the town.  No one said no!   And that was what made it into the colossal event that it eventually become that last weekend in September  2010.

Once all these organizations and individual volunteers became involved word spread quickly.  But would people come and how would they know what to do? Of course I had had brochures out advertising CULTURE DAYS for many months,  I had spoken on the local radio station as well as the CBC and posters were made and distributed around the area and ads were placed in the local newspaper, but in addition to that, I decided to make a glossy gorgeous Program to show the folks at home and visitors where to find the activities and what was going on throughout the weekend.  That was a defining decision.  Once people saw the programs around town they knew that CULTURE DAYS was a serious event.  Something they needed to see!

Leading up to the event I had a hunch that it would be a success when I needed to add tables for people at my monthly hour long (to the minute because I like short meetings) luncheon meetings.  During the event itself there were so many memorable moments to count.  I have snapshots in my mind of the smell of Sweetgrass and earth in the outdoor Gala Cafe which was decorated with the original 1950 Christmas lights that were on the Christmas tree that would have been in the centre of town 60 years ago. The sounds of the male and female drumming group.   Visitors that were visiting Canada from Germany heard about our Culture Days events somehow when they were in Alberta and actually came to check it out.  Not only did they have an amazing cultural experience some local people in the community took them out for their other passion… mushroom hunting.  I have snapshots images of a 1000 kids experiencing maskmaking, film-making, hip hop, theatre improv, storytelling and museums.   We had our very first couture fashion show with 50 designs from Patricia Glanville and 30 designs from Leonne Kabole (Kenya) and Laurie Brown (original Flin Flonner now in Toronto).  One of the biggest surprises of course was our Dancing Down Main Street to K’Naan’s  WAVING FLAG.  I really didn’t know if there would be 3 or 4 people ‘dancing’ with me and our choreographer Sarah Moore but I was determined to give it a go.  When a few hundred people showed up and others lined the street to watch, it was one of those Hollywood-style-you-need-to get-a-tissue moments.  Every age from toddler to senior, guys and girls alike danced down Main Street Flin Flon that morning.  Who knew?!  Especially in a small Northern Hockey Playing Mining Town.  But it did indeed happen and it was a thing to behold.

Because of CULTURE DAYS our community for certain and I believe much more of our Province is starting to understand us.  Yes we are a mining community but we are the HEART OF ART in our part of the world and are proud of it.  Regarding the Flin Flon Arts Council, we have a cautious optimism now that we can move forward as an Art organization that can support more of Northern Manitoba’s arts and culture.  There will always be challenges of course, including securing venue rentals and  advertising.  My advice to newcomers in the CULTURE DAYS world is to start small.  It doesn’t have to be as big as it turned out to be in Flin Flon however be prepared for anything.  I was completely surprised by how quickly it grew in my community.  Someone told me a few years ago, ‘When you have a problem to solve, speak to an artist.’ And it’s true that an artist will always find a solution.

What’s next for us?   Well I guess time will tell but we are looking at organizing a CULTURE DAYS CARNIVAL in 2011 at the stunningly beautiful Baker’s Narrows Lodge including their Conference area and outdoor Tent.  We would like it to include a Raku pit, soapstone carving, musicians, literary reading, bannock, smoked fish, story-telling and special Culture Days art classes at our new NorVA (Northern Visual Art) Centre  and … it would be fun to Dance Down Main Street again.

Best wishes to everyone and I hope you give it a try!

Share your Culture Days story! Email and upload your Culture Days photos to Flickr. You can also post to the Culture Days blog, add your comments, photos and videos to Facebook or tweet with the #culturedays hashtag and we’ll re-tweet your message.

View Comments | Posted in Community spotlight, Culture Days 2010, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, community organizers, for activity organizers | Tags: , , , , , , ,

What can municipalities do for Culture Days?

May 25th, 2010 by Aubrey Reeves

Municipalities, both urban and rural, can play an important role in the growth of the Culture Days. Whether you are an elected councilor, reeve or mayor, band council leader or municipal staff, here are a few things that you can do to support the movement in your own community:

1)      Get the word out about Culture Days to your local arts and cultural sector. Encourage your local artists, artisans, arts organizations, festivals, galleries, museums, heritage sites, community arts groups, choirs, libraries, community centres, universities, colleges, schools and cultural groups of all stripes to join the movement by registering an activity on the Culture Days website  www.culturedays.ca

2)      Contact your provincial Task Force about hosting and organizing an info session in your community about Culture Days. Invite representatives from your local arts sector as well as business improvement associations, local media and politicians to work together to creating an amazing Culture Days weekend. (If you represent a municipality in Ontario, contact me – Aubrey Reeves, OAC Culture Days Animator/Coordinator – to organize an info session).

3)      Provide space on September 30, October 1 & 2, in municipal-owned or operated facilities to artists and cultural groups that want to offer Culture Days activities. Some artists and cultural groups would like to take part but don’t have their own spaces that can accommodate the public. Examples of ideal municipal-owned facilities for activities include: parks, community centres, libraries, town/city hall, town squares, empty storefronts, heritage sites and museums. Be creative: Consider opening up a space that is not usually open to the public; this tends to draw crowds.

4)      Help to concentrate activities within walking distance of each other into “hubs.” You are likely to draw bigger crowds to Culture Days activities if people are able to browse and sample a variety of drop-in activities all in one easily accessible area. It’s a great way to revitalize a main street, downtown core or an under-appreciated area of your community.

5)      Discuss Culture Days with your local business improvement association (BIA) and how the arts and culture strengthen your community and economy. Encourage businesses to sponsor local Culture Days activity by providing in-kind donations of space, materials or promotion. The Creative City Network of Canada and the Ontario Municipal Cultural Planning Inc. offer some valuable resources that can help you describe the social-economic impacts of supporting cultural development to business owners.

6)      Develop partnerships with local media including community newspapers, regional radio stations and local bloggers. The main components of the Culture Days national media campaign will roll out starting in August on multiple national and provincial platforms. Local coverage can complement that campaign with a focus on what’s happening in your own backyard.

7)      In September, please invite your municipal councilors and Mayor or other elected officials to attend Culture Days events in your community. Culture Days events will make for fun photo-ops and give politicians a chance to demonstrate active support and participation in the local arts and cultural life of their communities.

8)      If you work for a municipality or a regional community, encourage your municipal cultural planning department to make Culture Days part of its annual programs. In Québec, where the inspiration for Culture Days originated, 276 municipalities have signed the official Declaration of Journées de la culture and 234 municipalities directly organize cultural activities during the weekend-long celebration of local arts and culture.  Download the simple, 1-page official Declaration of Journées de la culture and let us know if you think this would be a useful tool to help bring every municipality and regional community on board as a Culture Days collaborator.

Written by Aubrey Reeves, Ontario Arts Council’s Culture Days Animator/Coordinator.

View Comments | Posted in community organizers, for activity organizers, ways to get involved | Tags: , , , , , ,

Other Ways To Get Involved

April 19th, 2010 by Culture Days

As an inclusive initiative driven by solidarity and collaboration, Culture Days relies on your participation.

There are many ways to get involved. Virtually anyone can organize an activity. Or consider participating in one of the following ways:

Offer a venue

If you have a venue such as a classroom, theatre, office space, public space, studio, arts centre, gallery, lobby area, commercial building or other easily accessible space, consider offering the use of your venue to artists or other activity organizers as the location for a Culture Days activity. If you don’t know any artists or cultural groups, send a message to the Provincial Task Force in your region – they may be able to put you in touch with an artist or group that is looking for space.

Volunteer or help support an activity

Spread the word about Culture Days to your community leaders, artists, and cultural groups by circulating our newsletters, talking about the movement at local events, and posting our logo or poster up in support of the celebration. Or maybe you could be the go-between person who helps put the artist in touch with the folks with the office space that they would like to see animated with an interactive art experience during Culture Days. If you work in the business sector, suggest to your colleagues to invite artists to work with your business group as a great team-building exercise.

Activate your community
You run a business, you coordinate community groups, you lead school/ social activities, you are an active Facebook/Twitter/etc. user, you have a blog… In short, you know people, and you can get the word out to them. Spread the word about Culture Days and suggest to people in your network to become part of the experience – as an audience participant, an activity organizer, a supporter, or in any other role you can think of! Sign up for e-updates or follow us on Twitter so you can be among the first to know what’s happening. Post a tip on our Facebook page to help others activate their community.

Let us know what you think
If you have an opinion, an idea, a suggestion, a tip, or any other contribution to send our way…Get in touch! Culture Days is an open movement and a self-mobilizing network. We look to everyone, including you, to help shape the development of this grassroots initiative.

Declare your alliance
If you work for a municipality or a regional community, encourage your municipal cultural planning department to make Culture Days part of its annual programs. In Québec, where the inspiration for Culture Days originated, 276 municipalities have signed the official Declaration of Journées de la culture and 234 municipalities directly organize cultural activities during the weekend-long celebration of local arts and culture.  Download the simple, 1-page official Declaration of Journées de la culture and let us know if you think this would be a useful tool to help bring every municipality and regional community on board as a Culture Days collaborator.

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