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Manitoba Update

July 26th, 2010 by manitoba

Have you checked out the Culture Days celebration schedule for Manitoba lately? Below you’ll find links and updates on how things are coming together for Culture Days in Manitoba’s towns and cities. Winnipeg has some fantastic activities planned, as do Flin Flon, Brandon and Portage la Prairie.

New Culture Days activities for Manitoba are being registered often and we expect to see activities posted in Gimli and Saint Eustache in the coming weeks. There will be lots of opportunity to explore the arts and cultural scene en français in Saint Boniface with activities in the works for the Maison des artistes, the Saint Boniface Museum, The Franco-Manitoban Cultural Centre and more!

Keep checking the website for updates and remember it’s not too late to consider organizing your own Culture Days activity!

Big city sizzle

Come Culture Days, Winnipeg will be ready to show us why it was awarded Cultural Capital of Canada this year! Wonderfully creative activities are planned for the community’s Culture Days celebration including interactive art-making experiences at the cre8ery, Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library’s Crafternoon event, a celebration of independent theatre with playwright readings at FemFest 2010 and the CITY STORIES mobile story exchange project to name just a few.

Existing events and festivals are tying into Culture Days, too. Thin Air, Winnipeg’s International Writer’s Festival and its francophone component Foyer des écrivains will have plenty of free events during the Culture Days weekend. Prairie Theatre Exchange is moving Winnipeg’s largest celebration of new plays to September and the full three-day schedule of free play readings, backstage tours and acting workshops will be added to the Culture Days Celebration Schedule very soon.

The first edition of Winnipeg’s Nuit Blanche celebrations is being launched during the Culture Days weekend in Manitoba – watch the blog for more details on this all-night celebration of the arts on Saturday, September 25!

Brandon joins the party
September 25 is shaping up to be a blow-out celebration of arts and culture in Brandon! The Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba invites daytime visitors to contribute to a graffiti mural, a collective needlepoint project and to join in the fun of making a comic book! At 7:00pm it will be time to head down to 10th Street for performances, artist talks and other hands-on activities. Keep watching the website as new information is added to the Culture Days Celebration Schedule for Brandon.

Arts and culture northern style
Culture Days in Flin Flon will have something for everyone from hip hop to animation to quilting, from concerts to modern visual arts to traditional birch-biting displays and plenty of opportunity to meet and mingle with professional artists. Heritage figures will roam the towns to share their stories with passersby and the Gala café in Flin Flon will have entertainment every evening in an elegant setting.

The Flin Flon Arts Council and its many partners have been very active in organizing Culture Days activities. Check out this blog post from Crystal Kolt reflecting on how they’re creating such a vibrant Culture Days celebration for Flin Flon.

Portage la Prairie

In Portage la Prairie, be sure to check out the War Brides exhibition at Portage & District Arts Centre – this exhibition of paintings and multimedia installations from Calgary artist Bev Tosh depicts the experience of young women from around the world meeting and marrying their husbands during World War II, including Tosh’s own mother. The War Brides exhibition has been making it’s way across the country since 2006.

Manitoba’s Culture Days Project Manager

Manitoba’s Culture Days Project Manager Nicole Matiation has been liaising with many other groups across the province about their plans and ideas for Culture Days. There is still time to register a Culture Days activity so be sure to connect with Nicole.

Important note! Plans are underway for a printed bilingual Manitoba Culture Days program guide and other promotional opportunities. Please register on the Culture Days website by August 10 to be included in the Manitoba print program guide. The same deadline applies for inclusion in the francophone and bilingual activity guide.

Nicole Matiation
Culture Days Project Manager for Manitoba
Email: nicolematiation@culturedays.ca
Phone: (204) 942-8221

Keep Reading
Browse through the Culture Days blog for more information on Culture Days in the Manitoba region.

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7 Ways Festivals can take part in Culture Days

June 28th, 2010 by Aubrey Reeves

For festivals that overlap with Culture Days on September 24-26 participation is easy — all they have to do is register their existing free and participatory activities. But what if your festival’s season does not correspond with Culture Days?

Don’t let this discourage you.  There are lots of ways that festivals can be involved in the movement even off-season. Culture Days is a useful way to remind your audiences of the festival’s contribution to the community all-year round even when your organization is not as visible and active. It can be a good occasion to promote your next festival season. Here are some suggestions:

If Culture Days is 1 to 3 months before your festival season

  • Plan to launch your festival catalogue and/or website during Culture Days. Here’s a chance to distribute your festival catalogue to new audiences and to generate some buzz.
  • Offer a brief teaser of what is to come. You can whet the audience’s appetite and encourage ticket sales for the festival.
  • Put on a “meet and greet” with the local artists who are going to be featured in your festival. Not only is it a chance to showcase the local talent, but it can be very useful for local artists to meet each other and the festival staff before things get really hectic.
  • Host a volunteer appreciation session to celebrate the contribution of your committed volunteers and to recruit new volunteers for the up-coming festival.

 

If Culture Days is more than 4 months before your festival season

  • Promote the festival’s call for submissions by hosting a “meet the curator/festival programmer” session. It can be an opportunity to reach out to new artists and tackle some of the typical questions you get about submissions.
  • Host a Festival highlights lounge. Show some videos of previous festivals, share stories and invite previous years’ artists to talk about their experiences of the festival.  If you offer an early-bird subscription discount, this is a great time to remind audiences about it.

 

If your festival season just ended

  • Celebrate the festival award winners by offering audiences one last chance to see the “Best in the Fest” or present a panel discussion by the winners.

Finally, it’s not necessary to put on a big show in your off-season to be part of the Culture Days movement. Activities can be low-maintenance and low-stress events that simply welcome the public into your world and sparks dialogue and exhange. Please post comments if you think of other ways festivals can participate.

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Tips on how to participate in Culture Days

June 24th, 2010 by manitoba

In Manitoba we circulated a quick “5 tips to help you get started” document for Culture Days based on the post from Aubrey Reeves. The documents (English and French versions) are available below in case they might be helpful to you as well as look for easy ways to get involved and take advantage of all the promotional opportunities available through Culture Days.

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Five tips to get you started

June 21st, 2010 by Aubrey Reeves

Tip #1 – Just register the outreach activities you are already doing

Organizations don’t need to develop a completely new event to join Culture Days. Existing outreach or arts education programs can be included in Culture Days.

Example: Your gallery hosts five artist talks a year. Simply schedule one of those talks during Culture Days.

Tip #2 – Cross-promote and enhance your ticketed events

Add a free Culture Days activity before, after or adjacent to your ticketed events taking place during September 30, October 1-2, 2011. Activities such as artist talks, backstage tours or demonstrations can enrich the audiences’ understanding of the work they are about to see and draw new people to your main attractions.

Example: Hold an “instrument petting zoo” for kids before a concert. Orchestra players explain how to handle and make sounds on the various instruments in the symphony.

Tip #3 – Remember your creative process can be as interesting as the final product

As artists, we put our hearts and souls into our art works yet most of the time we only show the final product.  Witnessing the creative process in action can cultivate the public’s understanding and appreciation of your artistic labour as well as develop a deeper enjoyment of the finished work.

Example: Open your dance rehearsal to the public and encourage questions and dialogue between the audience, performers and choreographer.

Tip #4 – Invite the public to join in

Encourage the public to give your art form a try with hands-on activities. The public will develop an appreciation of the technical challenges of art-making and may discover their own creative impulses.

Example: Invite people to get their hands dirty throwing clay on a wheel at your pottery studio.

Tip #5 – Make new connections! Collaborate with other artists and arts workers

Collaborate with artists, arts organizations, municipal cultural staff and community facilities in your local area to plan and schedule activities.  Pool your resources, venues, talent and time to collectively build the Culture Days movement in your community and attract larger crowds to events.

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Finding a Venue

May 25th, 2010 by Aubrey Reeves

We’re hearing from some artists who would really like to participate in Culture Days but who are not sure how to find an appropriate space to host a public activity. Below is a list of helpful places to start your venue search.

Potential Venues in your community

Other Culture Days Activity Organizers  — A really good place to start looking for a venue is to approach the arts organizations in your area that are presenting their own Culture Days activities. Ask if they have some extra space (for instance in their extra studio, lobby, lounge, meeting room or in front of their building) to host you too. There is a much greater chance of attracting large crowds to sites where multiple activities are taking place. Of course, bigger crowds are good for both you and your host.

Libraries — Libraries are not just for books anymore! Increasingly, libraries are engaging in all sorts of educational and family events. Many libraries have meeting rooms, small auditoriums or courtyards that are appropriate to host Culture Days activities. Some libraries have already registered that they are organizing their own Culture Days activities – ask your local library if they would like to host yours!

Community Centres  — Community centres come in a range of shapes and sizes – some are owned and operated by municipalities while others are independent not-for-profit organizations. Some are focused on health and athletics while others deliver social programs. Regardless, all community centres are places for the public to gather, learn, share and play so they make great venues for Culture Days activities.

City Hall, parks and plazas  — Contact your municipality for information about permits and usage of City Hall, parks and plazas.  If you are planning an outdoor event, consider an indoor contingency site in case of rain.

Universities, Colleges and Schools  — There is a great range of facilities that universities and colleges can offer, from public spaces, large lecture halls, classrooms with multimedia tools, cafeterias or student common areas, studios and rehearsal spaces to performance halls. Likewise, some public schools districts allow auditoriums, gymnasiums and classrooms to be used by community groups after school hours. Contact your school district or your local school to find out more. 

If you are an artist who already works in the education system, Culture Days is a perfect opportunity to combine your teaching role with your artistic practice. Otherwise, Culture Days is a chance to start new relationships with schools in your community and share your artistic knowledge with students. Discuss with professors, teachers or principals how your activity could fit into their curriculum objectives.

Places of Worship  — In many neighbourhoods there are under-utilized churches, mosques, temples, synagogues and other places of worship. Their main halls usually have excellent acoustics for concerts and most also have smaller multi-purpose rooms.  Your activity does not have to be religious in nature since as community-run organizations, most places of worship welcome opportunities to be an active part of their neighbourhood.

Cafes, Bars, Stores, Malls and Other Businesses  — Talk to your favourite cafe, bookstore, bar or hangout about the work you do as an artist. Contact your local business improvement association to find out which of their members might be receptive to hosting your activity. Explain how your Culture Days activity could enliven their space and introduce their business to new customers. You might also be surprised how an unconventional venue sparks your creativity!

Empty Storefronts  — Contact your local business improvement association or the listed real estate agent to find out who owns empty storefronts in your community. Sometimes securing an empty storefront for a short-term project can be challenging but they make great venues so it can be worth the trouble. Explain to the BIA and storefront owner how Culture Days is a great way to revitalize a main street, downtown core or under-appreciated area. When empty storefronts are creatively occupied, even temporarily, business owners start to see the potential in a property and the neighbourhood.

Finally, When Making Your Venue Request….

Start by introducing Culture Days as a volunteer movement with the objective to encourage awareness, participation and engagement of all Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their own communities. Position your request for a venue as a partnership that will be mutually beneficial to you, their venue and the community at large. Be clear about what you need in a venue and what your expectations are for your activity. All publicly accessible buildings have liabilty insurance which should cover your need Culture Days activities. However, if you are dealing with a facility that is not normally open to the public, please check with them about public liability insurance. Most importantly — be respectful of their space and show your thanks and appreciation.   

If you’d like more tips on making a request for a venue, please leave a comment below.

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

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Local Working Group Starts Up In Peterborough

May 25th, 2010 by Aubrey Reeves

On Thursday, May 13 I attended an info session about Culture Days in Peterborough, organized by Simone George of 4th Line Theatre and Ray Marshall of Show Place. The organizers invited arts managers, city cultural planning staff, local media and individual artists to learn more about Culture Days and to discuss how it could unfold in Peterborough. This info session was a perfect example of how a group of arts workers can come together to build the Culture Days movement in their region. If you would like to organize a similar Culture Days information session in your own community, I can facilitate and provide resources to Ontario-based artists, organizations and municipalities. Email me at on@culturedays.ca or call 1-800-387-0058 ext. 5077.  In other provinces, please contact your provincial Task Force.

With the fourth annual Peterborough Artsweek overlapping dates with Culture Days, we discussed how the two events could work together to achieve maximum benefit to the community. Peterborough Artsweek is an eight-day celebration of the arts, featuring innovative contemporary arts programming.  At first, a few Artsweek presenters were worried they might be too busy to add Culture Days events. However, once they learned more about the movement, people got excited about the opportunity to complement their existing performances and exhibitions with activities that invite the public to go behind-the-scenes and appreciate the creative process. Artsweek and Culture Days share similar aims to raise awareness about the arts. As a result, the group also welcomed linking Artsweek with events happening across the country within the Culture Days public awareness campaign.

It was a very productive meeting where arts managers bounced ideas off each other, the city staff asked how they could be involved and artists talked about the type of activities they could offer. By the end of the meeting a working group was formed to continue planning and coordination of Culture Days activities in Peterborough and the surrounding area. With so much energy and teamwork going into their activities, I’m sure that Peterborough is going to be an exciting place on September 24-26!

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

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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.

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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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