Festivals will help arts groups get over cuts, minister says: Culture groups describe idea as a poor substitute
A series of government-sponsored community festivals to retap the spirit of the 2010 Olympics is a way for cultural organizations to get over recent cutbacks in their funding, according to Tourism, Culture and Arts Minister Kevin Krueger.
“We do think it’s important that these groups find new ways to build their sustainability. This is a new fund, and it will help a lot,” Mr. Krueger said in an interview Wednesday, as he shed some public light for the first time on a controversial, three-year, $30-million program to stage so-called B.C. Spirit Festivals across the province.
The festivals, organized by local community arts councils, will be held in February to mark the anniversary of the Olympics, the minister said.
But the idea is already drawing fire from arts groups as a poor substitute for recent, severe cuts to the BC Arts Council and other cultural organizations. Critics also fear the government’s involvement in the festivals will erode the arms-length relationship with the political world that they view as essential to artistic integrity.
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