This fall, as Guelph City Council sits down to consider its list of capital priorities, I urge you to maintain a Guelph Community Visual Arts Centre as an item on that list.
I am writing to you as a member of Spark of Brilliance, an organization of people who are living with mental health issues and other life challenges who are experiencing healing and recovery through the expressive arts, which is active in this community. In Guelph, there are many groups involved in the arts such as ours who are badly in need of space for teaching, creating and exhibiting. There are also many children and young people who would enjoy and benefit from lessons in drawing, painting and other visual arts, if there was a place to hold such classes and workshops. For example, our intiative for children with autism and developmental challenges KidZCreate.
The identification of the need for these spaces for the visual arts goes back to at least 1974, when the original plans for the civic centre that became River Run Centre included spaces for the creation and display of visual art. That space did not materialize.
Finally, in 2001, a steering committee was formed that included many of the guilds and groups in Guelph, as well as individual artists and other interested parties such as the Guelph Artisans Store and Ed Video Media Art Centre.
This committee is strongly supported by Guelph Arts Council, which in 2001 procured an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant to hire a consultant to prepare a feasibility study and a basic business plan for a Guelph Community Visual Arts Centre. Roger Jones and Associates, the consultancy firm, felt that there was a strong need in this City for a building to house a variety of visual arts activities and that this should be a City-owned building. The present library building was identified as the favoured location.
This report was received by Guelph City Council in 2003. Since then, Guelph Arts Council has worked to keep a Guelph Community Visual Arts Centre in City Council’s field of vision. Most recently, Sally Wismer, executive director of Guelph Arts Council and Nan Hogg, chair of the Guelph Community Visual Arts Centre Steering Committee, both served on the Recreation, Parks and Culture Strategic Master Plan Advisory Committee. The resulting consultant’s report lists a visual arts / multidisciplinary facility as a need that should be further studied and mentions the present library building as a possible site.
We strongly agree with both reports that the City should be the core provider of this facility.
Page 2
In the last year, a group made up mostly of performing artists has been trying to access a building that they hope can be renovated for performing spaces and studios. Even if they are successful in this endeavour, it is unlikely that such a building would meet the needs of the residents of Guelph who are interested in the visual arts.
We still desperately need a City-owned Guelph Community Visual Arts Centre, where everyone in the City can come to look, learn and enjoy Guelph’s vibrant arts scene.
Having said that, I am well aware of these difficult economic times. I do recognize that at this time the City cannot afford any new capital expenses.
However, as City Council reviews the priorities list, I hope that you will consider how much a Guelph Community Visual Arts Centre would offer the City in terms of recreation opportunities for all ages, economic spin-off, impact on downtown revitalization and maintenance of Guelph’s image as an exceptional cultural centre.
In November 2007, Council named a community arts facility as a medium priority on its list of capital priorities. Please, let it remain there or move this needs further up on the list of priorities in your current discussions. JR