Arts Writers Awards Ignore Bloggers

Is this a general comment on the status of art blogging?

The Artist Writers Grant Program, sponsored by the Warhol Foundation and Creative Capital, announced its awards for 2009. Arts bloggers only received one of the 26 awards, which range from $5,000 - $50,000.

Most of the winning writers are located in New York.

Wildrose Alliance at 39% in Alberta - now read the party's policies

In the news today: a report that an Angus Reid poll has the upstart Wildrose Alliance Party in the popularity lead in Alberta with 39%.

Since the media-savvy and photogenic Danielle Smith won the Wildrose Alliance leadership a matter of weeks ago, there seems to be a love-fest goin' on with this new, extra-right version of conservative.

According to the Calgary Herald, the party's leader openly denies global warming and does not support the public health care system.

For everyone's information and simply as a matter of record, I reproduce the Wildrose Alliance's policies, as taken from their website today:

BTW - don't miss the Wildrose Alliance's exciting policy item on Human Rights! (That is, they intend to "strike section 3 of the Human Rights and Multiculturalism Act".

Fun, fun, fun!

Quiz - What gets shorter shrift in the Wildrose Alliance's party platform: arts & culture or social assistance? Have fun!

---

• All Policies are preceded by: “A Wildrose Government will….”

DEMOCRATIC REFORM

Federalism

• defend Alberta against intrusions by the federal government by protecting the property, legal, constitutional and democratic rights of Albertans.
• work to remove inter-provincial trade and professional certification barriers by the expansion of the Trade, Investment, and Labour Mobility Agreement to other Provinces.

Electoral Reform

• institute fixed election dates for Provincial Election every 4 years. The Legislative Assembly will be able to call a vote of non-confidence at any time.
• be accountable to the people of Alberta by having free votes with the exception of the budget and votes of non-confidence.
• institute the right of recall of elected officials if 20% of the electorate sign a petition calling for such an action and 25% if the electorate is less than 1000.
• hold elections for Alberta Senators at the same time as Provincial Elections.

Government Reform

• establish an independent agency to determine the compensation, pension, and severance packages of elected governmental officials.
• limit the Provincial Cabinet to 16 members.
• institute strict conflict of interest guidelines facilitated through the Provincial Ethics Commissioner’s office.
• establish set dates for Throne Speeches, Budget Announcements, and Legislative Sessions.
• institute an open and comprehensive Freedom of Information Act.

Municipal Government

• follow any downloading of services from the province to municipalities with the appropriate amount of funding.
• extend greater autonomy and better planning tools to local governments to reduce pressure on property taxes.
• ensure that crown corporations are subject to local zoning and land-use by-laws.

Property Rights

• entrench individual property rights within an Alberta Bill of Rights.

Human Rights

• strike section 3 of the Human Rights and Multiculturalism Act.

Referenda

• institute legislation allowing the citizens of Alberta to call for a binding referendum on a matter of significant public concern upon the presentation of a petition signed by at least 10% of the total voters of the last Provincial election in Alberta.
• only use Section 33 (the Notwithstanding Clause) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, with the consent of the Alberta people in a referendum.

ECONOMY

Agriculture

• support the elimination of all indirect taxes and tariffs on farm inputs and the reduction of provincially controlled input costs.
• support marketing programs for Alberta agricultural products, nationally and internationally.
• support research and education into enhancing agricultural productivity and value added production for agriculture.
• oppose international agriculture subsides.
• develop an effective and financially viable long-term agriculture safety-net program.
• encourage private sector value added opportunities for Alberta’s agriculture sector.
• support Alberta producer market choice to sell grain independent of the Canadian Wheat Board or to sell through the Canadian Wheat Board voluntarily.
• take on the responsibility to negotiate commercially competitive access to international markets with respect to beef marketing.
• base government regulations of the beef industry on appropriate management of real risks and an accurate analysis of the costs and benefits of these regulations.
• leave investment in business and the development of beef marketing as the responsibility of the industry, not government and must be based on market signals rather than government programs.
• will allow government support for the beef industry to come from national programs that minimize the risk of adverse impacts on international and interprovincial trade, and do not distort free market behavior.

Budget

• institute a zero based budgeting program in all government departments. The program will require justification of all new funds spent each year.
• pass legislation that ensures all provincial finances are fully, accurately and honestly reported under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
• support the Auditor General's Office to help identify and prevent wasteful spending in order to ensure value for money.
• use budget surpluses to pay debts owed by the Alberta Government first and secondarily deposits to the Heritage Fund.
• limit growth in program spending to the rate of inflation and population growth of Alberta.

Energy

• support a stable and price sensitive approach to energy production.
• ensure an internationally competitive fiscal regime that attracts investment capital and makes reinvestment attractive.
• support education and research into energy-efficient homes, businesses and government offices.
• require building and land use-planning codes to have high-energy conservation standards.
• recognize the importance of the energy sector to the province and strive to reduce the cost of doing business.
• support the diversification of Alberta’s energy supply.
• support the development of value added facilities through tax incentives.

Financial Responsibility

• cut red tape and the regulatory burden by 1/3 from 2009 levels.
• work to eliminate the duplication of government authorities and services.
• institute complete financial disclosure of all provincial finances including the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund, Crown corporations and government investments. The disclosures will be made in the Legislature with a complete accounting available to Alberta citizens.
• establish a “Waste Buster” website to help report and stamp out government waste.
• grant the Provincial Auditor full access to all Government funded companies, Crown corporations and subsidiaries of Crown corporations.
• have open tendering on government contracts that allow fair competition for businesses and to provide
  better value to taxpayers.
• make sure the role of government is not to own and operate businesses when a competitive business
  market exists.

Forestry

• permit only ecologically sound and economically sustainable forestry management methods.
• invest in research to promote good forest stewardship.
• encourage other value-added uses of Alberta’s forestry resources.

Heritage Fund

• institute a policy of providing from the Heritage Savings Trust Fund when anticipated or prior annual Real Gross Domestic Product growth of Alberta is less than 2%.
• institute a policy of depositing a set percentage of government natural resource income each year into the Heritage Savings and Trust Fund.

Labour

• allow individual workers the choice to determine their membership in labour organizations.
• allow competition to the Workers Compensation Board.
• extend to workers the democratic right to a secret ballot vote on labour organization certification under the Labour Code and ensure that the same rule apply for de-certification as for certification.
• restore education as an essential service under the Labour Code ensuring that no child’s right to an education is denied by school strikes or lockouts.

Pension Plan

• withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan and create an Alberta Pension Plan. The Alberta plan will offer at minimum the same benefits while giving Albertans control over the investment fund.

Taxation

• oppose unfair and industry specific taxation from the federal government.
• fight for Alberta’s deserved share of federal tax dollars through a more equitable distribution of federal transfer payments and contracts.
• establish a per child income tax deduction for parents or guardians.
• collect the Alberta personal income tax.
• increase the basic personal exemption to benefit the lowest income earners.
• provide greater tax deductions for charitable contributions.

Tourism

• encourage tourism as a major growth area of the Alberta economy.
• will stimulate tourism with international marketing in cooperation with tourism operators.

Transportation

• develop new transportation corridors to relieve the pressure on current routes.
• develop a comprehensive transportation strategy that recognizes the interdependence of Alberta’s economy with its neighbours.

EDUCATION

Courses

• ensure that the arts, music and physical education curriculums are fully funded and encourage entrepreneurial courses in Alberta’s public schools.
• enhance online educational initiatives for students.

Education Standards

• set high standards for education. These measured standards will include academic testing, teacher quality, and high school graduation rates including public reporting.
• eliminate the policy of social promotion in Alberta’s schools. Students will be expected to meet standards in order to be promoted to the next grade.
• institute methods to hold educators accountable for performance.

Post-Secondary Education

• give priority for admission and funding to Alberta students to post-secondary institutions.
• work with employers, post-secondary institutions and the Alberta Industry Training and Apprenticeship Commission to increase training and apprenticeships in the trades and technical sectors.
• strengthen the network of colleges, institutes and on-line learning opportunities throughout the
  province.
• increase research and development funding for colleges, universities and institutes and encourage
  private sector partnerships.
• reduce student loans by 10% per year to students in the educational and health care sectors attending accredited schools of education provided they work in underserved communities.

School Choice

• support “School Choice” Legislation.
• institute a student based funding system for financing education which will allow funding via Alberta Opportunity Scholarships to follow the student to the accredited education facility of parental choice.
• mandate that Alberta Opportunity Scholarships include all funding for student education for instruction, support and capital.

School Safety

• invest in school safety to ensure a safe secure leaning environment for students.
• establish a school violence and crime electronic data reporting system.
• work to reduce absenteeism and truancy.

ENVIRONMENT

Clean Water

• encourage conservation of water taken from lakes or rivers for agricultural, industrial and domestic purposes.
• impose strict regulations on effluent producing industries.
• Develop and implement an on and off-stream fresh water storage plan.

Conservation

• recognize the value of parks to society and protect these areas from intrusive activities.
• require governments to meet responsible environmental standards in their procurement, recycling and construction operations.
• conserve Alberta’s environment and monitor environmental impacts with enforcement provisions while balancing economic development opportunities in the province’s future.

Energy

• invest in research for clean coal technology and provide tax incentives for capital investment.

Protection

• establish an environmental ombudsman for Alberta.
• require Ecological Impact Reports for all large projects. Projects in sensitive areas that use unproven technologies, or generate significant public concern will be a priority.

HEALTH CARE

Care of Patients

• enforce the five basic principles of the Canada Health Act which are: Public Administration,
  Comprehensiveness, Universality, Portability and Accessibility.
• provide coverage for authorized out of province medical treatment that is unavailable in Alberta.
• ensure the care of persons with a disability to ongoing access of medical benefits.
• develop a Medical Machinery and Equipment Plan that ensures existing medical diagnostic and care equipment is adequately staffed, fully utilized and properly maintained and that provides for future investments in new equipment and technology.
• establish and fund a fully independent Health Ombudsman in Alberta.
• fully fund and implement a mental health initiative.
• focus funding on patient care and reduce wasteful spending in the system.
• provide expanded home care and palliative care services to assist chronically and terminally ill patients with supportive home environments as an option to institutional care.

Delivery

• performance measures that are annually audited and publicly reported.
• build a unified, universal and cost-effective health services information network that will improve care and reduce long-term costs.
• give all citizens better access to their medical records and treatment histories.
• institute a Health Management System that rewards cost effective cost-saving administration by providing incentives to doctors, nurses and health care professionals.
• encourage and support innovations in the delivery of health care.
• alleviate pressure on emergency room services by expanding the funding for and the number of multi­disciplinary 24-hour-a-day community based health care centres.
• work with non-profit societies to develop an Intermediate and Long-Term Care Facilities Plan which will address the needs of our aging population including increasing capacity.
• establish a rural and remote health initiative to ensure Albertans get the care they need.
• implement legislation protecting the “conscience rights” of healthcare professionals.

Funding

• provide health care funding that will follow the service to the health care provider and approved facility of choice.
• increase funding for home care, supported housing, assisted living, long-term care facilities and palliative care hospices to provide less expensive and more patient-friendly alternatives to hospital care.
• reduce transportation and lodging costs for rural patients who receive treatment that is not locally available by developing a rural medical travel assistance program.
• ensure that patients living at home in palliative or long term care are entitled to the same pharmaceutical benefits they would have received as in a hospital.
• deliver an annual individual statement of benefits to each resident of Alberta.

Training

• expand training and post-secondary programs to graduate more Health Care professionals.
• develop and implement a retention and recruitment plan in full consultation with health care service providers.

Wellness

• institute a preventative health care and wellness program.
• increase funding for physical fitness and amateur sports.
• enhance efforts and funding to prevent drug and alcohol abuse and addiction.

JUSTICE

Courts

• institute a program where all sentences given in provincial court will be subject to a truth in sentencing provision..
• support the right of compensation from convicted persons to the victims of their crimes.
• introduce initiatives for Maintenance Enforcement to bring about improved compliance with maintenance and visitation orders.
• support legally enforceable arbitration between all parties in a legal dispute to settle non-criminal actions.
• all Albertans have access to legal representation and justice.

Policing

• expand the role of sheriffs to handle Provincial justice issues.
• ensure sufficient funding for municipal policing to allow for effective policing and protection of Alberta people.
• require young offenders to participate in crime prevention courses and other measures.

System Confidence

• work to ensure that the rights of crime victims take precedence over those found guilty of committing crimes.

SOCIAL

Equality

• recognize that all Albertans have equal rights, privileges and responsibilities.

Arts and Culture

• encourage and support through funding community projects and school programs for arts and cultural activities as an essential enrichment of life and integral part of Alberta's communities and cultural diversity.

Families

• implement educational activities to help the abused overcome the effects of abuse and to stop further abuse from abusers. Access to therapy will be provided where required.
• work with foster parents to help them improve the care and placements of foster children.
• enhance and increase the training, resources and authority of social service providers to properly protect children at risk and improve services to families.
• earmark a significant portion of the revenues generated from gambling for the rehabilitation of
  gambling addicts and for educational programs aimed at reducing gambling.
• collaborate with non-profit societies and commit funding for emergency residences for victims of
  violence.
• ensure people fleeing violent situations are provided with sufficient time and support including
  increased stays in transition houses as necessary.

First Nations

• create a permanent First Nations Forum to provide aboriginal citizens living on and off reserves direct communication with government about their priorities and ideas to materially improve their quality of life.
• devote special attention and resources to addressing the challenges and needs of aboriginal women and youth.

Responsibility

• support social responsibility within the framework of a free enterprise economic system and promote compassionate service, volunteerism, individual responsibility and care for those unable to care for themselves.

Social Assistance

• implement a timely and effective Social Assistance to work program.

Cruise lines cutting two more Alaska cruise ships

Vancouver's convenient little sideline business as "that place you stop at on the way to an Alaskan cruise" is going to be losing significant volume in the near future.

Holland America and Princess Cruises announced yesterday that each of them will be deploying one ship from Alaska to Europe for 2011. This in addition to cuts that four other cruise lines had already announced, resulting in a total annual reduction of close to 170,000 cruise visitors to the state by the time all is said and done.

An article in the Anchorage Daily News states that the cruise lines are blaming the cuts on new Alaskan taxes voted in in 2006. Whereas Alaskan tourism sources are skeptical, saying that passengers have been ok with paying the taxes and perhaps the cruise lines aren't being totally up front with their explanations.

Regardless, this situation is going to have repercussions for Vancouver. As in: when a substantial amount of your tourism is based on being "someplace on the way to another place", you really have minimal control over that part of your industry.

Over the past 35 years, B.C. has been one of the world leaders in terms of marketing its natural attributes to the worldwide tourism industry. However, we can be reasonably sure that much of the world has now caught up to B.C. in that regard and, in some cases, passed it.

Time now to create some new attributes.

What is going on with freedom of speech in Canada?

Recently I was interested to read an item questioning the quality of free speech in America in the People's Daily Online English edition from China.

The article is written by Rong Xiaoqing, a Chinese journalist based in New York, and reflects upon the fact that there are surprising limits to free speech in America, although U.S. journalists enjoy relatively strong freedom of speech rights, in comparison even to other other western countries, let alone China.

The author explains how people in a multitude of corporate and government situations are routinely muzzled and prevented from speaking to the press even on subjects unrelated to their jobs.

For example, he says: "In New York the 130,000 teachers in the public schools are not allowed to talk to reporters before getting approval from the Department of Education."

None of this comes as a surprise to Canadians. In fact most of us could come up with numerous examples of similar restrictions in our country. This may or may not be entirely acceptable in theory, or in law. In practice, a lot of people just tend to avoid rocking the boat when the rewards for doing so are doubtful and the potential consequences can be severe. They can also be insidious, lingering, cloaked or unexpected.

"Discretion is the better part of valor" - is not a clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Yes, "discretion is the better part of valor" is often a smart way to conduct oneself.

But, this folk saying does not describe the law of the land, nor is it a clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

A few things have got me pretty worried

1. I heard that Vancouver passed a by-law that you are not allowed to protest the Olympics. (or anything at all? or even put up a sign?)

2. I heard that Alberta is or was contemplating censorship of films critical of the Tar Sands.

3. I heard that the Stephen Harper government has abruptly canceled funding for Kairos, a Canadian human-rights organization, purportedly because its work doesn't meet current priorities of the Canadian International Development Organization. However many are speculating that Kairos' stand on certain issues such as Copenhagen and the Tar Sands is what got them into trouble.

4. I heard that the City of Montreal canceled a work of public art on Ile des Soeurs that had gone through a rigorous selection process and was already nearly completed, just because there was some vocal opposition (since when did irrational pretensions become valid qualifications for Joe citizen to influence public art space?) and supposed safety concerns. (apparently this artwork, entitled "Milieu Humide" or Wetlands is now on a reprieve, pending a study that will assess its safety)

"Milieu Humide"

5. I also saw an extremely worrisome report that indicated the Conservative government will be evaluating the political stance of all types of groups before doling out funding.

6. Local newspapers and many other sources of news are dying out. This is going to come to a head in the near future and it is democracy that stands to pay the price. School boards and various councils across the country are already operating without the presence of journalists. Sooner or later these politicians will feel the need to exclude journalists altogether.

All of these situations are worrisome. The Olympics issues are still playing out in Vancouver under quite a bit of exposure. In Alberta, a sizable chunk of the population spends so much time watching Faux News that they are still oblivious to the Tar Sands facts in front of their noses. Science funding tied to outcomes that the Reform Conservative government is interested in is becoming a major issue in Canada. And so forth.

My sense is there is a dangerous proliferation of attempts to unduly control what we think, say and do. Please be aware and do something about it if you can. Sometimes valor is the better part of discretion.

A Canadian vision for northern eco cities, wilderness education & sustainable technologies

The lack of Canadian action on the ecological front has been surprising. Behind the leadership of Stephen Harper, our government is charging headlong backwards into the coal age. Scattered initiatives are chipping away at our carbon footprint, with a project here and there but so far nothing has occurred to inspire Canadians with a hope that we will be leaders of a planet with a sustainable future. Meanwhile, the haunting shadow of the tar sands looms in the background, giving us all reason to worry just a little about the consequences of our lifestyles and our climate apathy.

Canada does have an admirable legacy of environmental action, notably nurturing such global forces as Greenpeace and Dr. David Suzuki. Most provinces are dabbling in alternative energy initiatives, but Canada is far from a leader in any of these areas. The one thing we do have is a certain level of awareness from coast to coast that is accentuated by the fact that one is always close to nature wherever you are in Canada. But the fact remains there are few, if any, landmark projects that would be capable of capturing the public's imagination.

Reflecting on this over the past few years, the one concept that keeps returning to mind is the idea of constructing a northern eco city. This is exactly the type of thing that could consolidate a Canadian vision of a sustainable future.

The project would consist of the construction of a complete city in the middle of an untracked wilderness, probably nearly untouched by humans at present. The idea from the outset would be to minimize any incremental effects of the human presence on the environment. The city would definitely include a university and technical schools. Power and heating would be by wind and geo-thermal. There would be accommodation for all sorts of experimental projects in agriculture, in urban development, design, communications, etc.

This project makes more sense the more one considers it. Firstly, at some point in time Canadians need to acknowledge that we are occupying 6.7% of the world's land mass, but only account for .5% of the population. As the population of the world expands, there will come a time when Canada's empty spaces will become coveted as living space for people living in impossibly crowded conditions elsewhere. Secondly, if we look at settlement patterns over previous centuries, it is obvious that most cities and populated areas have evolved near fertile agricultural zones. Already today, it can be assumed there is little or no particular need for a city to be located near fertile farmland. What has happened is that cities have just continued to spread out from their historical locations. So, with these two facts in mind, it makes a lot of sense to begin to explore the capacity of Canada's north to house population in a sustainable and successful way.

It so happens that the entire planet is just at the beginning of a transformation to green energy sources, so this whole idea can dovetail neatly with a northern eco city project. Overall, Canada could hope to realize a wealth of knowledge and expertise from this type of a project. On top of that, it could be expected to be a big tourist attraction and something that could inspire Canadians' passions and dreams from coast to coast.

As there is no such thing on the drawing boards at present, the assumption can be made that this is a project that needs to be kindled from the ground up. We are going to try to get it started with some art initiatives.

Could artists leverage Montreal conference centre's ambitions?

The new head hombre of Montreal's Palais des Congres wants to double the number of events held there over the next five years and increase the economic impact of its conferences and conventions for the Montreal area to $300 million per year.

According to an article in French in today's La Presse, the new President and CEO, Marc Tremblay, intends to attract major international events to Montreal by getting to know everything there is to know about the 6,500 congresses that exist on the face of the earth and by "making them offers they can't refuse." It looks to me like M. Tremblay is well on his way to a great start. It also looks to me like he and Canadian artists could be of much assistance to one another.


The Palais des Congres de Montreal with sculpture by Jean-Paul Riopelle, "La Joute" (The Joust") in the foreground.

Presently, the Palais des Congres already ranks first in Canada and third in North America in terms of number of international events held.

Tremblay expects to grow this, for one thing, by exploiting a specialization for Montreal in the the environmental and sustainable energy fields. Beginning with the world summit on climate change in 2005 Montreal has been establishing itself as a presence in this area. The 21st World Energy Congress will be held here in 2010, and the Eco City conference is slated for 2011.

Tremblay pitches the Palais as a super eco-friendly facility, in walking distance to thousands of hotel rooms, with direct access to Montreal's groundbreaking "Bixi" bike-borrowing service, and with a Metro station in the complex.

This all sounds great and good. And it looks like Tremblay is off to a high energy start, just a few weeks into his mandate.

I think that the Palais team has always had an adequate appreciation of the importance of art for a city in its efforts to maintain a really powerful international profile among conference planners and decision makers. Regardless, when we see that a Times U.K. online survey with 1.4 million responses fails to name Jean-Paul Riopelle among the top 200 artists of the 20th/21st Centuries, or any more than a mere one Canadian (Jeff Wall), then we can be sure that we are up against a little problem. Whereas, if we would find 5-10 Canadian artists in this list of 200 noted artists of our times, which would be normal to expect, then I think it would only stand to reason that the cultural influence of Canada and Montreal on attracting worldwide congresses would be that much stronger.

It could also be expected that all Canadian artists could benefit from corresponding raised profiles and international status in general, leading in turn to greater recognition for Canada as a cultural center to be reckoned with.

So, how can the Palais des Congres help Canadian artists? I acknowledge it will not be a simple job to increase the standing of Canadian artists in the international milieu and anything that a conference centre could possibly do would be of relatively small impact. Competition in the world of art, and amongst the cultural forces of countries, is fierce, just as it is in the business of conferences. So every little bit of help is needed and I see this as an issue of 'you scratch my back I scratch yours'.

And, it would certainly seem to be in the interest of the Palais des Congres and Marc Tremblay to include promotion of Canadian art as an important consideration together with each and every activity the Palais undertakes. So maybe there is some way to facilitate and develop this idea further.

Surprise, surprise - Canada's artists completely ignored in Times ratings

Not exactly the most up-to-date report in the world of art news, as this came out back in June. Worth mentioning though due to its pertinence for the subject of this blog. Again, a very depressing (if predictable) result for Canadian art. At the same time, maybe it will be useful in some small way for inciting our art establishment to some kind of more effective action than the status quo has been.

The results of the Times Top 200 Artists of the 20th Century to Now survey were announced June 8, 2009. The Times Online poll was taken in conjunction with Saatchi Online and all artists received over 1.4 million votes.

Riopelle doesn't even make the list

In this entire list of 200 artists, there is only one Canadian to my knowledge - that is Jeff Wall, in 116th place. No Riopelle, no Carr, no Jackson, and none of the ~below~. Admittedly, I'm not sure what the methodology of this survey was. There must have been a list that you could pick from - so how many Canadians were on that, I do not know. Anyway, the end result is yet another slap in the face for Canadian art.

The very existence of this list now goes on to further perpetuate the fallacy that Canadian art has no place on the world stage. The work of all Canadian artists is devalued and the way ahead for future artists wishing to climb the rungs of recognition is made that much more difficult.