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CAO Annual Report 2001 - 2002
PRESIDENT'S REPORTKeeping an eye on the arts in OttawaIn the boom years of the early 1980's the Council for the Arts in Ottawa was born of optimism. During its childhood there was much to explore – growing pains merely setting the stage for a rapidly maturing adolescence. Now a fully-grown adult, the CAO once again finds itself navigating a sea of optimism... while keeping an eye out for storm clouds. Let's take stock of the year just passed. Membership in CAO has soared in the last few years and there was a substantial increase in individual and group members last year. Communication with our membership has improved with more frequent newsletters, mailings, e-bulletins and Web site updates. Recently, members were surveyed about the CAO's strengths and improvements that could be made as well as the civic cultural issues that they want to see us address – response was gratifying. The Ottawa 20/20 summit in June 2001 embraced the arts as a cornerstone for future civic planning. Mayor Chiarelli has committed the City to a brighter cultural future. A municipal arts and heritage strategic plan should become a reality by the end of this year. The media is paying attention to arts issues as never before – and so are the people living here who are expecting an even better quality of life as the city grows. The Council for the Arts in Ottawa has been instrumental in pushing the arts community's interests to the forefront. Our cultural recommendations released last Spring have provoked informed discussion on the role of the arts in creating an identity for Ottawa that we can call our own. There's been action as well – we're already seeing progress on 80% of those recommendations. The CAO's follow-up 2002 Recommendations for the Cultural Sector in Ottawa focus on funding, facilities and arts incubation. These might be storm warnings. But we're lucky to have a diverse and energetic membership, a dedicated and talented Board of Directors, a hard-working and very knowledgeable staff, and funding agencies that have recognized the pivotal role of the CAO for two decades. I've been on the Board for six years now, the last two as Chair, and I've seen the CAO's influence expand tremendously. In its first 20 years, the Council for the Arts in Ottawa has lived up to its full potential as champion of the issues of its constituency... and is today ready as ever to overcome stormy weather. I will miss the excitement! Charles Reynolds EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORTIn the whirl of current activities and deadlines, the preparation of an Annual Report can seem to be just another administrative chore. But, as I reflect the previous year I can't help but feel a sense of accomplishment and gratitude to those who helped to make things happen over the past twelve months. With the addition of two staff positions we have developed a working team that is better prepared to respond to the services and programs offered to the members and the community. Zoë Ashby and Jean Fortier have helped with event organization, communications, programs and services and administrative tasks. Their patience, sense of humour and creative energies has made an important contribution to our successes this year. Interaction with artists and representatives of arts organizations takes place on a daily basis. The opinions and response from the members helps to shape our activities, and I encourage that ongoing interaction in the year ahead. The CAO worked with numerous partners to deliver a number of priority programs. A special thank you is due to the Gloucester Arts Council, CARFAC Ontario and the City of Ottawa. The CAO appreciates the ongoing support of our operational activities from the City of Ottawa and Ontario Arts Council. We are also fortunate to have The Ontario Trillium Foundation support of our Eye on the Arts Project. Volunteers continued to take an active role at both the program and leadership levels. Our organization is fortunate to have had the dedication and commitment of so many individuals. There are a number of exciting opportunities planned for the year ahead and the CAO is well positioned to build on the work of the past year. I would like to thank Charles Reynolds for his significant contribution to our organization and wish him all the best in his new endeavours. I expect that he will embark on new projects that will contribute to the vitality and development of Ottawa's cultural community. I look forward to our future collaborations. Peter Honeywell ADVOCACYThe goals for the past year's advocacy efforts were laid out in the CAO's State of the Arts Report, released in April 2001. It is encouraging to look back and see how much was accomplished. On the policy front, the City of Ottawa established a pilot funding framework for the 2002 arts grants program. The Smart Growth Summit held in June 2001, identified the arts as an essential component of our city's growth over the next 20 years. Plans are now underway to complete an Arts and Heritage Master Plan in conjunction with the development of the City of Ottawa Official Plan. The CAO has endorsed the Executive Director's role on the City of Ottawa's Arts Advisory Committee. The Arts Advisory Committee plays an important role in bringing issues directly to the attention of City Council. The $500,000 increase to the City of Ottawa arts grants program, that was introduced as a one-time allocation in 2001, was maintained in 2002 and secured as part of the base budget. There was a significant increase in applications for funding and additional funds were not included this year. The City of Ottawa must address this issue in the year ahead. There was some progress on addressing the shortage of arts facilities. The City supported a contribution toward a rehearsal hall/black box theatre as part of the Centrepointe Theatre development, the east end cultural facility received support for a feasibility study and discussion is underway for the inclusion of a significant cultural component as part of the new central library development. Mayor Bob Chiarelli has repeatedly stated his support for developing opportunities for the local arts community. He has spearheaded a number of opportunities for increased business support, arts marketing and promotion. His leadership is most welcome and the CAO looks forward to playing a part in some of the future initiatives. The CAO recently released our 2002 Recommendations for Culture in Ottawa. In the next few months, the City of Ottawa in partnership with the arts community, will create a vision for culture and establish an arts and heritage master plan. A number of priority items have been identified and we will work to ensure that they are addressed. Peter Honeywell, Chair, Advocacy Committee OUTREACHNumerous Outreach priorities were addressed this year including; an enhanced CAO Web site, newsletter production, workshops and our annual awards programs. A survey of members' needs and opinions was conducted and helped to focus our services. Communications highlights in the past year include;
Workshops and arts education events involved a number of partners and touched on a diverse range of topics.
The annual awards programs involved presentation to the following recipients;
Our sincere thanks goes to the numerous partners and individuals who contributed to our activities this year. We have a number of initiatives planned for the coming year and welcome your input and participation. Jane Sadler and Eric Costen, Co-chairs MEMBERSHIPThe Committee is pleased to report on another successful year of activity. For the second year in a row our membership targets have been surpassed. In the past year we have shown an increase in membership of 20%. Many new members recognized the value of our membership benefits including the complementary distribution of members' brochures and flyers in our Mailouts use of the Micaela Fitch Room for meetings and workshops and provision of timely communications. Although CAO members favour our print materials, our e-news is an efficient way to get news out between our Mailouts. Almost 75% of our members are able to receive information from us via e-mail. Please continue to update us on your new e-mail addresses. October 18, 2001 marked our 2nd Annual Members' Open House. We would like to thank all the members who attended this event and invite all members to join us for this year's Members Open House that will take place on December 3 during our 2nd Annual Holiday Wreath Silent Auction. A year ago we pledged to distribute a survey of our members. This was conducted in December. The CAO thanks all members who responded to our questions and gave valuable feedback. The results have been shared with our members in our May Circular. Workshops have already been held in response to our feedback and plans are underway to address other concerns that were brought to our attention. A new membership category was established this year. For group members with annual budgets of more than $1,000,000 the dues are now set at $150.00. For renewing groups the new dues amount will come into effect upon the group's annual renewal. Membership cards printed with the CAO's new letterhead design were issued to all paid up members at the beginning of this year. All renewing members have been receiving membership cards upon payment of their annual dues. FUNDRAISINGThe Committee organized three major events during the past year. The sold out Mayor's Sweetheart Luncheon on February 14, celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Council for the Arts in Ottawa. To help us acknowledge our history and our future, former Mayor Marion Dewar emceed the event. The donation by the Canadian Museum of Nature for the beautiful Salon, the delicious meal catered by Thyme and Again, and the classical music by Mary Pat Cumming, Patricia Hiemstra, Evelyn Osborne and Sarah Ross, all contributed to the energetic and positive atmosphere. The Committee wishes to thank Mayor Bob Chiarelli for hosting the Luncheon, as well as the participating artists: Robin Baker, Mary Faught, Penelope Kokkinos, Daniela Oey, Susie Osler, and Diane Smith. Thanks also go to all who generously donated to our Balloon Draw. There were fourteen media mentions including the Ottawa Citizen, Rogers Cable, CBC TV, CJOH TV, and CFRA which covered the Luncheon and community support for the arts. The Committee is pleased that the net receipts exceeded those of last year. The Committee participated in a partnership with Making Scenes to produce a Hallowe'en Party on October 31, 2001. The Committee worked hard to ensure that a fun time would be had by all and it was a great party. The only disappointment was the low turnout. We assessed the possible reasons for this and will not pursue this event in 2002. A new and successful Holiday Wreath Silent Auction took place December 4 and 5, 2001. Artists, embassies, businesses, and members were invited to design and produce holiday wreaths. These were on display in the Micaela Fitch Boardroom. A closing reception was held on the evening of December 5. The unique submissions helped to create a warm and inviting atmosphere, generated great interest and all were sold. This first annual event raised $2,000 for the CAO and we look forward to organizing another successful holiday event this upcoming December 3 and 4, 2002. Many thanks go to all the volunteers who helped us during a very busy year. All volunteers will be invited to a Volunteer Recognition Reception to be held in the Micaela Fitch Boardroom, October 8, 2002. The Committee which included Zoë Ashby, Shuh-Kuen Chen, Jean Fortier, Peter Honeywell, Marie Keasey, Karen Murray, Victoria Steele and Shebah Tatz meet about once a month and welcome any interested members to join them. Zoë Ashby & Marie Keasey, Co-Chairs
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