Despite an overall trim to arts and culture spending, St. Albert’s Arts and Heritage Foundation (AHF) is breathing a sigh of relief in the realization the cuts could have been worse.
Alberta’s arts sector will receive $284 million this year, down eight per cent from a year ago. Despite the funding reduction, Alberta Culture and Community Spirit Minister Lindsay Blackett defended the budgeted amount, calling it “a considerable amount” for the arts, including a one-time $30-million grant infusion for Alberta capital projects.
“While the 2010/11 budget has to face current economic realities,” Blackett said in a press release, “we will not lose the momentum that we have created in helping develop, foster and showcase our culture and community spirit.”
For the AHF, the funding cuts do not pose a reason to break into a sweat. Executive director Paul Moulton said the culture sector is no stranger to belt-tightening.
“The cultural sector did very well,” Moulton said. “There will be some modest cuts required but I think that the program dollars, by and large, are remaining as they were and the minister is looking to make cuts in operating areas.”
“I’m pretty pleased. I think that what the minister is saying in the cultural sector in terms of the dollars available for CFEP [Community Facility Enhancement Program] and CIP [Community Initiatives Program] and other programs and so on … is that the operating impact on the cultural sector will be really very slight.”
Moulton added the AHF is optimistic that the funding it receives from the provincial government will not change.
Alexandra Hatcher, former director at the Musée Héritage Museum and recently appointed head of the Alberta Museums Association has greater worries, however. Her organization performs a variety of services for museums and receives funding through the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation (AHRF) under Culture and Community Spirit.
AHRF saw a 16 per cent funding cut to $8 million in the current budget. Hatcher says this shortfall will soon have an effect on her organization.
“We’re working with AHRF to figure out exactly what that means to us,” Hatcher said, adding meetings have been scheduled for next week to figure out the exact details.
For Alberta museums, there’s a lot on the line. “Our concern right now is that it will affect our funding programs for the museums in the community.”
Hatcher noted funding cuts to programs like CIP, the Community Spirit Donation Grant, and Heritage Preservation and Awareness also pose a threat to localized cultural organizations.
“All of the programs that museums have access to — funding from the provincial level — all of them were reduced, so that is obviously going to impact the museum community.”
Hatcher added the association will continue to work with the government to do the best job possible with the resources available.
