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From the pen of
Robert Genn
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Robert Genn's twice weekly letter for insight and inspiration for your
artistic career.
May 9, 2008
"Heuristic (pronounced hyu-RIS-tik) comes from the Greek "heuriskein" meaning "to
discover." The heuristic process means achieving some desired
result by intelligent guesswork rather than by systematic formula.
Generally used in the fields of invention, computer science, psychology
and law, examples of its use would be "seat of the pants," and "trial
and error." Heuristic thinking generally results in reasonably
close solutions. The benefits are speed and expediency.
The daily act of creating art is full of it. Here's an example:
To choose the colour and tone value of the light part of the sky,
the colour chosen can be seen as correct only when the rest of
the colours around it are applied. Thus, when applying a sky early
on, an artist must make a heuristic decision to commit to an approximate
sky colour. The artist then has the choice of leaving it and remaining
true to the first guess, or modifying it, perhaps many times. Heuristics
can apply when artists are looking for both realistic and imaginary
truth.
Some media, such as oil or watercolour, require a deadly eye and
knowledgeable commitment. "Forgiving" media such as acrylic
and pastel are modified more readily. Here are a few ideas for
squeezing value from heuristics in any media:
Start anywhere.…"
Read the illustrated responses to the last letter: "Mickey
Mouse Bill".
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Peace of Mind
I recently received an e-mail regarding a member of the arts community
who had become ill, was no longer able to work and needed some financial
assistance. As I have done in the past, I sent a cheque to assist, though
I knew this was only a band-aid solution. In the e-mail it indicated
that the individual had no savings, no RRSPs, and no Disability Insurance.
Unfortunately this is not an uncommon story. I suspect that many readers
of this article are in need of reviewing their financial management strategy.
As I wrote the cheque I thought back to other cheques that I have written
in similar situations and decided it was time to spread the word to freelancers
about the importance of carrying Disability Insurance. To begin, I conducted
an unscientific survey, asking freelancers if they have disability insurance.
The good news was that the majority knew what Disability Insurance was;
the bad news was that the majority did not carry it.
I know that this is an old topic but clearly the message has not resonated
with its target. This is evidenced by the recent announcement in the
States that the Altman Family will be matching donations to support a
fund for members of the arts community who have been injured or fallen
ill.
Why didn’t the surveyed freelancers have coverage? One individual
seriously said, “I don’t require coverage because I am careful
at work”. Most indicated that they are covered by WSIB or the group
plan offered with their membership in an industry association. While
these are valuable to freelancers, WSIB only covers an individual when
they are injured on the job and many group plans only offer short-term
coverage.
Disability Insurance offers extended coverage and, most importantly,
covers you when you slip in front of a bus, fall ill, or, in the worst
case, have been diagnosed with an incurable disease.
After understanding the limitations of WSIB and group plans the next
reason given for not having coverage was the cost and hassle of signing
up. I did not have an answer for this so I enlisted the help of my Insurance
Broker to review various plans and find a financially viable option with
simple sign up procedures.
For those unaware, Disability Insurance is a form of insurance coverage
that provides a portion of income lost as the result of a total or partial
disability caused by either an accident or an illness. Who should carry
this insurance? Everyone. Who MUST carry this insurance? While it is
not the law, it is commonsense that all individuals who are freelance
and/or small business owners should carry disability insurance.
As noted, the reason many individuals in the arts community don’t
have disability insurance is because it is perceived to be expensive.
On average by investing approximately 3% of your annual income you can
protect almost 90% of your income. More importantly Disability Insurance
offers peace of mind, knowing that in the event that you are injured
or fall ill, your financial situation will remain relatively solvent.
As a small business owner, I am very aware of the cost of insurance and
the need for Disability Insurance. But I am also very aware of the cost
when an individual does not carry the necessary insurance and becomes
injured or is fallen by an illness. We are all human and tragedy can
strike at anytime. There are too many in the community who have ignored
the need for RRSP’s, life insurance, savings, and most importantly
Disability Insurance.
This article is only the first step in ensuring that I don’t have
to write any more cheques.
Step 2 - continue to spread the word about the importance of Disability
Insurance
Step 3 - offer assistance to those with questions
Step 4 - source a cost effective and hassle free disability insurance
plan
Step 5 - ensure that the curriculum in all Arts related programs includes
a course on the
financial responsibilities of the freelance community
Disability Insurance = Peace of Mind.
aidan cosgrave
J.S.T. Productions
jstproductions@bellnet.ca
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Carolyn Mark
Nothing Is Free
Mint Records, Inc.
This critic has been a fan of Carolyn Mark’s for awhile and has favourably
reviewed a few of her discs in the pages of this magazine. Her off-kilter humour
and witty way with a lyric are still in strong evidence on such tracks as The
1 That Got Away (With It), 1 Thing, or Pictures At 5 but as she moves through
this new disc there’s a new airiness and space in her songs that provides
ample room for them to breathe. She doesn’t seem as concerned filling
the spaces with a denseness as she did in the past...
–
By Barry Hammond.
Les Chauffeurs à Pieds
Au Studio Des Trois Lits
Scorbut Disques
This fifth disc from Les Chauffeurs is a bit of a retreat from the Quebecers’ genre-bending
earlier outings. For one thing, it’s all tunes. Songs, particularly chanson à répondre
and complaintes like Complainte de Joseph Trépanier, have been such
highlights in this band’s repertoire that to release a fully instrumental
recording at first seems a little odd. For another, there’s none of the
outsider instrumentation or exotic arrangements that cropped up in the band’s
earlier days. There’s a taste of Benoît Fortier’s French
horn, a banjo on Buck-reel de Cascapédia, but nothing particularly out
of the ordinary...
–
By Richard Thornley
Notre Dame de Grass
New Canada Road
Independent
It’s difficult not to listen to a band with the best monicker in the
Canadian bluegrass business, being named after the venerable Montreal neighbourhood,
Notre Dame de Grace. This 14-song disc starts where bluegrass bands fear to
tread, into Canadian nationalism. The title song, which laments the selling
out of our country to the Americans, could have been written by the Council
of Canadians, but at least the toilet paper’s cheap...
–
By Mike Sadava
North Sea Radio Orchestra
oof! Records
I first heard last year the NSRO on Stuart Maconie’s fabulous FreakZone
(Sundays on BBC 6 Music). With no domestic release in sight, I broke down and
ordered from amazon.co.uk. Been listening incessantly ever since. If you find
acoustic chamber folk pop too fay and aery, give this one a pass. However,
if you have any affection for the vocal qualities of Kate Bush, the arrangements
of Sufjan Stevens or the delicacy of the Penguin Café...
–
By Gallagher Parkinson
Cori Brewster
Large Bird Leaving
BRE
It’s been several years since Cori Brewster last released a disc. Parenthood
will gobble up time quickly like that. Those in that phase of life generally
return with a new-found appreciation for music and what it can mean. Brewster
has a sweet voice of positivity that lends itself well to the self-penned tracks
of life, love, time and discovery. Once dabbling in the Nashville country realm,
she has resurrected with a style less confining that allows her to slip in
and out of genres as they suit her mood...
–
By Chris Martin
more from Roddy Campbell at Penguin Eggs!
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Canadian Conference
of the Arts
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Ottawa, November 20, 2007
Ottawa, November 20, 2007CCA Bulletin 36/07 – Update on various
files
* The Government of Canada Launches a National Competition to Determine
the Location of the Future Portrait Gallery of Canada
* A New International Organization is Formed: the International Federation
of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD)
* The CCA Writes to the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry
* Good News for Festivals
* Federal Subsidies and Contribution Agreements: Where Do Things Stand?
The Government of Canada Launches a National Competition to Determine
the Location of the Future Portrait Gallery of Canada
On November 9, 2007, the Honourable Josée Verner, Minister of
Canadian Heritage and the Honourable Michael Fortier, Minister of Public
Works and Government Services, announced that the Government of Canada
was launching a Request for Proposals to determine where the future
Portrait Gallery of Canada will be built. This Request is addressed
to all public and private sector presenters in the following nine cities:
Halifax, Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa-Gatineau, Toronto, Winnipeg,
Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. These cities were selected because
they have large populations and efficient transit networks, and are
likely to attract foreign visitors.
This announcement clearly marks the death of the previous plan involving
the conversion of the former American embassy, across the street from
the Parliament Buildings, a plan on which over 11 million dollars has
already been spent. We note as well the aborted plan to build the Portrait
Gallery in Calgary, with funding from the private sector. The current
call for tenders marks a clear turning point in government policy concerning
national institutions, one already evident in last year’s announcement
of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, based as well
on the idea of partnerships between the government and the private
sector and of decentralization away from the National Capital. Ms.
Verner, expressed her desire to circulate the new Gallery’s collection,
so that as many Canadians as possible can see the faces which have
made their mark on Canadian history. This new policy direction is eliciting
both favourable and critical reaction.
The government hopes to make the announcement concerning the new site
of the Portrait Gallery of Canada next spring, which leaves little
time for presenters to find partners for such a project. According
to the government’s timeline, this new cultural installation
should welcome its first visitors during the 2011-2012 season.
A New International Organization is Formed: the International Federation
of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD)
On September 19, representatives of 37 national coalitions favouring
cultural diversity meeting in Seville, Spain, formed the International
Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD). The Federation
will take over from the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions
for Cultural Diversity (ILC-CCD), which has coordinated and provided
support for the work of various national groups since 2003, and has
liaised with UNESCO and with the International Network on Cultural
Policy (INCP).
Organized through the efforts of the Spanish Coalition, the founding
convention was an opportunity to set out the structure of the Federation.
A ten-person Board of Directors was chosen, chaired by Rasmane Ouedraogo,
president of the Burkina Faso Coalition. The Federation will be incorporated
in Canada, its headquarters will be in Montreal, and its Secretary
General will be Jim McKee, Executive Director of Canada’s Coalition
for Cultural Diversity. Solange Drouin, co-chair of the CCD, was elected
treasurer. The French Coalition will serve as the Federation’s
representative to UNESCO.
In the closing declaration of the Seville meeting, the representatives
of the participating coalitions set out the mandate of the new Federation.
For example, the IFCCD will support countries’ ratification of
the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of
Cultural Expressions, so as to reach the goal of ratification by 150
countries by 2010, in particular, by those countries from under-represented
areas (Asia, the Middle East, Africa). As well, the Federation will
support the creation of new national coalitions, and will work to speed
up the implementation of the Convention.
The CCA Writes to the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry
On October 29, the CCA sent a letter to the Honourable Jim Prentice,
Minister of Industry, urging him to use his discretionary powers to
assure that Statistics Canada’s Survey on Giving, Volunteering
and Participating be continued. This survey, conducted in its present
form since 2001, provides an indication of the dollar value of all
donations and of the time given by citizens to non-profit and charitable
organizations. The survey, and the budget associated with it, are now
at risk as a result of budgetary adjustments taking place at Statistics
Canada.
The CCA letter notes that the arts and cultural sectors provide a livelihood
for over 600 000 Canadians, many of whom work for non-profit organizations.
In many cases, these organizations are heavily dependent on the work
of volunteers and on income from donations. The information provided
by the Statistics Canada survey is, therefore, of great importance
to many organizations in the arts and cultural sectors (and in other
sectors), which rely on it as a yardstick to evaluate their fundraising
efforts among private donors, as well as their audience growth.
Good News for Festivals
On September 12, 2007, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honourable
Josée Verner, announced the creation of a new program called
Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage. This announcement fulfills
a commitment made in the 2007 federal budget to devote $30 million
a year over two years to local festivals and special events.
One of the strong points of this announcement is definitely the news
that $7 million from this program will be added to the budget of Arts
Presentation Canada, to provide support to professional arts and heritage
festivals. This funding will be gradually introduced, and will be fully
available in 2009-2010.
Federal Subsidies and Contribution Agreements: Where Do Things Stand?
Some may recall the recommendations made last winter to the federal
government by the Blue Ribbon Panel on Grants and Contributions
An implementation process for these recommendations has been established
under the direction of the Treasury Board, with representation from
concerned parties. Imagine Canada has formed a working group, which
meets every six weeks with government representatives. During a meeting
this past June attended by the CCA, the non-profit sector identified
three clear priorities, which were accepted by the Treasury Board:
* The gradual establishment of a multiyear funding scheme
* The establishment of a uniform implementation regime for all departments
* A commitment by the government to set measurable standards regarding
the handling of applications (e.g. standardized forms, time limits
for processing applications, verification requirements, etc.)
Given that the administration of many subsidy programs and contribution
agreements has been transferred to the provinces, the working group
formed by Imagine Canada will look at the need for provinces to take
measures similar to those being developed at the federal level. Significant
progress on this question should take place during 2008, and the CCA
will keep you informed of any major developments.
Publication of
Canadian
Conference of the Arts
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