Arts & Culture with ACE

Resolved for 2012

2012-01-24T15:52:00.002-07:00

This past December I threw down the gauntlet and challenged our province’s grassroots community leaders to make a community building resolution. The idea was to supplant the traditional New Year’s resolution that mainly focused on inwards, personal goals… to go to the gym, eat better, and be a better person… with one that turned outwards.

Sure, I admit, these are all important personal resolutions but what would happen, I wondered, if Albertans got together and committed instead to making their communities better as a whole?

Well, first I decided, that I better get walking the talk and talking the walk, so as part of my own community building resolution, I hit the street and had real, invested conversations with my particular spheres of influence. The result? Engaging conversations with my neighbours, my teammates on my tackle football team, and the spectacular ladies who volunteer with me. I found that I paused more frequently to really listen about their passions, to learn from their wisdom, and to celebrate the unique qualities that they all brought into my life.

And what was reaffirmed for me by this process? To truly build community, you must put genuine effort into first building relationships.

With this enlightenment in mind, I decided to throw the concept of a ‘2012 Community Building Resolution’ out in to the world in the form of an ACE webinar and see what riches it might bring. The idea: to provide a welcoming venue that would enable community builders from across the province to connect with each other and share their stories. After all, once we plunge back into the new year, the last thing often on our minds is to stop and reflect on the road ahead.

And, like they said in the iconic feel good movie, Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.”

Much to my delight, representatives from around fifteen different communities attended the ACE resolutions webinar. People signed on from Leduc, and Didsbury, Longview, and as north as High Level. We heard voices from Okotoks, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Bon Accord, and Fort MacLeod. There was even one lone participant from Ontario (who impishly kept bragging about her sunny weather and lack of snow).

Interestingly enough, there were some common themes that appeared as the conversations rolled out. If you ever wanted to check the pulse of rural Alberta, then here it is. Common goals for 2012 were:

• Awareness of affordable and/or free recreation opportunities
• Increased community engagement
• The creation of partnerships and true collaboration with community groups
• Promotion of the arts, culture & heritage
• Engagement with more with marginalized populations
• Engagement with youth but also with ALL age groups in a more productive way
• To help people with disabilities be active in their communities

And a HUGE overarching theme… Down with silos – it’s time to work together to improve our quality of life in a holistic way!

Or, as Brenda Herchmer (the Director of ACE Communities) likes to put it: “It’s the perfect time that Alberta embraces ACE Communities as a methodology for comprehensive community transformation.” Hurrah!

I’ve always been a fan of the idea that the knowledge is in the group. All the great ideas that I have experienced have reflected the power of many minds. These ideas are always far richer and more complex than one we come up with by ourselves. So while, I’m not sure what all of these community builders will do to get to their goals, I truly look forward to the conversations that happen as they try.

Anything to add to this list of goals for rural Alberta? I’d love to hear from you.

What's Your 2012 Community Building Resolution?

2011-12-15T14:11:00.002-07:00

For the New Year, many of us are inclined to make personal resolutions… to exercise more, to eat better, to spend more time with our loved ones. That is definitely my modus operandi! For 5 years now, the New Year rolls in and I, once again, vow to kick my pastry habit. The result? Another year of me pigging out shamelessly (and I really mean shamelessly) on pastries.

Sigh.

So, for 2012, I’m vowing to make a new kind of resolution – wipe the slate clean and start afresh. Only this time, my resolution will be one that affects my community. It’s my very own 2012 ‘Community Building Resolution’ challenge!

After all, in the bigger scheme of things, no one but me (and my thighs!) is really affected if I utterly fail on my bid to make 2012 pastry-free. However, if I fail on my resolution to make my community better, we all lose out. Imagine, though, if I hold true to my commitment to improve my community – no matter how small that change might be – do you think that my little piece of the world will be better for it? Absolutely!

And so – here I go… throwing it out into the universe…my community resolution for 2012 is: to have more meaningful, courageous conversations with the people who live around me. And I mean REAL conversations!

This resolution was inspired by a chat that I had recently with older gentleman named Herman as I was out walking my dogs. Herman happens to live exactly one block away from me on the same side of the street. I’ve often paused in front of Herman’s house (mainly to let my bassets have a good chance for a sniff) and wistfully speculated on who my doppelganger might be if I lived at number 1417 instead of number 1317.

During one of these recent pauses, Herman happened to be out in his yard and we got to chatting. Turns out that Herman is a widower, with just a small extended family left in Calgary, who was a pet owner too but lost both his dogs to what he phrased as a malady of old age… death! I liked Herman instantly. I figure I might pop by Herman’s with some Christmas cookies this year to pass on some holiday cheer and offer some company. I think that if I do, my little piece of the world will be better for it.

Imagine now if others in my little neighbourhood decided to also make a small but positive change in their community. If say… my neighbour does the same as does their neighbour, and their neighbour, and their neighbour, and their neighbour. Before we knew it, we would have a place where you’d want to set down roots, raise your children, and walk your dogs.

So I’m throwing this out to all of you…make a resolution this year that will help make your community better - consider this your 2012 ‘Community Building Resolution’ challenge!

You can even join me later as I host an online conversation on January 18th aimed at those interested in sharing ideas about how to positively affect the quality of life in their communities. I’d be interested to hear about what positive change you plan to make in the lives of those around you.

Aboriginal Arts, Culture, and Heritage Grants

2011-12-05T14:49:00.006-07:00

Just recently, my colleague Brenda Herchmer, Director of ACE Communities, and myself facilitated a session on the “The Power and the Promise of Recreation in Aboriginal Communities" at the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association’s 2011 Conference in October. As I was typing up the notes recently for the session, I started making a list of arts, culture, and heritage-based resources that I could share with the group of participants.

As I sat plunking away on my keyboard, it occurred to me that it might be useful to also post these resources in my blog as a way of getting the word out there about these aboriginal-related grants. Many of these programs aren’t utilized to their fullest so I figured… let’s charge into the New Year and tap into these great resources! Or, at least, spread the word to those who might be interested in applying.

Take note: most of these aren’t due right now with the exception of the ASRPWF '2012-2013 Healthy Living Fund' which is due December 23rd.

So spread the word and let’s start funneling these resources into our Aboriginal communities!

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The Alberta Foundation for the Arts

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) has a commitment to supporting the growth and development of Aboriginal arts in Alberta. There are two grant streams and one program that specifically benefit Alberta First Nations, Métis and Inuit populations.

Aboriginal Traditional Arts Individual Project Grant Stream

Aboriginal Arts Organizations Project Grant Stream

Click here for more info on these grants or contact the AFA at 780-427-9968.

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Alberta’s Future Leaders Program - Arts Camps

The Arts Camps program partners the Alberta Foundation for the Arts with the Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks, and Wildlife Foundation (ASRPWF) in providing an arts component to the Alberta’s Future Leaders (AFL) Program.

This program is based on the development of partnerships between communities, private enterprise, non-profit organizations and government agencies. These partnerships share the belief that sport and recreation can be used as prevention and intervention initiatives to address the needs of Alberta's indigenous youth.

Arts mentors are hired to form an arts team to plan and develop a range of arts activities. Each arts team member is then placed in a designated community for the summer, working alongside other AFL summer youth workers. The program runs from May 1 to August 31 each year. The number of participating communities varies, but there are usually a dozen communities involved in the AFL program each year.

The arts component provides opportunities for young people to experience and develop their creative abilities. The arts youth workers act as mentors, helping the participants to express themselves through a variety of performing and visual arts activities. Young people are encouraged to get in touch with their individual creative energies and abilities, and thereby learn new skills, develop strength, build self-esteem and self-confidence that can be used throughout their lives.

Arts activities include performing arts such as mime, acting, storytelling, dance and music as well as mask and puppet making. Visual arts workshops include painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, collage, clay, photography and crafts.

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Elder/Youth Legacy Program: Support for Aboriginal Artistic Practices

Since the Canada Council created the Aboriginal Peoples Collaborative Exchange program, more people have been asking how to obtain funds for two underserved segments of the Aboriginal arts community: the Elders (senior artists) and the youth (ages 15-25).

The Canada Council has realized that Aboriginal Elders and youth—the two segments of the community involved in passing on art practices—have not been regularly applying for arts funding. Many of the Elders (senior artists) found the paperwork cumbersome, and the youth of the communities were ineligible because of their age.

The Elder/Youth Legacy program solves this by offering program funding to Aboriginal organizations that wish to work with these two groups on a project basis. This program is not limited to traditional art forms—it encompasses all forms of the arts.

First, the organization will choose the Elder who will work with their youth. That Elder will then help to decide the number of young people he or she will work with, and will help to select them.

Due: 15 May and 15 November

Further Information
Noël Habel,

Program Officer Aboriginal Arts Office 

Canada Council for the Arts 
t: 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 4178 or 4222

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ASRPWF 2012-2013 Healthy Living Fund - Active Living

In 2012-13 the ASRPWF will support projects that address conditions/ factors that support physical activity, as well as contribute to achieving targets aimed at increasing the proportion of Albertans who are physically active. Currently there is an emphasis on projects that address physical activity targets for children and youth.  

Priority areas for project funding consideration include:
-Integrated approaches and collaboration
-Awareness and education
-Innovative demonstration projects with a physical activity focus
-Research that informs practice
-Improved access and reduced barriers to physical activity opportunities
-Active transportation
-After school time period
-Children and Nature Activities

Eligible applicants (Provincial not-for-profit groups, First Nations, Metis Settlements, and Municipalities), are invited to submit ONE application for consideration, noting that funding is available for projects lasting approximately one year in duration, April 1, 2012 - March 31, 2013.

Complete applications must be postmarked on or before December 23, 2011 and sent to the address on the application. Respondents will be notified by March 5, 2012 with final approval pending approval of the Foundation budget.

For more information contact:

 Chris Szabo
 Recreation Consultant
 t:780-415-0276 (toll-free in Alberta at 310-0000)
 e:chris.szabo@gov.ab.ca

I'm only one...

2011-11-23T14:46:00.001-07:00

I’m not going to lie… it all looked a little dubious. A designated meeting point on the side of the highway, calls back and forth as the meeting point changed, the furtive exchange of mysterious blue box, and a quick getaway. If the RCMP were monitoring us, things could have went a wee bit pear-shaped, if you know what I mean.

This was how the latest ACE Communities Ignite tour kicked off in Alberta a few weeks ago. Representing the official launch of our newest group of ACE Communities, Carstairs, Grande Cache, Jasper, and Rocky Mountain House are now on their collective way to becoming more diversity friendly.

The dubious ‘goods exchange’ mentioned above was put into motion by the request of one of our ACE leaders in Jasper. He was looking to get some homemade perogies from a contact in Edmonton to Jasper for an event happening as part of their Ignite activities and we happened to be the area at the opportune time.

When I emailed Ian Hill, our ACE Ambassador and official Igniter (who was soon to be on the road with me for the launch of the new ACE Communities), about his thoughts on our potential perogy sting operation, he replied: “that which I can do, I ought to do”.

Ian’s reply was, for those not familiar with the quote, an excerpt from a famous Helen Keller poem:

I am only one, but I am one.
I cannot do everything but I can do something.  
That which I can do, I ought to do.  
That which I ought to do, I will.
 ~Helen Keller

I first learned of this poem while traveling with Ian on various ACE Ignite Tours. Ian often discusses it as part of the ‘ignite’ speeches that he delivers during the community rallies which accompany the presentations of each community’s ACE award. And you know, the more times I hear it and really think about its meaning, the more apropos I feel it is to building community in rural Alberta.

Let’s take this last Ignite tour as an example. In the course of four days, I saw amazing examples of how individuals took it upon themselves to make an impact in the quality of life in their community.

I am only one, but I am one.  

I saw a courageous conversation where a citizen voiced her distress and upset to a local town councilor at the town’s lack of empathy when dealing with a group of volunteers. I admired her bravery at speaking up and was then moved by the councilor’s immediate promise to personally speak to those negatively affected by the town’s actions and start mending fences. Imagine how much good will that one councilor will garner for that community if he does as he promises and continues with those courageous conversations.

I cannot do everything but I can do something.  

I saw one shy, introverted ACE leader throw down the gauntlet and personally contact numerous members of her community in a deep and personal way – inviting them out to help build their community together. Man… did she shine and you know what happened, they all came. The Mayor, town councilors, school trustees, moms with their kids, social services, non-profits, youth, and newcomers to the community… they all showed up to see how they could contribute to making their town better together.

That which I can do, I ought to do.  

I saw how one small group of ACE leaders decide that their youth needed to hear about how important they were to the community so they brought Ian and the messages of ACE to their local junior high school. There almost 100 youth were called to action, reminded of their worth and of their potential. One adult in attendance told us after that is was “a life altering experience” and that she wished that someone told her how valuable she was to the community when she was a child.

That which I ought to do, I will.

I saw in one community that one person can bring together over 500 others, from all different backgrounds and places, to come together and break bread under one roof. This was where the perogies came in, of course (in case you were wondering). This gathering reminded me that people are just waiting for a reason to come out and celebrate their community, all is takes is even just one person to ask.

So what is it that you ought to do in your community to make it better? Sure, as Keller said, you can’t do everything but you can do something. I’d be interested to hear just what that something is.

Click here to see images of the latest ACE Communities Ignite tour.

Volunteer... the opportunity is out there!

2011-10-07T12:39:00.004-06:00

I seem to be doing a lot of volunteering lately. And it’s not for the same organization or even for the same cause for that matter. Instead, my volunteer commitments seem to be all over the place. Heck, I even have my basset hound Cleo volunteering! And just as I was starting to think that I had some rare form of volunteer schizophrenia, I bumped into someone who told me that what I had, in fact, was a clear case of modern day 3-tiered volunteerism.

Apparently, volunteering is not just volunteering anymore. Many people now have a multi-layered approach, much like many work strategies, to determine just who and what is lucky enough to benefit from their gift of talent and time.

To use myself as a case in point… I actually am personally committed to three different types of volunteer activities.

Type one: professionally driven. This first type of volunteerism is quite common in many fields but seems to be especially prevalent in my professional field of expertise – the arts. While many of those who do volunteer in the arts do it to follow a passion, many of us also volunteer to gain experience, make contacts, and make some sort of lasting professional impact in their local art scene.

Currently, I am sitting on a volunteer advisory committee formed around the creation of a new collaborative arts building in Calgary. Why? Because I think that Calgary, its artists, and its arts scene will benefit from such a building and so I feel compelled to be involved. It’s kinda fun but more like… well, work but I know that the overall benefits for my community of practice will be HUGE so I stay committed.

Type two: do I have to? The second kind of volunteering that has been taking up my time lately (the most common and often most dreaded form of volunteerism) is in the infamous ‘volun-told’ category. This is when your volunteer activity is mandated as part-and-parcel of your involvement with an organization. Often this can be in lieu of paying fees or meant to help do something practical like raising funds for travel or sports equipment. Parents… think working bingos, selling Girl Guide cookies or endless bottle drives….

Right now I happen to be helping out my women’s tackle football team raise money for new equipment and fees by ushering at the occasional Stampeders games. Is it fun? Well, kinda. Again, it’s a bit more like work but I will really appreciate the new gear when my team hits the field next year and so I stay committed. Plus, these ‘volun-told’ events are great for team bonding and character building in the face adversity. If you have ever experienced the late night shift on a Friday as part of a casino volunteer gig or a drunken football fan of a team on a losing streak, you know what I mean!

Type three: follow your passion! And then there is the third kind of volunteerism, the best kind of them all, in fact. This is the kind where you are given the opportunity to follow your passion and make a real difference in some sphere of the world (no matter how large or small that sphere might be!).

I was reminded recently of this inspiring form of volunteerism by a co-worker named Rose. Rose recently told me a story of how she really connected with a fellow volunteer while out with the Communities in Bloom initiative. “We’re like twins,” she said. “It’s like we’ve known each other forever!”

I find that it is this kind of volunteerism that draws you naturally to your cluster – to a place where people share your passions, your values, and even your sense of humour. My volunteerism happy cluster is as part of a volunteer-run basset hound rescue. I can honestly say that I really like the people that I work with. They are people that I would happily meet for coffee or hang out with outside of our volunteer gig. We are out in the world together saving one basset hound at a time! We are connected.

Now don’t get me wrong, each type of the abovementioned volunteerism is as important and as valid. I think, like with work and life balance, it is important to have it in your volunteering life as well. The most important point, however, is to get out there and see what appeals to you. Follow your passion, improve your work skills, or make those extra bucks for your team. Every little bit makes a huge impact for those who need your time and your talent.

How do you approach volunteerism?

What are you doing for Alberta Arts Days?

2011-09-19T11:10:00.003-06:00

On October 1, I am heading south to Longview to help out with their “Night of Foolishness”. This event, being held in conjunction with the Alberta Arts Days, will be a celebration of local talent including a cowboy poet, a revised rendition of an old Joplin tune as well as a showcase of the musicians from the surrounding area. Now… how cool does this sound? I mean, seriously!

Longview is just one of over 70 communities (if not more!) participating in this year’s Alberta Arts Days. The Alberta Arts Days, taking place from September 30 – October 2, is an annual celebration of our culture, heritage, artistic diversity and provincial pride.

And why not celebrate our culture, heritage, and artistic diversity? Studies show, in fact, that arts, culture, and heritage-related activities are:

•Essential to personal health – active living is a key determinant of health status
•Key to balanced human development and helping us reach our potential
•Essential to quality of life and place
•Reduces self-destructive and anti-social behaviour
•Builds strong families and healthy communities
•Reduces health care, social services, and police costs
•Significant economic generators in our communities

*Click on the National Benefits HUB for evidence of the above.

And the Government of Alberta seems to be taking this seriously. This year, in an effort to stimulate community involvement, the Government of Alberta increased the number of grants that designated Alberta Arts Days Celebration Sites.

These sites work with local community groups, artists and arts organizations to present family-friendly activities, workshops and performances during the Alberta Arts Days weekend. This year, five organizations have received Feature Celebration Site status and 64 organizations (a majority of them in rural communities) have received Host Celebration Site status. Click here to see a list of these sites.

Last year, thousands of Albertans discovered, experienced and celebrated our unique culture, heritage, artistic diversity and provincial pride through 682 events in 91 communities throughout the province. The Alberta Arts Days this year will continue to showcase the province's artists, arts organizations and cultural industries, while encouraging Albertans to discover the important role the arts plays in developing a prosperous, vibrant society.

So if you’d like to see what is happening in your community see this link!

And it just so happens that Longview is one of the Alberta Arts Days new Host Celebration sites and I can’t wait to see how it all works out. So, if you happen to be down Longview’s way, come join me for a celebration of the arts in rural Alberta!

Sports Day in Canada

2011-09-13T12:16:00.005-06:00

"Sport has the power to reduce crime, foster character and citizenship, introduce newcomers to their communities, stimulate the local economy, provide adult mentorship for young people, teach kids important life lessons and strengthen community connectedness.”

This statement is from the ‘Sports Day in Canada’ website. Did you know that Saturday, September 17th is our nation’s national sports day?

As a child and as a youth, I was quite heavily involved in organized sports. I hated peewee baseball, played volleyball and basketball in high school, and eventually banned golf from my life (much to the horror – and constant disappointment - of my golf-addicted father). Heck - I even tried curling! It was only recently, however, as an adult that I returned to an organized sport.

This year, I took a huge leap and joined the Calgary Rage – Calgary’s all women, full contact, tackle football team. Who knew I would even have the gumption! For five months, I braved the injuries, the fear of learning something new and looking silly, and the sheer ferociousness of the sport because, in the end, I was looking for something.

And it was on the football field that I found it. There I found a new community. I found a group of people with infectious passion for a game that I slowly beginning to love myself. I found the courage to push myself to new limits and the ability to wrap my brain around a whole new physical vocabulary.

But what I found, ultimately, was the most important thing of all – I found a renewed love of playing sports.

Sports Day in Canada celebrates this true power of sport. From grassroots to high-performance levels, in communities across Canada, September 17th caps off a week of thousands of local sporting events and activities, open houses and try-it days showcasing sport at all levels, and includes a special television broadcast on CBC Sports.

This day is presented by CBC Sports, ParticipACTION and True Sport and is guided by a committee of national sporting organizations and their networks of coaches, athletes and enthusiasts across the country. It's an opportunity for all Canadians to celebrate the power of sport to build community, fortify our national spirit and facilitate healthy, active living.

In the week leading up to, and including, September 17, thousands of organizations across Canada will throw open their doors to celebrate sport at the local level, and help build momentum for Sports Day. On the ground in communities across the country, sport organizations and providers will hold a blitz of Sports Day in Canada events, with festivals, open houses, games, competitions, meet-and-greets, try-it days, tournaments, fun runs, spectator events and pep rallies that celebrate sport at all levels.

Organizations can create something new, or throw open their doors to something they're already doing--and invite Canadians to lace up and join them. Wherever possible, elite athletes, celebrities, politicians, Paralympians and Olympians will be making special appearances at Sports Day in Canada events in communities across the country.

So I ask you, how will you get out there and celebrate your potential? If I can learn how to tackle a running back, get into a 3-point defensive stance (albeit very badly!), and take down an opponent on a kick return, what can you do?

To find out what’s happening community, click here! And let me know how it all turns out….

To build a barn...

2011-08-23T17:08:00.001-06:00

Just recently, I found myself on a Saskatchewan highway, heading back to the tiny, rural village where both my parents grew up. It was my baba Naclia’s 90^th birthday and I was making the 9-hour trip just to be there to celebrate with her and my extended family.

This little prairie village called Norquay was where I spent most of my childhood summers. I would run amuck in the large community garden behind my grandparent’s home in the town, listening as they spoke Ukrainian to their neighbours and marveling at how easy this exotic language rolled off their tongues.

Both sides of my family immigrated to Canada from the Ukraine. My dad’s theory is that a little impoverished village in the ‘old country’ simply picked itself up, got on a boat, and relocated to the prairies in Canada. This was my parent’s hometown.

I remember, as a young child, pestering my baba (which means grandmother in Ukrainian) until she would tell me stories about the trials and hardships her family experienced when they first came to Canada. She had tried to explain her experiences to me but I never really understood. My world was too soft and too easy and I was too young to make the leap.

Often when I speak now to people about ACE Communities initiatives, I refer to them as ‘barn raisers’. When I use this term, I back it up by using an example from my family’s life. It was my baba (on my mother’s side) who told me about the importance of community when she was young. There are many romantic stories of the homesteaders on the prairies that gloss over the challenges that they truly faced.

“When my parents landed in Canada,” she once told me, “there were no prairies, only forest. People always talk about how the prairies in Saskatchewan go on forever but the only reason they do is because we pulled the trees out with our bare hands. Can you imagine?”

I couldn’t imagine it at all.

The homesteaders were under a lot of pressure in those days to keep their ‘free’ land. Government obligations had to be met. This meant that acres of trees had to be cleared and that each family had to have an actual house built before the first year on their homestead was up.

And so, it was then that community not only meant the companies of others, it meant survival of both individual families and of the town itself. One neighbour helped build his neighbour’s barn and house and so their land was helped cleared in return. Connectivity was how they survived the initial harshness of their new life together in Canada.

I’m reminded of this community spirit whenever I return to my parent’s hometown. I’m reminded of how too often we wait for tragedy to strike before we unite as a community. Instead, as a child in my grandparents’ village, community came together to cook together in the town hall for a young couple’s wedding. They came together to harvest the autumn crops. And, of course, they often came together to build the occasional barn.

So tell me, what ‘barn raiser’ can you plan for your community?

What football taught me about community

2011-07-22T16:15:00.006-06:00

Earlier this year, I decided to take the plunge and join an organized sport. Up until this point, many of my recreational ‘sporting’ activities have had a wee bit of lone wolf edge – like running and boxing, for example.

Recently, however, I found myself yearning for more of a community. I don’t know if it’s an age thing. If, instead of being compelled to nest like most women my age, I had the urge instead to cluster. I found myself wanting to spend some of my free time with like-minded ladies looking to challenge themselves and – hey – kick some butt doing it!

So I joined a full tackle woman’s football team called the Calgary Rage. Bet you didn’t see that one coming? And to be honest, neither did I! A friend from my boxing class asked me one day if I wanted to try out and I said: “why not!” And the rest, as they say, is history in the making.

What I realized quite quickly was that there was nothing like playing tackle football to take you out of your comfort zone, scare the living pants off of you, and make you bond instantly with a complete group of strangers. It was hard, it was exhilarating, and it made me push my own personal limits every time I hit the field.

I won’t say that I was ever reduced to tears, because there’s NO CRYING in football, but I can say that I constantly moved and inspired by the sheer willpower of the women who played with me.

Hold on… sound a bit like community building? If you have ever experienced the highs and lows of coming together as a community, then you might know where I am coming from.

So I thought that it was quite apropos to touch on a few parallels and share the lessons I have learned about community by playing for the Calgary Rage.

GO TEAM!

If ever you want to experience a true sense of being a team, you have to try playing tackle football. As I stared down the facemask of a 200+ lb offensive lineman waiting to squish me, I always found courage and drive in the fact that I knew that the rest of my defensive unit was watching my back.

That was the key. If we all did our jobs to support each other while we played, the Rage was a well-oiled machine. Our corners covered the passes that the defensive line couldn’t. The linebackers contained the running plays and there was always the safety at the back as the final line of defense. But when we didn’t do our jobs, when we yelled words of blame instead of encouragement, the team fell apart.

Like with community building, the more supportive you are with those on the front lines with you, the more likely you will succeed as a team.

Become an excellent leader

You want to make an impact? Become an excellent leader… One of the captains on my football team was a National-team running back named Erin. She is one of those athletes who always plays with heart, give it her all during practice AND during games, and expected us to do the same – without a doubt.

Erin acted as the Sheppard of an eclectic team made up of stay-at-home moms, businesswomen, jocks, and babes of all sorts of ages and backgrounds, constantly leading by example and tirelessly encouraging us to explore our potential.

One of her favourite Calgary Rage cheers as we got ready for our games: “You mess with one of us, you mess with all.”

I think we often overlook the grassroots leaders in our communities as we are too quick to look to our elected officials for guidance. Instead, look to those you know who lead by example and who truly cares about the potential and wellbeing of his or her community. Or, more importantly, become one of those leaders yourself.

Always protect your quarterback

Once in awhile, this past season, I was able to squeak onto the offensive line. One of the biggest tragedies I discovered, for an offensive lineman, is to be in a play where your quarterback gets sacked (which mean being tackled for you football newbies….).

It made me wonder how many times, unintentionally or not, we let our own communities’ quarterbacks take a hit for us when they shouldn’t have. Are we as community members stepping up enough to protect our visionaries and our community playmakers? If the answer to that is “no’ or even “maybe’, then we all need to dig a little deeper and be willing to throw some blocks for those willing to put themselves out there.

When it comes to community (and to football), the ones protecting the quarterback are as important as the quarterback themselves.

Never leave anything on the field

One of the things that our Rage defensive coach always demanded was that we never left anything on the field. What he meant by that was that we always pushed ourselves to give it our all and more. You knew that you accomplished this when, tucked away into bed that night, you had no regrets.

Our coaches also said that if you were to fail, do it going 100%! This was always my favourite saying. Football is a sport that really shows a player’s heart on the field. But, like with everything, no matter what, mistakes happen. Those mistakes sting less, however, when they happen when you are really, really sincerely trying.

My biggest lessons have always happened in community development and in football when I have HUGELY fallen flat on my face. No true lessons, or results for that matter, happen when you kinda, sorta make an effort.

Its not always about winning and losing…

The biggest thing that I took away from my first season of football was that winning and losing wasn’t the be all and end all. The biggest thrill came from pushing myself beyond my comfort zone, testing my potential, and learning something new.

And what I found I loved most about playing football, in the end, was the true bond of a team, of a community that eventually became like a football family. Without a doubt, playing the game was tough but I always found strength in the fact that I knew that I was never alone on the field.

Mess with one, you mess with all. Now how is that as a slogan for community?

A changing culture

2011-06-28T17:13:00.005-06:00

What defines a culture? I found myself contemplating this during a recent visit to Ireland. Stereotypically known for their pub life and fighting spirit, the Ireland of today is much different than what many of us might expect.

As a Canadian, I have spent considerable time in Ireland. In fact, I lived there for three years. So during my recent visit to the country, I was pleasantly surprised at the upswing in terms of the Irish embracing a more active and healthier lifestyle.

There was a time in Ireland, however, when socializing meant going to the pub. Unfortunately, this led to copious amounts of drinking and the fracturing of the family. There was even a movement founded in 1898 where individuals formed a group called the Pioneers. Members of this group took what they called the ‘pledge’ or were ‘pinned’ which meant they abstained from drinking alcohol. This practice continues even today.

There is no denying, though, that the Irish still love a pint and a good laugh in the pub.

So what did I notice about this new Ireland? The largest thing I noticed was the movement away from the pub as being central to everyone’s leisure time. Sure, families still went to the pub for Sunday dinner but it was no longer the ONLY gathering place.

Instead, I noticed that people stayed in more and socialized at home with family and friends. There is also a big movement to be physically active. When I lived in Ireland, I was the only person in my area who jogged… I was that crazy Canadian prodding away in the continual rain. As I watched the road in front of my in-law’s house a few weeks ago, I noticed numerous new groups of people walking and jogging together.

On a grander scale, walking groups have taken a hold in Ireland. These organized groups head to the local mountains for ‘cultural walks’ that wind through ruins and old monuments. This has actually become a considerable economic driver for many parts of the country as people of all fitness levels can partake in these scenic walking tours.

So why the change? Interestingly enough, one of the big drivers of this change was the downturn in the economy. This meant that people tended to not only stay in but they now also looked for cheaper ways to recreate. Welcome to the free and great outdoors! Smoking also became banned in the pubs which, while welcomed by many, did change the face of who frequented the local watering hole.

Improvements in the quality of houses also made the people more prone to stay home side as there was now more room to entertain. Contemporary practices geared towards more involved parenting are also keeping younger parents more involved in family-related activities.

Because, ultimately, you know what you know. But now, Ireland knows the benefits of an active lifestyle that is engaged with their families. While the old school pub culture may be fading away in Ireland, a whole new healthier culture is emerging.

And sure you still might have a pint in the pub but now it’s after a five-hour hike through the Cooley Mountains. And as the Irish will try and tell you, those are the times that the calories in those pints of Guinness really don’t count.

For more info on the walking culture of Ireland, check out these great links:

For more info on the walking culture of Ireland, check out these great links:

Go Visit Ireland Walking Adventures

Go Ireland Independent Walking Tours

Irricana's Grasshopper Gallery & Co-op

2011-05-13T14:28:00.012-06:00

The space was green. And I mean really green… But it was a green that was funky, artsy, and very cool. It was, in fact, the perfect stage setting for Irricana’s undiscovered gem – the Grasshopper Gallery.

Or perhaps I should clarify that it was a new discovery to me. I had been visiting Irricana recently as part of the launch of the new multi-purpose floor of their recreation center. Also participating in the event happened to be local artist Brenda Campbell. It was like destiny that we should meet – or more to the point – she came over to introduce herself and quite enthusiastically said that I needed to visit the Grasshopper Gallery.

She, of course, was right. Over the years, my career in the arts has taken me to various international art spaces. Of all of these spaces, my favourite ones have been those that were not simply exhibition spaces but bumping grounds where the arts and community met. Queue Irricana’s Grasshopper Gallery.

The first thing that I discovered about the Grasshopper was that it wasn’t only an exhibition space; it was also an artist co-op. The idea of forming an art co-op in Irricana had been a dream that Brenda Campbell has had for many years. As an artist herself, Brenda understood how cost prohibitive trying to “go it alone” could be for most struggling artists. And the so the idea for the Grasshopper Gallery AND Irricana Artist’s Co-op was born.

With some seed funding from the Federal Government’s Rural Development Fund awarded to the Canadian Badlands Ltd. for several initiatives, forming an art co-op in Irricana was put into motion. The gallery and co-op officially opened their doors on July 10, 2010, in the old newspaper office located on Irricana’s main street.

Brenda says that it took old style elbow grease and a ‘work bee’ (much like a knitting bee but participants come out to help get a job completed) to get the gallery space to the state it is at now. Members of the co-op also take turns manning the gallery as part of their commitment to the project.

This commitment to community spirit is what defines the Grasshopper Gallery. Not only has become a funky ‘third space’ where artists can meet and discuss ideas with colleagues or interested community members, it also aims to promote the arts and artists in Irricana and the surrounding areas by offering a wide variety of classes, lectures and a retail gift store.

Hoping to work with other local businesses and even stretch their reach into the tourism trade, the vision for the artist’s co-op in Irricana includes being diversified and interesting enough to help foster some economic developmental spin offs for both themselves and the town itself.

I know that I will be keeping a watchful on them and encourage you to do the same. You never know what artistic gems are yet to be discovered in rural Alberta.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the Irricana Artist’s Co-op is invited to contact Brenda at bcampbell@efirehose.net.

Election 2011: What about arts and culture?

2011-04-14T15:53:00.007-06:00

Election 2011: What about arts and culture? I stole this title from an email from the Canadian Conference from the Arts (CCA). As an arts advocacy group, the CCA has been keeping an ever-watchful eye on the latest election campaign hullabaloo around the arts and culture sector.

And to be honest, I’m glad that someone is. I’m a bit of a lazy monkey when it comes to politics. If I had a choice between watching a political debate or watching paint dry, I might lean more towards the paint. Or at least catch the debate highlight reel.

I do, however, understand the importance of being aware and informed. So for those like me, who might be more inclined to read the ‘cheat notes’ version when it comes to politics, here are some reputable places to begin your election 2011 research.

1) The Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) website

Who are they? The Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) is the national forum for the arts and cultural community in Canada. It provides research, analysis and consultations on public policies affecting the arts and the Canadian cultural institutions and industries. The CCA fosters informed public debate on policy issues and seeks to advance the cultural rights of Canadians.

During the election period, the CCA has been posting analyses and information relevant to the arts, culture and heritage sector. They have also been watching as each party articulates their political platform with relation to arts and culture. So keep checking their 2011 election page for new updates.

This website also has handy things like a fantastic ‘CCA Federal Election Doorstep Kit’ so that you can ask informed questions when the campaigners come a knocking.

2) The Canadian Arts Coalition ‘Arts Vote Toolkit’

Who are they? The Canadian Arts Coalition (CAC) is a collaborative non-partisan movement spearheaded by a group of national arts service and membership organizations. They are united in the belief that the future of our citizens, their towns and cities and the nation itself depends on a rich, vibrant and diverse arts and heritage community. Since its inception, the CAC has successfully lobbied for increased support for the arts through the Canada Council for the Arts and the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Their contribution to informing Canadians about the importance of arts and culture during this election period is a virtual ‘Arts Vote Toolkit’. Here you can find items like:

The Arts: a story we all share – A document to share with candidates

Talking with Candidates – Key questions and tips to use when candidates knock on your door

Key Statistics on Arts and Culture – The arts have a big impact on our economy and our society. Here are some relevant statistics to illustrate that impact.

Elections Canada – Information on where to vote, what you need to bring and who your local candidates are.

Has being informed ever been so easy?

3) Imagine Canada Election Kit

Who are they? Imagine Canada is a national charitable organization whose cause is Canada’s charities and nonprofits. They support and strengthen charities and nonprofits so they can, in turn, support Canadians and communities they serve.

To help us mere mortals wrap our brains around this election, Imagine Canada has also created a 2011 Election Kit. This particular kit includes, among other tools, a number of briefing notes on key issues facing the sector that have been identified through their National Engagement Strategy.

They also have a very valuable DOs and DON'Ts for Charities info sheet targeted for those interested in taking political action during an election campaign.

So there you go! Not only are there are plenty of ways out there to get informed, you now have the tools to become an advocate in your area for the importance of arts, culture, and heritage.

Funding for the Alberta Arts Days

2011-03-31T16:43:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago, I hosted a teleconference info session on the new upcoming grants for this year’s Alberta Arts Days. Don’t know about the Alberta Arts Days? Then check out this link to learn more about the event itself.

If you haven’t heard the big news, Alberta Culture and Community Spirit will be granting funds this year, through an open call, to various Designated Celebration Sites. Up to five applicants will have the chance to become Alberta Arts Days Feature Celebration Sites; which means they will be eligible to receive a maximum grant of $20,000. An additional 55 applicants will be selected as Host Celebration Sites, making those hosts eligible to receive a maximum of $5,000.

I hosted my teleconference this month with the hopes that an increased number of smaller communities and rural areas would become involved in the Arts Days activities this year. This is due in main part, of course, to my love of the arts but also hinged on a sneaking suspicion that there might be a push by the Alberta Culture and Community Spirit to increase participation in rural Alberta.

I think this line in their info document kind of tipped me off: “When selecting successful applicants, Alberta Culture and Community Spirit will ensure that a variety of locations are chosen across the province.” Hey? See what I’m saying?

So if you happen to be an enterprising, rural community with a passion for the arts… take note and, more importantly, take action!

Now, I would like to pause here and officially declare that I AM NOT an employee of the Alberta Arts Days. I am simply passing this info on in good faith. If you would like to contact those who are ACTUALLY working for the Alberta Arts Days, see the info posted below.

Of course, another way to receive official info is to take a look at this info sheet provided on the Arts Days website. Here you’ll also find the official application form and very handy items like a sample budget. How fantastic is that!

I would also recommend that you pay close attention to the project objectives as I’m guessing that the more you reflect these objectives, the better your chances will be to receive funding.

And here they are for your perusal:

provide free, family-friendly events;
highlight local art and artists;
involve local talent;
involve youth;
partner with other organizations in the community; and
include a multicultural component.

During this same conference call, some participants brought up a series of really good questions not outlined in the info sheet mentioned above. On a side note, do make this Arts Days Info sheet your new best friend as it is packed full of extremely useful and important information.

Seeing that I didn’t have the answers, I have now consulted with someone who did. Below are the questions that arose from our conference call and the answers (as interpreted by me) from an Arts Day representative.

1) If two organizations from one community apply for an Alberta Arts Day Grant, would they cancel each other out?

No. But you will be in direct competition with each other. It is useful to note that one of the priorities of the Alberta Arts Days this year is to encourage partnerships between organizations in each community. Any application demonstrating partnerships will be looked upon favorably.

So get out there and chat with others in your community as you might have the perfect collaboration opportunity just waiting for you!

2) Is this a one-time funding opportunity?

The long-term goal for Alberta Arts Days is for community events to be self-sustainable. So it will really be up to you to make sure that your event or project is sustainable for the long haul. Be creative... look for new partnerships and embrace an entrepreneurial spirit!

3) Can I apply for liability insurance for my project?

Yes… having stated that, however, an applicant’s budget will be graded on overall merit, and if a large portion of their proposed budget is simply going towards insurance (ex. 50% of their budget), they may not score very high.

4) If I have received funding from other government agencies for my event, will this decrease my chances to receive an Alberta Arts Days grant?

No – quite the opposite! The Alberta Arts Days encourages applicants to seek out other funding for their events. They can’t foresee any conflicts to date.

Now… if you are looking to possibly use Alberta Arts Days funding as match funding for OTHER grants, it might be a different story (like for Travel Alberta, for example). That is where you will need to do a little bit of research and contact those alternate funders.

5) Can I apply to be a host for a Feature Celebration site if my organization was already one last year?

Yes!

6) If I’m unsuccessful in my application to be a Feature Celebration site, can I apply to be a Host site?

Yes, but PLEASE indicate this interest in your proposal letter.

7) If I have an event like an artist fair/sale where artists are selling their artwork, will this make us ineligible?

No, you can sell artwork at events or other merchandise like band t-shirts, for example.

However, if you are charging admission for your event (like tickets to a concert), you CAN’T use Alberta Arts Days Funding towards that particular event as well.

8) Can municipalities apply?

No! See the info sheet for a list of eligible types of organizations.

9) Can my event be outside of the dates outlined by the Alberta Arts Days (September 30 – October 2, 2011)?

This would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis so I would suggest contacting the Alberta Arts Day Staff.

10) Who can I contact then with my questions about the Alberta Arts Days?

Jason Flammia is one staff person working on this project: 780-644-2422

Or email: artsdays@gov.ab.ca

11) When is my application due?

Submissions are accepted until 4:30 pm on Wednesday, April 20, 2011.

Oh – and please don’t forget that you will need to provide one original and four copies of completed submission packages. I would hate to see anyone miss out because of a technicality!

So good luck and I look forward to seeing all of the fabulous events happening around the province this fall!

Janet Naclia, Creative Cultural Liaison

ACE Communities

jnaclia@aceleaders.ca

Transforming the King Edward

2011-03-20T20:57:00.013-06:00

A few months ago, I was asked to join a community advisory committee for a project spearheaded by the Calgary Arts Development Authority (CADA) and The Calgary Foundation (TCF). The goal of this project – the transformation of a 100 year-old sandstone school called the King Edward in South Calgary into an arts incubator.

As you might imagine, I was a tad intrigued. The vision for the King Edward School site, as spelled out by the CADA project’s leader Reid Henry, was for an integrated, mixed-use hub. It’s aim? To provide a dynamic and collaborative environment focused on the incubation and advancement of professional arts practice, social innovation and community development. And it just so happened that the arts, social innovation, and community development are three of my favourite things.

It was a committee position made in heaven. And really, what are the chances of that?

If you aren’t familiar with the project, the repurposing of the King Edward School is to turn the building into an arts-focused, multi-tenant facility that co-locates a range of office, programming and collaboration space for not-for-profit arts and community organizations. It is also envisioned as a dedicated studio space for inpidual artists and creative entrepreneurs working in and across multiple sectors.

In theory, bumping or third spaces such as cafe and event areas are also planned for the building with the goal that they would provide arts-infused gathering places for the facility and broader community, providing opportunities for small-scale performances and community events.

And it doesn’t stop there! The idea for the remainder of the site around the school is a possible cluster of live/work residential uses, amenities and public spaces that reinforce the purpose, and enhance the sustainability, of the art incubator itself. This might mean the first-ever (in Calgary) affordable housing opportunity for artists and their families. Hurrah!

The benefits of restoring and adapting the King Edward School as a mixed use, arts-focused facility focuses on three key scales - each delivering a range of social, economic, environmental and cultural outcomes.

These three areas are, in a nut shell: 1) The Building – focused on the community of artists and non-profit organizations that are tenants or that access the building’s services and spaces 2) The Neighbourhood - the immediate local communities in proximity to the site and 3) The City - the broader community of artists and citizens across the city/region.

By establishing a critical mass of secure, affordable, stable and functional spaces for artists and arts-focused not-for-profit organizations, the rejuvenation of the King Edward School could:

Provide a thriving and sustainable environment that meets the critical space needs of many artistic disciplines and arts organizations in Calgary’s challenging real estate market

Promote synergies and connections between tenants to maximize their productivity, creativity and impact (e.g. project collaborations, networking, sharing equipment, resources, knowledge, and skills)

Help small organizations financially grow or stabilize, supporting their capacity to advance their charitable or non-profit mission

Cultivate a culture of professionalism and entrepreneurship

Enhance artists’ financial wellbeing and quality of life

Enhance the quality of life of the community physically surrounding the King Edward site

Put Calgary’s art scene on the international map

Now you might have noticed my use of the word ‘could’, ‘might’, and ‘aims’. This is because this is still a process in the works. CADA is currently in its due diligence phase, working to see if this project can/will be embraced by both the geographical community it affects (as in south Calgary) as well as the larger arts community at large.

I am dying to hear your thoughts on the matter. What would an arts incubator mean to your community?

To find out more about the potential arts incubator project in Calgary see: http://www.transformkingedward.com/

Diversity Friendly Communities

2011-02-22T18:22:00.005-07:00

Some say that the universe has a plan. Well, its been finally realized by us at ACE that ACE Communities has a process. No wait, let me amend that…ACE Communities IS a process – a process for change.

When the ACE Communities initiative first came into being it was slated as a project designed to enhance quality of life in rural Alberta by strengthening community leadership, collaboration, and innovation through recreation, parks, arts, culture. After over three years of ACE in action, the project has evolved into a community development process that can now be applied to other issues and challenges.

This is where things get even more interesting. Are you ready?

Rather recently, ACE received the good news that we are the recipient of a grant from the Province of Alberta’s Human Rights Education and Multiculturalism Fund (HREM Fund). I should officially thank ACE Director Brenda Herchmer here for that bit of grant writing chutzpah.

ACE Communities will be using these monies for or a Diversity Friendly Communities project in rural Alberta.

If you weren’t aware, the goal of the Human Rights Education and Multiculturalism (HREM) Fund is "full participation of all Albertans." In the context of the fund, "full civic participation" means that all Albertans have the opportunity to be involved in and benefit from all aspects of society without encountering discrimination because of their race, religious beliefs, colour, gender, disability, age, ancestry, sexual orientation, or the other characteristics protected in the Alberta Human Rights Act.

Specifically, this means that Albertans have the opportunity to participate in the social, cultural, political, and economic life of the province without discrimination. The goal of the upcoming ACE Communities Diversity Friendly Communities project is to help initiate community change using recreation, parks, arts, culture, and heritage as a vehicle that will increase community capacity to: 1) Foster equality and reduce discrimination and racism and 2) Remove organizational barriers that exclude some Albertans.

Soon ACE Communities will be seeking four rural Alberta communities who are interested in participating in the ACE Diversity Friendly Communities project. And if you are thinking that rural Alberta isn’t ready for such a project, you might be greatly surprised.

On a recent teleconference on the subject, a diverse group of community leaders in rural Alberta came together to discuss their sense of readiness. Leaders in Trochu outlined the many ways they have welcomed Filipino newcomers into their town and expressed their concern that they might lose these new additions to their community to the pull of large cities like Calgary.

Leaders from Chestermere and Killam expressed their commitment to long-term plans to make their communities more ready for diverse populations. One leader in Drayton Valley explained how the town’s MSP already does have a diversity lens but they are still struggling to engage with the shadow population (as in transient workers drawn to their community by the oil patch).

And yet another leader is hoping to apply for the project to help mend relations with a neighbouring First Nations community.

So the process and the opportunity is out there. Do you think you are ready to become an ACE Diversity Friendly community? Keep your eyes on the ACE Communities site for more on this great project!

The Big C - Creativity

2011-02-03T14:20:00.003-07:00

I think it might be official. I’m one-of-a-kind. Well, I’m most definitely unique. Those who know me personally, of course, might not refute this point – for good or for evil! Technically, though, when I refer to this uniqueness, I actually mean it on a professional level.

Admit it… how many Creative Cultural Liaisons do you know?

When I was first interviewed for my current role at ACE Communities, I was informed by the interview panel that much consideration – and debate! – had gone into the particular wording of this position’s title.

For those who don’t know, A.C.E. actually stands for Active, Creative, and Engaged communities. In essence, the strategic creation of the Creative Cultural Liaison position within the ACE Communities portfolio meant not only the creation of an ambassador for the big ‘C’ – Creativity of A.C.E, but also acknowledged ACE Communities’ belief in the importance of arts, culture, and heritage in the sustainability of Alberta’s rural communities.

The role of creativity in community building is a hot topic as of late. Many of you are familiar with Richard Florida’s theories in The Rise of the Creative Class arguing that it’s the creative economy (powered by the likes of artists, musicians, architects, designers, and entrepreneurs) that will eventually make or break many communities.

According to Florida: Arts, culture and heritage = energized spaces and more inclusive philosophies.

In 2006, the organization, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCRI), put out a report entitled: The Art of Community. This report illustrated how weaving art and culture into program initiatives can lay the foundation for newcomers and the receiving society to find common ground and work together to build vibrant communities in which everyone has a stake (a shout out to Susan Coombes in Alberta’s Human Rights and Citizenship Department for sending me that resource).

Princeton University furthered this investigation by completing a literature review on the impact of arts and culture. Their study focused on three types of claims: "1. first, claims that the arts build social capital; 2. second, claims that the arts improve the economy; 3. third, claims that the arts are good for individuals. "

Need I say more? And this is not even touching on how the big C also refers to resilience and the ability to creatively roll with the punches when it comes to challenges in our communities. Creativity goes beyond the ‘arts’ per se, to also represent innovative problem solving, visionary mapping of community assets, and thinking outside of the proverbial box.

So, I can happily say that I’m proud to be unique. I am willing, however, to share my creative title with anyone who wants it. Let’s start a movement… come forth Creative Cultural Liaisons (and equivalents) and let’s all unite under the big C flag! Your communities will be better for it.

A safe place to be...

2011-01-14T11:39:00.002-07:00

Have you seen it yet? You know, the video of that crazy dancing guy at a music festival who eventually inspires a whole group of people to join him (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-1_-P016Ns).

I was sent this video recently as an example of the mechanics of leadership. Someone had added a voiceover to this video of the dancing man illustrating how equally important both followers and leaders are to any viable movement. As you will see when you watch the video, the speaker points out that while a leader takes a risk when they throw themselves into the fray, the same can be often said for the first follower.

This made me think about the idea of risk when it comes to community building. Many people who have ever attempted to build community know that risk is part of the equation… the risk of failure, the risk of re-opening old community wounds, the risk of causing conflict, and the risk of alienating the people you are trying to serve.

During my time at ACE Communities, however, I’ve seen the risk of what happens to communities if they don’t attempt to change and to engage with others. We know that communities who don’t attempt to move past the barriers that have constricted them, whether it be societal, political, or economic, are the least likely to make it through the long haul.

Risk… well, it’s a darn risky thing. One bright spot I have noticed lately is how the arts, culture, and heritage can be used as a non-threatening, universal way to start the community engagement process. People seem more open when you speak to them in terms of how they spend their leisure time, how they celebrate their culture, or how they remember their past.

Ask them about health care, infrastructure, or the economy, on the other hand, and watch them get their dukes up.

In 2002, the Canada West Foundation created a report entitled: “Culture and Economic Competitiveness: An Emerging Role for the Arts in Canada.” This report reviewed and considered studies from around the world to identify the following benefits from arts and culture:

1) Improves mental and psychological health including enhanced personal motivation, feelings of connectedness to others, a more positive outlook on life, reduced sense of fear or isolation and increased confidence, sociability and self-esteem.

2) Arts promote intercultural understanding and validates diversity through cultural festivals, historical presentations, exhibits.

In other words, it makes us feel better about ourselves, our neighbours, and just plain helps us get along. And isn’t that where the community building really needs to start.

After all, I might dance in a way that is different from you, with different steps and different rhythms, but we can all agree that the act of dancing together can do something amazingly positive for the spirit. Just look at our famous dancer from the above video and tell me that it doesn’t make you smile… if just a little.

How did I measure up?

2011-01-07T19:36:00.002-07:00

Where Christmas ‘tis the season for plum pudding, the New Year is the season for accountability. So I’m slurping back the yearly cleanse, hitting the gym with a brand new level of enthusiasm, and have sadly shoved all remaining shortbread cookies into the darkest, deepest recesses of my freezer (that cleanse does have to end sometime!).

One thing I have learnt during my time with ACE Communities is the importance of self-reflection. We all need to take time to think about the ways in which we are approaching our lives, our work, and our communities.

I thought that it might be fun… well, at least interesting, anyway, to take a look at my new year’s resolutions from 2010 and see how I actually did.

Here are my resolutions as posted in my last year’s blog. So… deep breath – here we go:

1) I will stop and make a meaningful connection with at least one person every week in my neighbourhood.

Yes – off to a good start already! I have, in fact, stepped it up and can say that I know my neighbours even better and am glad for it. Not only did I hold an open house for all of the proverbial block this Christmas (and LOVED it!), I’ve finally made it over to dinner with another newer neighbour that I really liked and wanted to connect with. So ah ha! Not looking too shabby so far.

2) I will listen earnestly to someone else’s opinion everyday without judgment.

Eeeekk! Well, I am trying but I find that I often still have to use all of my free will not to jump into a conversation and give my two cents before giving any real thought to what someone might be telling me. I was in a meeting today, however, and made a conscious effort to be an active, non-judgmental listener and it was worth it. But lets just keep this on the list for 2011.

3) I will spend extra time every day scratching the bellies of my basset hounds – even when I feel like I don’t have the time or the patience.

Check and check! And I actually think back to this resolution occasionally when my basset is squeaking (yes, they do actually squeak – very enthusiastically, as a matter of fact) and the LAST thing I really want to do is scratch her belly. Makes me feel better every time I do, though, so thank you resolution number three!

4) I will make every effort to improve my mind with new ideas and rise to all challenges.

It’s my new mantra. BRING IT ON… I say.

5) When I workout, I will give it my all no matter how much I think I might upchuck.

You know, I’m actually on board with this one and have even added some new crazy additions to my routine. Pilates, anyone? Hey… they are harder than they look. Ask my butt muscles. They’ll tell you.

6) I will always stop to help those in need – the lady who looks lost on the street, the mini-van stuck in the snow bank, the gentleman looking for the last dollar for his bus ticket.

Sadly, I’m bereft to say that I can’t think of one example of how I really rose to this challenge in 2010. I’m just too darn busy running off to my next appointment or meeting to even stop and really look around. So move this resolution to the top of the list as a goal for this year – its time to pay more attention to the situation of my fellow human.

7) I will eat fewer pastries because I know they are bad for my cholesterol.

Gah. Now why do you think I’m doing that cleanse. I just can’t resist… I don’t eat meat or fast food or drink excessively. I try to only eat organic and shop locally. Can’t a girl get a break… a pastry or a cookie? Is it ok if its peanut butter and I desperately need the protein? La sigh.

8) I will spend more quality-time with my parents. Because, you know, I really like them.

I love ‘em when I see them! They’re busier than me but we did manage to bond over the holidays and it was the best Christmas yet.

9) I will make an effort to speak to my very dear ‘out-of-town’ friends at least once a month.

You know, I don’t know why this is so hard because I do LOVE speaking to my friends. Yet, months can go by without me picking up that phone. So as soon as I’m done this blog, its time to get the finger dialing. In fact, I resolve to speak to one ‘out-of-town’ friend every month no matter what.

10) I will increase my volunteer-work because it really does feel good to help others.

I’m so committed to this one that I now even have my basset hound Cleo (the squeaky one) volunteering. We go to senior care centers and let them scratch her belly. So its win win for everyone. I have an appointment lined up already.

How did you all do last year with your resolutions?

Lighting up Longview

2010-12-08T10:21:00.008-07:00

I love Christmas! Yes I do and I admit it. It’s a funny thing that I have to admit to my love of Christmas as if it was a confessional. There are many out there who are a bit resentful of what Christmas stands for now with its brash, overt commercialism and everyone looking to make an extra buck.

Like with many people, my love of Christmas has had its ups and downs. For a big chunk of my adult life I got caught up in the frenzy to buy things, be at the right parties, and place nice with my fellow man (no matter how miserable I or they were being!).

Then I moved to Ireland. It was here that my love of Christmas was rekindled. In Ireland, I discovered a Christmas that was about family, friends, and community. Oh – and a lot of tea and chocolate. And beer.

But it was chocolate, tea, and beer shared with people that you really cared about. Stores actually closed down for days – DAYS! – at end, forcing everyone to stay at home and socialize. Or go to your neighbour’s and socialize. Meals were cooked and consumed at great leisure. Neighbours brought you wild holly as gifts. People went to holiday services or helped out the needy. Not too many people are left alone in Ireland at Christmas.

Upon returning home to Canada after three festive Irish Chirstmases abroad, this spark of community returned with me. My husband and I don’t buy gifts for each anymore, instead, we spurge on an annual evening drinking crazy expensive cocktails with friends in the posh bar of a local hotel. We have holiday shindigs and open houses for our neighbours, secret Santa dinners with old friends, and make Christmas day with my folks into a lazy Christmas extended long weekend.

So when I was invited to Longview to help out with their ‘Light Up Longview’ Holiday event, I was there before you could say snowball.

For those who aren’t familiar with the community, Longview is a small town south of Calgary with a population of about 350. They are home to one Mr. Ian Tyson, the famous Longview beef jerky, and is one of our star ACE Communities.

‘Light Up Longview’ is one of the town’s ACE projects aimed at raising awareness and funds for their ACE efforts. It was inspired by the town’s purchase of new lampposts as part of their plan to beautify their main street. With the holidays soon approaching, the ACE Communities committee decided to start a campaign to raise funds to purchase holiday lights/decorations for the lampposts as well as create a memorial tree.

This was seen as a way to have a quick win for the town, raise awareness of ACE, and bring people together.

So this past Sunday, Longview held their annual Christmas party in conjunction with the debut of their new outdoor lights. Made up almost entirely by volunteers, the Longview crew organized a visit by Santa (and made sure every child in town had a gift), hosted a horse-drawn sled ride, cooked a homemade turkey dinner for the whole town, and raised nearly $6000 for their lights fund. $900 of that came from a youth group who held a bottle drive earlier as their way of helping to buy decorations for the town.

In a town of 350, 225 people came out that night to celebrate the holidays with their community.

Do you think that the Grinch’s heart grew 10 times larger that day? Because, in the end, it is the people in your life that will make or break your Christmas. Let’s use this day as it was meant and celebrate our communities.

To see more pictures from the ‘Light up Longview’ event: http://acecommunities.ca/gallery/

Culture... the new microorganism?

2010-11-19T11:46:00.002-07:00

Did you know that China had National Cultural Ecosystem Conservation Area (NCECA) aimed at holistically protecting cultural patterns that are historically and culturally rich? I didn’t! In fact, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I was even aware that we now discussing things like cultural ecosystems. Where have I been… under a rock?

It was in Ottawa at the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) annual conference, held earlier this month, that I first heard the term ‘cultural ecosystem’ bandied about. I actually had to make a note on my iPhone so that I would remember it.

From what I could gather, the term seemed to be tied to ideas of art incubation, cultural percolation, and arts in the community.

I knew I liked the sound of it but was left wondering a little bit about these new buzz words. What does it all really MEAN!!! I asks yah…

So a quick flit about the Internet, a prolonged visit to dictionary.com, and voila! Here are the root definitions to these new interesting word combinations:

Culture: a) the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.

or (I like this one…)

b) the cultivation of microorganisms, as bacteria, or of tissues, for scientific study, medicinal use, etc.

Ecosystems: a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment.

Community: a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.

Percolate: to show activity, movement, or life; grow or spread gradually; germinate

Art: the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.

Incubation: to maintain at a favorable temperature and in other conditions promoting development, as cultures of bacteria or prematurely born infants.

It is interesting to me how many of these terms we can theoretically (and …well… creatively) apply to both the arts and the right-brained sciences. It is as if we are mad scientists, in some giant laboratory, experimenting with how to combine the arts and culture with our communities.

Honestly, I see no reason why the arts and the sciences… or social enterprises… or the corporate sector can not only exist next to each but also have a positive impact on how they deal with their own issues. I mean – can’t we all just get along? Or, should I say, move beyond just getting along to actually forming environments where we all grow and thrive together.

Ultimately, it seems to me, that the term ‘cultural ecosystems’ is a fancy way to say ‘arts in the community’. I’m encouraged to see that we are now discussing the ways in which the arts can be moved outside of its silo and used for the betterment of the bigger societal picture.

As we say at ACE, the greater the mix, the better the fix. Our communities and our art sector can only get stronger if we mingle together, cross-pollinate… and percolate.

And you thought I’d be talking about mold, didn’t you?

I am a good public speaker because...

2010-10-29T15:21:00.002-06:00

I’ve been doing a lot of public speaking lately. I just returned from the ARPA annual conference in Jasper where I facilitated an all day aboriginal recreation practitioner pre-conference session (mainly because the scheduled facilitator lost her voice!), facilitated our ACE story-telling session, and presented on ACE’s cultural activities. Throw participating in a flash mob organized by the ACE Dance team and I can easily say that it was an eventful 3 days!

Now I’m all ok with generally making a public spectacle of myself. Just ask anyone who knows me. Recently however, I have realized that when it does come down to the spectacle in question, I’m only really good with it on my own terms.

This realization has come to me twofold over the past week. My first hint at this came as we were preparing for the ACE flash mob at the ARPA conference. As we were rehearsing the group choreography, I felt a wee bit of anxiety creeping up. It wasn’t the dancing per say that I dreaded; it was dancing following prescribed steps. Then it hit me…hey – I don’t really like following the rules when it comes to public engagements.

I suppose that this isn’t the biggest surprise if I stop to think about it. I hated my high school graduation (it was a disaster best left out of print); I avoided both my undergraduate and graduate ceremonies in university, and happily eloped. Five people, including my husband, the justice of the peace, and myself attended our wedding.

This hatred of public speaking and rules is rearing its ugly head again as I prepare for yet another conference next week. I have been chosen as one of four young arts professionals who will speak as part of the ‘Emerging Speakers Series’ at the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) annual conference in Ottawa. I will be presenting on the ACE ARTS Tour that just concluded in the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation last week.

And here is the catch… the speed series is a petcha kutcha style presentation where the slides advance every 15s no matter what and you only have 5 minutes to make your point.

So how am I going to charm my way through this one? Where are the breaks for my oh so witty jokes? Thoughtful pauses… relaxed but confident air? Gah.

When it came down to actually doing the flash mob at the ARPA conference, I grinded my way through the choreographed section but oh did I rock the free-style bit. I can cut the rug like any pre-teen.

Noting my anxiety before the flash mob, one of the dancers named Michelle Greenwell taught me an affirmative saying: “I will be a good dancer because…” The ‘because’ is key in this statement as it allows the brain an opening to search for the answer, giving you confidence as reasons pop into your head.

So, even though the thought of a choreographed speed talk sends shivers down my spine: “I will give a decent speed talk because….”.

And to stack my ‘becauses’ I’m going to take some affirmative action. I will write a script, practice, practice, practice, and torture my husband with as many renditions as he can take. Because, whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and nothing but good comes from stretching that safe, little comfort zone.

Wish me luck!

Maybe it was the promise of pie…

2010-09-29T20:19:00.011-06:00

Maybe it was the promise of pie… because after all, who can resist the golden, sweet, yumminess of freshly baked apple pie? Or maybe it was Granny Jen herself… I don’t know but something special was a foot in Chestermere recently. And this special something drew over 50 people, young and old, together to experience the old world skill of honest pie craftsmanship.

The story starts off, of course, with a blue ribbon – or should I say, the lack thereof. Prior to awarding Chestermere with their ACE Communities Award last year, our ACE Ambassador Ian Hill, had chatted with a few of Chestermere’s residents. This is a common practice for Ian as he likes to know a bit about a community before he arrives to kick off their big ACE Ignite event.

As part of these conversations, Ian chatted with one Jennifer Peddlesden, a long-time resident of the town. As their conversation went on, Jennifer expressed her dismay, as one of the organizers of the local County fair, at the fact that there wasn’t one single pie entered into the Fair that year that was worthy of a blue ribbon.

"Well, why do you think that is?" Ian asked her.

"I don’t know," Jennifer Peddlesden replied. "People just must not care anymore."

"Maybe," Ian countered, "but maybe the real problem is that people just don’t have the opportunity to learn how to bake a proper pie. My question to you is the one that’s really going to count. If people in town can’t make a pie and it breaks your heart, what are you personally going to do about it?"

It was an interesting question that Ian posed that day. Because, really, how many of us are unhappy with aspects of our communities? We might complain to our neighbours or to our spouses about the things we don’t like… but how many of us rise up and take action to rectify the things that we see as being problematic?

Well, Jennifer Peddlesden decided that it was time for some action and out of that conversation, Granny Jen was born. And Granny Jen became militant about pies. She rallied the troops, worked with the city, networked, advocated, and made a whole lot of test pies.
The result? The Chestermere pie making workshop – a community-driven workshop centered on the grand old art of making a proper pie. This cultural phenomenon was a big hit in the town to the point that there was even a waiting list. Those who were the lucky attendees represented the most diverse demographics I have seen at any ACE event. There were families, seniors, women in their twenties, teenagers, and a father with his three young sons. And there were all there to learn how to make a pie.

Undeniably, there is something soothing about baking a pie… a comforting reminder of a time when things were handcrafted with care. The event reminded me of true community gatherings, barn raising, and knitting and pickling circles. All of these things are part of our heritage and too many of these skills are being lost. But not in Chestermere… not that day!

To have witnessed the generations come together to learn one of this ‘old world’ skills was truly an awesome thing. The teenagers were busy taking snap shots of the pies with their phones and uploading to Facebook, the veteran pie makers swapped pastry secrets, and Granny Jen oversaw it all.

Because I guess it does take a village to bake a pie.

For a video of the actual pie-making workshop featuring Granny Jen see: http://www.viddler.com/explore/aceleader/videos/41/

What do you value?

2010-09-02T10:09:00.025-06:00

It was a breathtaking morning. The sun was out and the Kananaskis country was as beautiful as ever. My husband and I had decided that it was time to take advantage of our nearness to the mountains and take the family for a hike in the Cox Hill region.

Well… when I say family, I really meanour two basset hounds Sammie and Cleo. And when I say hike, I mean a well-meant snarfle through the bush. But those are just technicalities.

This family outing was largely in part due to my recent ‘aha’ moment while taking part in a conference call that Carol Petersen, the ARPA Manager of Recreation and Community Development, hosted on the importance of leisure. While enjoying leisure activities is a no-brainer, I find –like with arts and culture- many don’t see the fundamental importance of the field. As in …some can’t seem to get past the understanding of leisure as simply being ten reps of arm curls at their local gym.

On this recent teleconference call, Carol spoke about how important it was for people to use their VALUES to determine how to use their leisure time. Many of us, she pointed out, use this time almost as if it was work. We frantically throw in a yoga class before picking up the kids from school, arriving home more harried than ever. Or assume that time logged in at the squash court, hockey rink, or aerobics studio means we have been leisurely.

And maybe these activities do mean that we have used our leisure time well… but what if they don’t?

Instead, Carol suggested, lets use our free time to engage in things we truly value. Maybe it is time with your kids, or time in the outdoors. Maybe it is being active but still socializing with friends. Or maybe, quite simply, it is spending time under your favourite tree reading a trashy novel.

Or maybe it’s hiking in the foothills with family. Normally, when my husband and I head out to the mountains, it never crossed our minds to take the girls. Being bassets, they are not really made for long distance romps and would rather lie in the sun than hike in it. My husband and I, on the other hand, like to hike like we mean it, work up a sweat, and charge our way to the top of the trail. Cleo would happily stand in one spot and sniff the same blade of grass for an hour if she had her way. Not a hiking match made in heaven.

But, as I sat planning our latest outing, I found myself wistfully thinking how much I would really love to take the girls. If only. And then, like that, Carol’s voice popped into my head and said: “Well, why not?”

Why not indeed! I really did want to spend time with them in a new beautiful locale, show them the sights, and be active as a family. So we cancelled the sitter, packed up the girls, their poo bags, some snacks and doggie dish, and headed out.

So, instead of not taking the girls, we made provisions so that we could. We made it an early morning hike so the girls wouldn’t be blasted by the sun and melt into basset goo. Instead of the planned 8 hr hike, we made it into 2. And even though we never made it even to the bottom of Cox Hill, it was one of the best times we had out in the country.

Seeing that we had such a great time, we now have two more outings planned with the girls before the snow flies. One is even a cookout/hike combo near Ribbon Creek with friends so now our little basset-assisted hiking community is getting larger. And all because we stopped and really listened to our values….

Viva the arts this Fall!

2010-08-20T16:02:00.001-06:00

Yes, I hate to say it but Fall is nearly upon us. While many of us loathe to see the departure of summer, the Fall does mean the traditional launch of the arts and culture season. As the leaves turn colour, the art world rises up to give us an abundance of opportunities to get out and get creative. Check out these FREE events meant to engage the creative side in all of us.

Culture Days

Culture Days is a collaborative pan-Canadian volunteer movement to raise the awareness, accessibility,participation and engagement of all Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities. A national Steering Committee, together with provincial committees (known as Provincial Task Forces) are self-mobilizing at the grassroots level to implement concurrent annual province-wide public participation events each September beginning in 2010. The annual, concurrent Culture Days events across Canada will feature free, hands-on, interactive activities that invite the public to participate “behind the scenes,” to discover the world of artists, creators, historians, architects, curators, and designers… in their community.

To find out more as well as learn how to register your event and access great resources like ‘event checklists’ and ‘public relations toolkits’ see: http://culturedays.ca

Alberta Arts Days – September 17 – 19

Alberta Arts Days is also quickly approaching, which means it’s time to start thinking about how you’d like to be involved! Last year, thousands of Albertans discovered, experienced and celebrated our vibrant arts and culture landscape. Hundreds of community groups and organizations partnered to offer 571 events in 116 communities.

Alberta Arts Days has a starring role for absolutely everyone: artists, art organizations, community groups, municipalities, libraries, schools and businesses. This year, show your support for local art and culture by partnering with others in your community to host an event or becoming a sponsor.

Hosting an event doesn’t need to be a major undertaking. It can be as simple as adding an artistic flair to something that’s already in the works, or opening your organization’s doors and offering a behind the scenes look into how art is created. Check out this site for events near you as well as for a number of resources to help you get started to plan your own event: http://culture.alberta.ca/artsdays/

Alberta's Culture Calendar

Are neither of these events quite your thing? Well, fret not. Check out Alberta's Culture Calendar to see what is happening in an area near you. Alberta’s Culture Calendar is a community resource meant to promote Alberta’s arts, heritage, volunteer and other cultural information and activities. Check out the link below to find events in your community or to look for events on specific days.

This site also allows users to submit their own events: http://culture.alberta.ca/events/default.aspx

So there you have it! Three fantastic ways to get active, get creative, and engage with the arts, culture, and heritage this fall.

I know that I'll see you out there....

Vote for us and for our aboriginal communities

2010-07-18T20:41:00.004-06:00

I’m not even going to attempt to hide the fact that this is a blatant plug for our Pepsi Refresh Project Grant application.

For those few who I haven’t actually emailed, stalked, or tweeted, the latest ACE Communities news is that we are one of the ideas vying for $100,000 of Pepsi’s cash. Our goal: organizing a music and dance tour in Albertan Aboriginal communities. This latest grant race is notable as it is you, the voting public, who will ultimately decide whose project wins.

So hey! If you want to vote and/or spread the word here is the link: http://ab.yace.ca/artstour. See… what did I say…a blatant plug.

I was thinking a little bit today, as I continued to roll out my social media campaign, about what the point of all of this really was. Like…why the push for an arts tour for our aboriginal communities instead of for someone else? As a practitioner who has spent many years working in the arts trenches, I know that resources are thin on the ground for everyone.

As I sat and really considered this, an image of Stan popped into my head.

And who’s Stan, you ask? Well, let me tell you. Stan just happens to be one of the most popular male Aboriginal dancers on the southern pow wow circuit. I first saw Stan dance at the Grey Eagle Casino as part the Aboriginal Day celebrations at the Tsuu T’ina Nation. He was representing the Men’s Fancy Dance category and he, I’m not going to lie, completely blew me away.

Stan dancing was a hurricane of colour, virtuoso, and male power. I had never truly seen anything like it and, if I had had my way, I could have watched Stan dance for hours. As I left the casino that afternoon after the performance, I couldn’t help but feel both inspired and affirmed in my belief about the power of dance.

One of the most interesting things I discovered about Stan was that he wasn’t technically a professional dancer. In fact, it turned out he was a cook at the Grey Eagle. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that cooks can’t dance but I would be hard pressed to find many civilians (as in us non-artsy fartsies) dance with the same brilliance and passion as Stan.

So what was it that had a cook in an Aboriginal community possible out dance almost everyone in my Euro-centric world? The answer: a foundational connection to the heritage and artistic heartbeat on one’s own culture.

Unfortunately, a huge epidemic is running rampant in many of our Aboriginal communities. Substance abuse, high rates of diabetes, poverty, and gang crime in combination with an increasingly alarming and growing disconnect to their heritage (which many blame on the residential school syndrome) have lead to the despondency in many communities. This despondency is killing the soul of many Aboriginal communities, fracturing individuals and even nations.

Our answer: the ACE music and dance tour. While I would never be so arrogant as to believe that one little arts tour in seven communities will solve any of the above issues, I do sincerely believe that it could be a stopgap, musical healing, or at least a temporary balm for the soul.

And if you don’t believe in the healing power of the arts, then I dare you to go find Stan from the Tsuu T’ina Nation and watch him dance.

To vote daily (until August 31^st) for the ACE Communities Pepsi Refresh Project go to: http://ab.yace.ca/artstour

Yeehaw!!

2010-07-13T15:33:00.004-06:00

I love the Calgary Stampede. There, I said it. Calgarians are definitely torn when it comes to the idea of the Stampede. There are the ones who either flee the city or hole up in their houses for the whole month of July versus those who throw on their cowboy hats and mosey on down to the nearest pancake breakfast. I am proudly the later of the two.

There is no denying that I have always been a cowboy culture junkie and, trust me, the kitchier the better. Bring on the horses, the belt buckles, and rancher’s brands.

Heck, I even own a painting with a cowboy in it and am actually disappointed that I only have the one. I do, however, have a fantastic pinhole photograph of the Stampede Grounds by Calgary-based photographer Dianne Bos (see image above) so I guess I’m not doing too badly.

So, needless to say, when the Stampede rolls into town I always get a little excited. It is the one time during the year that the whole city comes together to celebrate its history. We did actually have cowboys here at one time, you know. It’s true… we did.

When I went for a jog this past Friday (around the various piles of horse poo, I must add… where else but Calgary!), I accidently came across the annual Stampede parade. There were families in cowboy gear, the famous Clydesdales, and the Calgary police squad on horseback. People had picnic coolers and matching cowboy shirts – it was a party in the making!

I felt for that moment that I was really part of something bigger than myself… and that big something touched on the mandate of ACE Communities. It was then that I realized that the combined Stampede activities, much like ACE, really did use recreation and culture to bring community together.

The Calgary Stampede is truly one of the times in the year that we have a valid excuse to come together with our neighbours, our families, and our friends… and wear Stetsons. It’s a time for block parties (been to one in my neighbourhood already), stampede breakfasts (I’ve hit three so far) and fun times on the Stampede Grounds. I even have a date planned with my mom, the Stampede corral, and a veggie corn dog if I can find one.

When else in the year can you actually wish someone a ‘Happy Stampede’ and receive a greeting back? For good or for evil, Calgarians are all in this together. So I say let’s use these together time to celebrate our history and to build community. And if a cowboy painting or two happens to come my way… then yeehaw!

For more of Dianne Bos’s pinhole photos, see: http://www.newzones.com/dynamic/artist.asp?ArtistID=133&Page=5

And who said?

2010-06-27T22:13:00.012-06:00

The girls were having a blast… their friends had all arrived for the party. There was a pink frosted cake, gifts to be unwrapped, loot bags, and the whole neighbourhood had turned out. My little Cleo and Sammie were turning five and I was a proud momma. Sure – Cleo and Sammie are basset hounds but those are the kind of details I never bother to dwell on.

Before the final Community Building webcast with Ian Hill this past Friday, I mentioned on the chat board that I was planning on hosting a basset birthday batch. This had Ian in stitches.

“That’s pretty hilarious,” he said later on the webcast. “But, hey, community can happen anywhere.”

This really did make me think. It is true, community does happen anywhere. Because let’s face it, even I know that birthday parties for dogs are a little silly. The reason for this bash, like with many others that I’m sure will happen this summer, was that I really just wanted to be surrounded by my people… my peeps… as the cool kids say.

This was undeniably a fabricated way to bring my community together. One of the messages that ACE Communities promotes is that it is ok to dig up a reason to build community. Back in the day we had the barn raisings, quilting bees, and canning circles as ways of bringing people together. Nowadays, we seem to have lost those positive avenues or catalysts for individuals to connect to different types of community.

It was interesting to see what transpired during my basset bash. I had my parents mixing with the ladies from my basset hound rescue group (they brought the basset guests). Our art-world friends hung with my group of tried-and-true neighbours. One of our basset hound foster moms met my neighbour who happened to work at the Calgary Humane Society. They exchanged info and job-hunting tips.

The same foster mom reconnected with one of my husband’s artist friends who happened to have taught her how to make pottery a year before. This pottery teacher is a rather new addition to our street so she was able to formally meet all of the neighbours that she had only ever knew in passing.

Two new moms with similar aged children watched as their kids played with each other’s toys amongst the basset hound chaos. Everyone sang happy birthday when the girls’ cake came out because that’s what you do at a birthday party.

I would say I had 20 people at my shindig from the age of 3 months to 65 – and those were just the people. Six basset hounds, two great danes, and one grandma poodle made up the rest.

One friend volunteered to go shopping for me when I got too busy with other party-related things. One of my neighbours went over to the other’s to help her organize her two young children for the basset party – help that was much appreciated as her husband was away for the weekend.

I even had the young, impressively tattooed guy from across the street knock on my door the following morning with Cleo in tow. A partygoer had forgotten to close the gate and so Cleo went for a morning stroll down the street. Until that point I had never even chatted with this unexpected Good Samaritan but boy was I relieved that he had taken the time to note that we were the house with the crazy bassets.

And who said that basset hounds couldn’t build community?

The show will go on!

2010-06-16T19:06:00.004-06:00

The pilot for the ACE ARTS Tour has now officially been completed. It is a bittersweet ending, no doubt. I will definitely miss being on the ground, working with amazing rural communities in their exploration of the arts, culture, and heritage. I danced, I laughed, and thankfully didn’t sing my way across Alberta. I really can’t sing… well, maybe I can hum a little when inspired.

As this was a pilot project, ACE Communities is hoping to take what we have learnt and apply it in our hunt for funding for future initiatives. We have seen the potential of the arts, culture, and heritage as a catalyst for community building and want to see this potential grow.

You know what that now means? Reports… a lot of them. Individual community reports, a master ARTS Tour report, financial reports – the list could go on.

But I’m okay with that because I know the effort will be worth it. I have seen the transformative power that the arts have had in the lives of many Albertans in the communities that the Tour has visited.

So I think it is time that I take a few minutes to reflect on those who have been affected by the ACE ARTS Tour:

-Imagine 150 elementary school kids hip hopping all together in Hanna

-Meet Olive in Longview who, at the young age of 92, not only baked bread for the ARTS Tour opening event but also took on a Cape Breton dance class

-Hear about the record 75% attendance for the dance and guitar classes in the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation Susa Creek school outside of Grande Cache

-Celebrate the seniors in both Hanna and Longview who did not let their assisted breathing apparatuses deter them from getting up and dancing in their Movement classes

-Cheer on Ann in Longview whose love of the mandolin, and some help from the artist ARTS Tour facilitators, inspired her to perform in front of an audience along side John Wort Hannam despite serious stage fright

-Be inspired by the guitar peer group forming in Grande Cache made up of people who just kept running into each other all week in workshops during their ARTS Tour

-Admire Jesse in Hanna who has the goal of being an actress once she graduates from high school. Not only did she attend 15 workshops in 4 days (4 of which she attended the 1^st day!), she made huge advancements with overcoming her fear of singing in public

-Celebrate Stu in Longview, who has worked at overcoming a serious rodeo-related brain injury. Stu not only sang at the ACE ARTS Tour Open Mike, he took a guitar class and is now committed to performing a song composed by ACE musician John Rutherford and a group of other workshop attendees

-Smile at the young group of songwriters who performed their new song ‘Hanna Rocks’ at the school assembly

- Acknowledge Sherril from High River who attended ARTS Tour classes in BOTH Hanna and Longview!

-Be motivated by the families who hip hopped together in ‘Mommy and Me’ classes in Grande Cache, Longview, and Hanna

-Admire the determination of a group of over 20 guitar-loving individuals of all ages who travelled 2 hrs from Kindersley, SK, to take workshops in Hanna

- Congratulate Michelle in Longview who not only organized her local tour but also participated in singing and guitar classes. Way to lead by example, Michelle!

-Applaud parents in Hanna who gave their kids permission to attend as many workshops as they liked even if it meant missing school. “Who can miss this type of educational opportunity?” one parent (and school board trustee) is quoted as saying.

- Cheer on the mayor of Grande Cache who not only endorsed the ACE ARTS Tour initiative but also got up and danced with her granddaughter in the Pre-school dance class

Like this list, we intend that the proverbial show will go on! There is just too much potential for the arts and culture to affect the quality of life in rural Alberta for us to stop now. So stay tuned….

The New Black is... the new black.

2010-05-16T19:53:00.000-06:00

The New Black was right under my nose the whole time – all I had to do was stop and take a look. Funny how that happens sometimes with the things in your community that really, truly matter.

I first heard about the New Black: Center for Music and Art, an all age music venue/recording studio, at the Alberta Recreation and Park Association’s (ARPA) youth symposium in January. The City of Calgary, Community & Neighbourhood Services, was there giving a presentation on their ‘Toast ‘n’ Jam’ program – an arts engagement initiative with a focus on teaching youth how to become professional musicians.

This symposium session caught my eye because of my role at as the Creative Cultural Liaison with ARPA’s ACE Communities. With my latest baby – the ACE ARTS Tour – soon to be on the road, it was increasingly apparent that music and youth was kinda becoming my thing. It was time, I thought to myself, to get some insight on the topic.

The focus of the City of Calgary’s talk was their transition to a more grassroots, community driven approach to the ‘Toast ‘n’ Jam’ program. Part of this transition was the city’s partnership with the New Black, a youth-friendly music venue in Inglewood. As I just happened to live in Inglewood and was now snuggly wearing my youth & music hat, I quickly put the New Black on my list of places to visit.

Flash forward four months and there I finally was, standing in the uber cool, yet still punk-flavoured New Black. Earlier that week, I had been jogging and stopped to tie my shoelace right in front of the venue’s slightly obscure front entrance. Ah ha, I thought! New Black now located – check one on the list accompli.

“It can be tough to find us,” says Darren Ollinger, one of the venue’s founder, “but that’s all part of the appeal to the kids who come here. It makes it like a destination just for them.”

Hunkered in a cluster of commercial buildings, with the Canadian Pacific Railway right in their back yard, the New Black is the perfect spot for music lovers of all ages to come and see live gigs, create music themselves, or simply hang out with their peers.

“The goal of the New Black,” continues Ollinger, whose day job is as the creative director of the X92.9 FM – Calgary’s alternative radio station, “is to provide a place where kids want to hang out and, just as important, a place where their parent’s feel they are safe to be.”

Oozing professionalism tapered with a grunge edge, the New Black offers its all aged clients a stage to practice their stuff (with a fully equipped music system and acoustic set-up) as well as a recording studio. Bring your own gear and rent the studio for $20/hr. Don’t have your own gear, then the New Black will provide it for a fee of $30/hr. These are rates that would make the average hockey parent turn green with envy.

Parents, of course, are always welcomed at the New Black and Ollinger himself has had chats with parents who have secretly come by to check up their kids.

“We tell parents that this is a place for kids to have a real life educational music experience. They can come here and either perform or just get a feeling for how it really feels to be a working musician,” says Ollinger. “This is what the kids said they wanted so we rose to the challenge and tried to provide it.”

The New Black is currently in the midst of becoming an incorporated non-profit society. Its existence comes from the fact that two guys, who loved music themselves, believed that every kid should have access to music. So fret not – even the non-jock, artsy-punks, wanna-be rockers, and music loving alternative kids can have a place of their own.

For more info on the New Black: http://www.thenewblackcentre.com/

When I hear the drum...

2010-05-07T15:25:00.005-06:00

I could feel the drumbeat literally vibrating through my breastbone. A group of men sat around a large format drum, playing in unison, and I was in awe, taken back by the pure visceral sensation. Standing there and feeling the pulse of that drumbeat was easily the most amazing musical experience of my life.

This encounter with the drum took place last Friday at the Indigenous Sport Council Alberta’s (ISCA) conference. It was part of an award ceremony that the ISCA was hosting for young Aboriginal leaders in sport.

The MC had just explained that, in his culture, they recognized accomplishment not only with material items like awards but also with spiritual accolades through the drum. Afterwards, someone explained that the physical experience I had was intentional and that the drum was meant to mimic the heartbeat of the listeners. As I felt the beat in my chest that night, I understood the valuable tie that the arts had to the spirit.

Later that weekend, I attended the funeral of Ethel Wolf. She was the mother of Helen Zenith - my former boss and mentor who is now a much-respected friend. As her friends and family remembered Ethel’s life, they spoke of the strength of a young Jewish girl who survived the Holocaust and went on to brave a new life for her family in Canada.

One fond story of Ethel was how she advocated that we must always pay good fortune forward and celebrate the joy in one’s life. Charity didn’t count, she said, unless you tore the charitable receipt up. Ethel worked hard but always had time for her friends, her family, and the community. When I heard these words it was as if I could feel the drum vibrating again in my chest.

These two experiences gave me comfort this week as I moved through my days. I found comfort in the knowledge that we can still move pass the material world and celebrate our successes with something as powerful as music. And I remember the power of this spirit through the story of a young girl who not only survived the horror of the Holocaust but also travelled across the world to make Alberta her home.

When I was in Susa Creek for the last ARTS Tour recently, I was given a book created by the elementary school and their community, the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation. It was a book of prose and drawings dedicated to the power of drum. Here is my favourite poem:

“When I hear the drum…

My heart beats.

Beats its beat.

It sings along.”

When I personally hear the drum again… I will remember those who have went before me. And I will always remember to always celebrate the strength and the spirit of those who make a difference in my life.

My thanks to Principal Mark McGimpsey and the students at the Susa Creek School for allowing me to reproduce excerpts from their book.

Ties that bind

2010-04-16T16:34:00.003-06:00

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the ties that arts, culture, and heritage have to community building. I’ve also been thinking, in fact, about culture’s ties to recreation, capacity building in general, and the economic impact of creativity. Gah! As you can rightly imagine, my brain is quickly filling to the brim.

There has been a lot of interest lately in the connection that the arts have to the quality of life sectors like recreation but also the connection they have to building both community and economic capacity.

I recently attending a talk on this very subject in Calgary called ‘Creativity as an Economic Force’, the Indigenous Sport Council Alberta’s (ISCA) upcoming conference in Red Deer touches on this as well (I know because I am hosting the session!!), and even the Canadian Confederation for the Arts (CAA) has just made a conference call for topics related to artists powering the economy.

Why all the recent interest?

Much of my personal musing on the subject has been sparked by two things: 1) the recent ACE ARTS Tour in Grande Cache and 2) the various ways I hope to report on what I have learnt.

If you haven’t, by some miracle, heard me mention it yet, the ACE Alberta Rural Talent Showcase (ARTS) Music and Dance Tour is a 4-day initiative meant as an opportunity for communities to come together to celebrate and grow local talent. ACE truly believes that fostering arts, culture, and heritage is what make all communities better places to live, work and play.

The ACE ARTS Tour, with musicians John Wort Hannam (Juno-nominated) and John Rutherford as well as dancers Michelle Greenwell and Emma Forman, have just returned from Grande Cache and the first inaugural, dare I say groundbreaking, ARTS Tour. This Tour culminated in dance and music workshops and performances in Grande Cache schools, senior centers, their recreation centre as well as workshops in Susa Creek for the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation.

If I were to use my recent experience in Grande Cache as a test example, I can easily think of many ways that arts, culture, and heritage were used to both build community capacity and drive the economy.

It was during this recent ARTS Tour that I saw a group of complete strangers meet over their love of the guitar and form a brand new peer group. It was there that I also saw a local café donate their space for artistic workshops and then benefit from the business of the attendees.

I visited the Susa Creek School and was gifted a book of drawing and poems made by community members of the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation to both celebrate and promote their culture. Myself, along with over 500 participants, benefited from the knowledge and skills of two professional musicians and two professional dancers and they, in turn, made a living wage. I also heard these same artists comment repeatedly on how much they were personally inspired by the enthusiasm of the Grande Cache community.

The list could go on…

Because of history, we know that it has been celebrations involving arts, culture, music and dance that have strengthened families and communities. It is these celebrations that build our confidence and self esteem and express a vision for the kind of community we’re seeking. It is the arts, culture, and heritage that ultimately teach us that joy can be achieved in sustainable ways.

For images from the Grande Cache ACE ARTS Tour see: http://acecommunities.ca/gallery/P12/

Just apply, already!

2010-03-13T18:15:00.002-07:00

Let’s talk resources for arts and heritage. How many of you know about the ‘Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage Program’? Well, if you don’t, I think it is time that you did.

An initiative of the Canadian Heritage Department, the ‘Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage Program’ was created to help Canadians celebrate their communities. The Program is meant to increase opportunities, through festivals or other events and activities, for local artists and artisans to be involved in their community and for local groups to commemorate their local history and heritage.

Studies say that it is the festivals and celebrations that are pivotal to community engagement, identity, and cohesiveness. And it is in the fostering of our communities’ cultural identities that we find social, capital, or civic renewal. Festivals, concerts, and events create opportunities for people to be active and engaged and we know that families who play together, stay together. And you don’t have to take my word for it… the actual studies for these facts can be found in ACE’s online Benefits Catalogue. (Yes, this is a shameless plug for the Benefits Catalogue. Seriously people, this is another resource that kicks butt… use it!... http://benefits.acecommunities.ca)

Because let’s face it…each of Canada’s communities is unique and each is uniquely Canadian. This is, by far, one of our nation’s biggest strengths. Geography, history, their founders and those who came to live there shape our communities. And they continue to grow and change as the people who live there now build on those foundations.

The ‘Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage Program’ is one of those resources that can truly be used to celebrate your community. This program has three components:

Local Festivals: Festivals, events and activities that involve your whole community, give opportunities to local artists and artisans and/or celebrate local history and heritage.

Community Anniversaries: One-time commemoration through festivals or other activities that celebrates a major anniversary of a significant local person or event.

Legacy Fund:  Awards for the creation of tangible, lasting capital projects which commemorate or celebrate a major anniversary of a significant local person or event.

Eligible events and activities must be local – created by and for your community. They must be open and accessible to the public and strongly encourage and promote the participation of everyone in your community.

So the opportunity is there for those entrepreneurial enough to look more into the potential of this grant and then to apply! Imagine what cultural impact this would make in your community.

For more info and the application process see: http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/communities/

Don't be afraid...technology loves you

2010-02-28T12:13:00.001-07:00

It’s like looking into an eye of a chicken…. That was an expression that my Ukrainian grandmother used to say. As you can imagine, it’s not the most flattering of comments - implications of pea-sized brains, futzing around with chicken scratch, and instinctual urges to flee were the associations that always popped into my head whenever she would use it.

Something along those lines is what I suspect my Workshop Instructor, Calgary-based filmmaker Michael Welchman, was probably thinking about me last weekend at EMMEDIA’s Final Cut Pro Class for Beginners. I was there to upgrade my almost non-existent editing skills and he was there to teach me about batch capturing, scratch disks, and Digital Betacams.

It was then that my grandmother’s saying popped into my mind as I was most definitely sporting my best chicken eye. New technology can be a scary and a humbling thing.

I had bravely ventured into EMMEDIA that weekend because, as mentioned above, I was looking for some skills. And it so happens that EMMEDIA is a place where many people with film-related endeavours go to find them.

Established in Calgary in1979, EMMEDIA is a non-profit organization managed and directed by practicing artists. It offers the general pubic and artists alike affordable access to media art production tools, to technical and educational support, and to an array of public exhibition programs. The centre provides a focus for media arts activity and a gathering place for people to interact and exchange ideas.

Other innovative EMMEDIA initiatives include, Digital Direct, launched in 1998, which takes portable digital production and editing equipment to remote or isolated communities in southern Alberta and within the City of Calgary. For many in the art world, EMMEDIA is a hidden gem. For the rest of us, it is a one-stop stomping ground for those adventurous enough to take on the world of new media.

My interest in learning editing skills was specifically job related. Looming over my head is a whole library of ACE-on-the-road footage crying to be made into jazzy little promotional snippets. My fellow classmates varied in their interests. One was a freelance actress who did voice work and was now interested in creating her own documentaries. Another was a retired arts administrator who wanted to return to filmmaking, as it was his first love. We were a sassy little bunch, comrade-in-arms in the new media trenches.

The most important realization that I think we all took away with us from our time at EMMEDIA was that the technology and the resources are there for those willing to dive in and use them. Sure, you might look silly and suddenly lose your ability to work the right-click on a mouse. But who cares! New technology doesn’t judge you… it just doesn’t do ANYTHING until you figure it out.

When you are first starting out, it’s not about brains or brawn – it’s about the willingness to learn. It’s about fearlessness, an open mind, and fighting the urge to flee. It’s about quashing that inner chicken eye…

For more info on workshops available at EMMEDIA see: http://www.emmedia.ca/

In a galaxy not so far away...

2010-02-10T16:13:00.004-07:00

I love Star Trek. There… I said it. And when I say love, I mean LOVE!! More than I probably love my husband. Love, love, love, love… So when I had a chance to visit Vulcan during the last ACE Communities Ignite tour… well. You can only imagine.

My trip to Vulcan was to present them with their ACE Communities Award and to get a real feel for the community. It was a chance for a true ‘in-the-trenches’ view of what makes Vulcan tick.

What I discovered during my visit was very interesting. Vulcan, it seems, is a place in flux. It’s a community taking a serious look at both its cultural and pop cultural identities. And in Vulcan, that is a tricky exploration. Because, despite the rather impressive statue of the Starship Enterprise on the proverbial doorstep, not everyone in Vulcan necessarily loves Star Trek as much as I do.

Shocking, I know.

As part of their journey to becoming an ACE Community, Vulcan expressed an early interest in expanding arts and culture in their town. To answer this need they have already set up initiatives like a new concert series (starting with Blues Legend Tim Williams on Feb. 12^th) and are working towards other related events. And yet, much of their identity as well as their economy are driven by events like their Spock Days/Galaxyfest. Without a doubt, the number of tourists that visit Vulcan per capita is enough to put the big cities to shame.

Still, Vulcan’s foray into the sticky realm of identity has really made me wonder: is pop culture the same as culture?

My first instinct is to say yes! Of course it is… as a huge addict of pop culture, I would argue that much of our music, film, literature, and art is rooted in the drama of real life. Or, in Star Trek’s case, the drama of fantasy life. The pull between our real lives and escapes from the same are what makes us human. It defines us and thus, defines our community.

In Vulcan’s case, however, the question is do they really want their identity to be driven by a galaxy far, far, away (no wait… that’s Star Wars), on what the town has to intrinsically offer despite its trademark name, or a little bit of both?

This is a question that I’ll ponder as I happily wear my plastic Vulcan ears and sip from the Gothic Spock mug I purchased from the Vulcan Tourist center. In my mind, it makes sense to celebrate one’s community for both what is has and for what it can be – even if what you’ve got is a little …. out of this world.

Validation is just a mouse click away

2010-01-23T11:07:00.008-07:00

As someone who has spent most of her career in the arts, I have devoted a lot of energy in convincing people (funders, patrons, art collectors, newspaper editors… the list goes on) that they should invest in the arts. And when I say invest, I don’t necessarily only mean money – not that money is bad. Bring the money on… No purism for me! No, what I really mean is the investment of time, energy, faith, and conviction.

For me, commitment to the arts, culture, and heritage is a huge investment in the quality of life for you, your family, and your community.

Luckily for me, and for anyone who is currently in the position of writing a fundraising proposal, presentation, or brand new policy, ACE Communities has now launched the online version of the Benefits Catalogue. Included in this Catalogue is a database of over 700 studies proving the value of recreation, parks, sport, arts, culture and heritage.

The 2009 Benefits Catalogue, in essence, is an online tool that provides updated evidence for 50 outcomes statements using leading-edge technology. The vision of the Benefits Catalogue is one of sustainability with always-current research and evidence. Users, in fact, are encouraged to upload their own personal research or studies that the Catalogue might be missing.

This living resource summarizes evidence that what we do – as recreation and cultural providers - really does make a difference and has a significant impact as economic, social, and/or political drivers. It provides users with an invaluable resource for policy development, planning, marketing, program/service development and/or evaluation.

Type in ‘arts’, ‘culture’, and ‘heritage’ into the search engine and actual documented studies are found that prove that these three fields:

· are essential to personal health and well-being

· provide the key to balanced human development

· provide a foundation for quality of life

· reduce self-destructive and anti-social behaviour

· build strong families and healthy communities

· reduce health care, social service and police/justice costs

· are a significant economic generator

This same type of search can be done for topics like: active living, aboriginal issues, children and/or adults, cultural diversity, living with disability, seniors, parks, and recreation. And then – voila! - the database formats the results into a handy, dandy pdf ready for print. Your work is fait accompli.

And I ask you, has research ever been easier? So if you are currently in a position where you need or want to prove the benefits of parks, recreation, arts, culture, and heritage, look no further! Validation is just a mouse click away.

So visit: http://benefits.acecommunities.ca

Etsy.com: The Medieval market gone virtual

2010-01-08T11:57:00.002-07:00

I recently had an insightful chat with an old school friend of mine. Eileen is one of the few friends I still… luckily… have from my art history graduate days at the University of Toronto. Those were tough, demanding times and she was my strongest comrade-in-arms in the art historical trenches. Not all of us made it out of that MA Program with our sanity (or dignity) completely intact.

The conversation that we had the other day was about how she was using Twitter to drive people to the photographs she currently has on sale on www.etsy.com. Etsy.com is a popular point-of-sale site used to sell homemade objects varying from art, jewelry, clothing items, and furniture to accessories for your pampered pooch. Some call it ebay’s funky, artsy little sister.

The fact that the two of us were having an au courant 2010 ‘technology’ talk was very amusing to me. My favourite memory of Eileen was the two of laughing as we sat discussing our medieval art history class at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies at the U of T. This very serious and lofty class used to crack us up. You never knew when someone might spontaneously start speaking in Latin (kinda like in the Exorcist) or show up wearing a minstrel-style cape. Twitter was definitely not the rage back then.

It’s interesting how technology has shaped so much in the past few years. So much, in fact, that old dog former art historians like Eileen and myself (although, she was always way more computer-savvy than me) have had to dust ourselves off and engage with current practices.

So back to etsy.com. It’s funny how things have changed and not changed at the same time. What Etsy is, in essence, is an artisan marketplace – with undeniable medieval roots - gone virtual. Items are still being crafted in cottage industries, brought to market (albeit virtually) then sold to a buyer. The change is that the buyer and/or seller can now be almost anywhere in the world. Even us parchment-reading types have to admit that the economic impact of such an initiative is mindboggling.

The medieval artisan market has evolved into a cyber-community celebration of the creative individual. But don’t be fooled, it is still an economic enterprise driven by millions of dollars in sales for its combined members.

Rob Walker, in his article “Handmade 2.0” for the New York Times Magazine, writes: “For Circa Ceramics, and for crafters in general, Etsy is another manifestation of how D.I.Y.-ism has evolved. Its motivation may still be the independence from capitalism ... But it can also be about a form of economic independence within capitalism.”

In practice, Etsy is very aware of its role as an alternative to traditional marketplaces and actively celebrates its community grassroots. One of the services it provides is ‘Etsy Teams’. These teams are groups of organized Etsy members who network, share skills, and promote their shops and Etsy together. A Team forms around a shared location, crafting medium, or another interest.

Etsy's 450+ Teams make the site not just a marketplace of individuals, but an interconnected and diverse artistic community. The teams, in fact, are Etsy’s biggest and most creative grassroots engine for support, networking and marketing.

While I am most definitely not a shopper, I do have a fetish… dare I say obsession… for handcrafted art objects. I’ve been supporting my little bubble of capitalism for years by buying objects off of various art sites. Now that I’ve discovered Etsy, I could be in trouble. Because, for me, there’s nothing as exiting as that little brown, art-filled package, waiting patiently for me on my doorstep.

So I will raise the cry: “Medievalist shoppers…embrace technology and unite!”

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To check out Etsy: www.etsy.com

For Rob Walker’s complete article on Etsy: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/magazine/16Crafts-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Interested in my friend Eileen’s Etsy site? See: http://www.etsy.com/shop/easelarts?ga_search_query=easelarts&ga_search_type=seller_usernames

Not Your Usual Resolution

2009-12-21T22:48:00.004-07:00

T’is the season for New Year’s Resolutions. I personally am not the biggest fan of the ole New Year resolution. Eat less, exercise more, be nice to puppies and small infants…. these are just some of the things that we promise ourselves yearly that we will - without a doubt - carry through with.

“Ach pbbttt!” my Irish-mother-in-law would say. And you can’t argue with the simplicity of that logic. How many of these things do we actually stick with once the grind of post-holiday life kicks in? Why can’t we just be better, thinner, happier version of ourselves forever, and ever, and ever without the muck and the fuss?

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I spent a few days recently travelling with Ian Hill, our ACE ambassador, on the ACE Ignite tour. Not only is this tour a celebration of our new ACE communities, it is also an opportunity to ignite the communities into further action.

The Ignite Tour is as what one community leader in Trochu said: "A pat on the back and a kick in the butt at the same time."

Part of this call to action was a very inspirational talk by Ian Hill. Ian, an award-winning philanthropist and businessman, often centered his speech on the power of the individual. “Imagine,” he said, “what your life would be like and the life of your family, if you woke up tomorrow and decided to be 10% better. What if you aimed to be a better mother, a better husband, a better neighbour?”

“Now imagine,” he continued, “if everyone in your community woke up that day and decided the exact same thing. How much better would the quality of everyone’s life be then?”

I heard variations of his speech as we travelled together over those few days. By day three and possibly ten speeches later, I finally stopped and thought to myself: “hey – maybe its time that I figured out how I could be a better person and a better citizen.”

Some are clearly slower on the uptake than others.

So here is not one … but ten resolutions that I plan on making in 2010 to not only better myself but to better the quality of life of the people around me. 2010 is going to be fierce!

Janet Naclia's 2010 New Year's Resolutions

1) I will stop and make a meaningful connection with at least one person every week in my neighbourhood. And I don’t mean some fluffy, quick nod of the head… I really want to know an interesting fact, idea, or value relating to the people around me.

2) I will listen earnestly to someone else’s opinion everyday without judgment. I will make sure to take one positive thing away from each of these encounters even if I think they are full of crap. Oops – scratch that last bit. I’ve fallen off the wagon already and I’m just at number 2!

3) I will spend extra time every day scratching the bellies of my basset hounds – even when I feel like I don’t have the time or the patience.

4) I will make every effort to improve my mind with new ideas and rise to all challenges. An engaged mind is a benefit to my family, my employers, my friends, and my community.

5) When I workout, I will give it my all no matter how much I think I might upchuck. This is purely in respect to those who are nearly upchucking next to me.

6) I will always stop to help those in need – the lady who looks lost on the street, the mini-van stuck in the snow bank, the gentleman looking for the last dollar for his bus ticket.

7) I will eat fewer pastries because I know they are bad for my cholesterol. I didn’t say I would STOP eating them, though. Who am I – superwoman?

8) I will spend more quality-time with my parents. Because, you know, I really like them. Maybe I’ll get my mom to teach me how to make pierogies.

9) I will make an effort to speak to my very dear ‘out-of-town’ friends at least once a month. No matter what! I have that unlimited calling plan and I just don’t know why I don’t use it more.

10) I will increase my volunteer-work because it really does feel good to help others. They don’t just say that so you get out there and volunteer. It’s true. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.

Do you have any resolutions you would like to add? I would love to hear them… especially if they involve basset hounds…. you know, doing good in the community.

Memphis and Me

2009-12-09T13:09:00.003-07:00

I had the distinctive pleasure last week of participating in the ACE Communities Ignite Tour. This, essentially, is a series of launches for the 10 brand new ACE Communities who came on board this September.

The tour involved visits to 5 rural Alberta communities (the 2^nd stage of the tour happens in January) where Ian Hill, the ACE Ambassador, presented to them their ACE Award and then had in-depth conversations with community members. Never having experienced an Ignite Tour before, I went along to soak it all in.

What I experienced was a real grassroots movement, in the trenches, eating home-cooked meals, meeting with community members and discussing salient issues. It was absolutely exhausting, enlightening, and I loved it!

This tour really got me thinking about my work with ACE. As the Creative Cultural Liaison, it is my aim to have a true impact in these communities in regards to the arts, culture, and heritage. It is a huge task and, in my personal opinion, the best job around.

The question I have been batting around in my head since my time on the tour is how exactly does one influence the ‘creative’ side of a community? Especially since, as I learned, each community is so unique.

Luckily for me, great minds have already been working on this very question. In my research regarding what I like to think of as the heart and the soul of community, I came across the Memphis Manifesto.

This document was created at the Memphis Manifesto Summit – an event hosted by Richard Florida, author of Rise of the Creative Class and How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life, and Carol Coletta, host and producer of the award-winning public radio interview program, Smart City.

Held in Memphis in 2003, this gathering of the creative class called ‘The Creative 100’ was a group selected from nominations from across North America. Coming from 48 cities in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, the Creative 100 wrote this manifesto for their own communities and for all communities seeking to compete in today’s economy.

I am encouraging all who have even the smallest interest in creative communities to read this manifesto. I’m so committed, in fact, that I have included it below in this blog as well as provided a link to the document in its entirety.

Basically, this document is 10 points… 10 points!... easily read… that can help any community become a community of ideas! Consider this my new personal manifesto.

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The Memphis Manifesto: Building a community of ideas

Preamble:

Creativity is fundamental to being human and is a critical resource to individual, community and economic life. Creative communities are vibrant, humanizing places, nurturing personal growth, sparking cultural and technological breakthroughs, producing jobs and wealth, and accepting a variety of life styles and culture.

The Creative 100 are committed to the growth, prosperity and excellence of communities, and all who live and work there.

The Creative 100 believe in the vision and the opportunities of a future driven by the power of ideas. Ideas are the growth engines of tomorrow, so the nurturing of the communities where ideas can flourish is the key to success. Ideas take root where creativity is cultivated and creativity thrives where communities are committed to ideas.

Creativity resides in everyone everywhere so building a community of ideas means empowering all people with the ability to express and use the genius of their own creativity and bring it to bear as responsible citizens.

This manifesto is our call to action.

Principles:

The Creative 100 are dedicated to helping communities realize the full potential of creative ideas by encouraging these principles:

1) Cultivate and reward creativity. Everyone is part of the value chain of creativity. Creativity can happen at anytime, anywhere, and it’s happening in your community right now. Pay attention.

2) Invest in the creative ecosystem. The creative ecosystem can include arts and culture, nightlife, the music scene, restaurants, artists and designers, innovators, entrepreneurs, affordable spaces, lively neighborhoods, spirituality, education, density, public spaces and third places.

3) Embrace diversity. It gives birth to creativity, innovation and positive economic impact. People of different backgrounds and experiences contribute a diversity of ideas, expressions, talents and perspectives that enrich communities. This is how ideas flourish and build vital communities.

4) Nurture the creatives. Support the connectors. Collaborate to compete in a new way and get everyone in the game.

5) Value risk-taking. Convert a “no” climate into a “yes” climate. Invest in opportunity- making, not just problem-solving. Tap into the creative talent, technology and energy for your community. Challenge conventional wisdom.

6) Be authentic. Identify the value you add and focus on those assets where you can be unique. Dare to be different, not simply the look-alike of another community. Resist mono-culture and homogeneity. Every community can be the right community.

7) Invest in and build on quality of place. While inherited features such as climate, natural resources and population are important, other critical features such as arts and culture, open and green spaces, vibrant downtowns, and centers of learning can be built and strengthened. This will make communities more competitive than ever because it will create more opportunities than ever for ideas to have an impact.

8) Remove barriers to creativity, such as mediocrity, intolerance, disconnectedness, sprawl, poverty, bad schools, exclusivity, and social and environmental degradation.

9) Take responsibility for change in your community. Improvise. Make things happen. Development is a “do it yourself” enterprise.

10) Ensure that every person, especially children, has the right to creativity. The highest quality lifelong education is critical to developing and retaining creative individuals as a resource for communities.

We accept the responsibility to be the stewards of creativity in our communities. We understand the ideas and principles in this document may be adapted to reflect our community’s unique needs and assets.

For the Memphis Manifesto in its entirety, please see:

http://www.norcrossga.net/user_files/The%20Memphis%20Manifesto.pdf

The Writing Challenge... are you up to it?

2009-11-19T14:26:00.009-07:00

One of my not so secret secrets is that I’m attempting to write a novel. I’ve been doing so for what feels like forever and it is probably a few chapters away from completion. That is, if I ever get around to looking at my first draft again.

The reason for this massive delay is that writing is really, really… really hard. On the flip side, it’s also massively rewarding when it goes well. After complaining yet again about this thorny face of writing, a friend recommended that I read Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. Lamott, like myself, acknowledges that the process of writing can be… wait for it… really hard sometimes. She, however, has some sound advice on how to suck it up and keep writing. Aspiring writers read this book!

It is this painful bit of first-hand experience that makes me endlessly appreciative of any form of writing. I’m especially delighted, then, when I come across great pieces of writing by people who are entirely unexpected.

Take for example, The Joining of Dingo Radish by Rob Harasymchuk. It was my father who introduced me to this book. Offhandedly one day, he mentioned that a guy he worked with happened to have written a book in his ‘free time’. This book turned out to be an award nominated, page turning, crime/thriller set in a small, rural town and Harasymchuk’s first novel. Harasymchuk, a Project Superintendent for a construction company, is a self-taught writer whose dream it is to tell people’s stories for a living.

I read Dingo and was jealous. Not only did Harasymchuk write the perfect Prairie underdog story, he managed to capture the nuances - good and bad - of life in a rural town. Plus, he finished HIS book.

Equally putting me to shame is Chris Willard’s Sundre: a novel. Willard, a former New-Yorker who is currently head of the Painting Department at the Alberta College of Art and Design, wrote this – his second book – after moving to Alberta and becoming captivated by the vastness of the prairies. After spending time in Sundre and in their archives, Willard wrote what reviewer Robert Coover called: “An affectionate elegy for a gone time, laced with strands of old-fashioned prairie wisdom in the face of life’s sad turns.”

Hey – wait a minute! Why is this New Yorker writing the prairie story I SHOULD be writing? I’m sorry. Did I say I was jealous yet?

So, I wonder time and again… what compels people to write these amazing stories? Is it the seductive feeling of a hard battle won over the self-doubting voices in your head? Is it because of the urge we have to communicate our inner thoughts and feelings to others? Or is it the simple need to tell a really good story whether it is about an unlikely hero like with Harasymchuk’s Dingo or, with Willard’s Sundre, about a time in our history slowly being forgotten?

University of Calgary English professor Harry Vandervlist has always been amazed at the tenacity many writers show in drafting and re-working their material. “If you take the time to look at the work an author puts in, which you can sometimes do by studying all the drafts and revisions available at a good archive collection, you realize just how many thousands of hours go into a good piece of writing. The only reason writers stick with the job, I’ve always thought, is because they don’t have any choice. Writers write because they have to. It can be an addiction that doesn’t make life easier for the author, but without it we’d be a lot poorer as readers.”

Our compulsion to write, to tell our stories, in fact, has realized itself in online writing groups, book clubs, poetry slams, and writing camps across the province. It’s for reasons like this that resources like the Writer’s Guild of Alberta exist. See their website (www.writersguild.ab.ca) for info on support for writers as well as for organizations looking to connect with Alberta’s writing talent.

So here’s my challenge to you. Get writing! We all can do it with a little commitment, fearlessness, and support. I’ll show you my work in progress if you show me yours.

Please see:

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (Pantheon Books)

The Joining of Dingo Radish by Rob Harasymchuk (Great Plains Publications)

Sundre: a novel by Chris Willard (Esplande Books)

Cultural Intelligence - how would you score?

2009-11-06T11:53:00.005-07:00

How judgmental do you think we are as a culture or, more importantly, of culture itself? There’s no denying that we are constantly striving to improve ourselves, to embrace multiculturalism, to champion human rights, and promote diversity. How often, though, do we stop… I mean really stop… to consider what all of this means?

I had an ‘ah ha’ moment a few weeks ago while attending Alberta’s first ever Aboriginal Recreation Leaders Summit hosted by ACE Communities and the Indigenous Sports Council.

At the end of the event, participants were asked to comment on what they had learned. When it was his turn one gentleman named Tommy Quinney, a volunteer recreation advisor from Frog Lake, stated this as his reason for dedicating himself to improving his community.

“When I die and meet the Creator,” Quinney said, “the last thing I would want him to think was that I was ever ashamed to have been an Indian.”

“Wow,” my brain said. Funny concept that – that in this day and age someone might still have to defend himself or herself for being who they are. Pride in oneself and one’s community can still be a hard fought battle no matter what that community is. It’s the Boomers versus the Net Generation, the artsy fartsys versus the corporations, the green movement versus the oil guys. Why can’t we all just get along?

In a session at the recent Alberta Recreation and Parks Association Conference, I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Jennifer James speak on ‘Cultural Intelligence: What’s your score?’. It was her argument that for humanity to evolve, we must first observe, learn, understand, and evaluate our own culture as well as the culture of others. She argued that we must embrace diversity and give up what she phrased a ‘single option perspectives’ in order for us to advance our civilization past values based on money and power to a place where an overall sense of community is our greatest asset.

Culture it seems can be defined in clumps based on identity. There is the gay culture, the comic book culture, the yummy mummy culture, and your classic culture based on ethnicity. It is whatever defines you and your chosen group.

In fact, if we want, we can easily alter Tommy Quinney’s statement. Maybe the thing you aren’t ashamed of is being working mom or a single dad. Or maybe it’s that you are a lesbian… Jewish… gay… a white Irish Catholic male...an East Indian woman… a feminist…a sci-fi geek…or First Nations. We could all spend hours defending our chosen culture whether it is one of ethnicity, social, or political leanings. The question arises, what can we do so that we can all evolve to a place where we won’t need to defend our cultures anymore?

I personally would like to take a lead from Tommy Quinney. I believe that we all work hard to improve the community that we are in; the rest of the world will follow. It seems what we really need to do is to BOTH take pride in ourselves and joy in learning about others. Simple enough. The real question is then: if you had to rate your cultural intelligence – what would be your score?

For more info on Dr. Jennifer James’ most recent book see: "Thinking In The Future Tense" and her upcoming new book, "Cultural Intelligence".