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The candidates' views on the arts
The Hintonburg Community Association asked all Council candidates in Kitchissippi -- Christine Leadman, Gary Ludington, Daniel Narwa, Vicky Smallman -- to answer our questions about the arts. Here are their responses in alphabetical order of names. The material is exactly as received; it has not been edited. Be sure to vote on Monday, November 13, 2006.Christine Leadman
Are you in favour of (a) cutting (b) maintaining (c) increasing the overall City cultural budget to fund arts initiatives?I will start out by saying that the word funding is inappropriate. It really should be investment. I am certainly in favour of maintaining the existing investment made by the City. I also believe that the City has an opportunity to invest more in Hintonburg as a proactive response to addressing some of the issues within the area.
How best can the arts contribute to making Hintonburg a more sustainable community that continues to attract cultural workers?
It is essential to build on the strength that exists within the community now. Often people or areas try to be something they are not and fail miserably. We need to showcase the diversity and depth of the arts, culture and heritage of Hintonburg as a continuation of the foundation already established and growing in the Ward. There is a strong spine (our mainstreet) that runs through the Ward unlike any other. Each component of it offers a unique opportunity to create an arts experience that is rare in most cities. I would work with all stakeholders to develop our ward mainstreets as a destination and/or “district” for the arts, heritage, culture including the culinary arts.
If elected, what steps would you take to enhance Hintonburg’s QUAD arts district?
There are several steps that I would take to enhance Hintonburg’s QUAD arts district:
a. There needs to be an effective and engaged working group established from within the arts community with a “can do” attitude.
b. We tap into outside resources who have best practice experience that can act as sounding boards and offer their knowledge and insights.
c. Develop a doable action plan with realistic time lines .
d. We engage area and city wide businesses to participate at the grassroots level to achieve success together.
e. We build on the success.
I am a “can do” person and feel that there are many ways to achieve success. Westboro is a testament to what can be achieved in partnership with the arts.
In the planned Wellington Street infrastructure renewal project, would you support the full allocation of the “1% for public art” policy of the City?
I would support the 1% policy. I am very familiar with the barriers as I have the hands-on experience with the Richmond Road infrastructure renewal project. One of the main barriers is the “inflexibility” internally at City. Staff interpretations can be very rigid and do not feel they are in the position to change or be flexible. I have worked very well with staff and feel that I have demonstrated that I can work effectively and respectfully with them and achieve the desired results.
In the forthcoming neighbourhood planning study, how would you ensure that arts and heritage are fully embraced as a cornerstone for the future development in Hintonburg?
It is not a matter of embracing it as a cornerstone. It will be the reality from which the planning study should be started from. I do not believe that this is a negotiable item.
In 2001, the Ontario government opened the door to property tax savings for owners of some heritage properties. Under the Ontario Responsible Choices for Growth and Fiscal Responsibility Act, municipalities may now offer a tax reduction or refund to owners of designated properties who enter into a conservation easement to protect the property. What would you do to set up an Ottawa pilot project where such buildings in Hintonburg could benefit from this legislation and serve a cultural purpose?
I believe that the pilot project should be generated from the Neighbourhood Planning Study. This gives properties owner more strength if it is embodied in the overall plan. From there you target specific properties, engage the property owners, resident and business community with leadership from a strong Councillor who believes in the project. There are proven success stories that lend credibility to this type of renewal. At the Ontario BIA conference this past year one of the main lecturers was on the revitalization of city sections through arts organization. BIAs have been strong proponents of revitalization through the arts throughout Ontario.
Gary Ludington
Are you in favour of (a) cutting (b) maintaining (c) increasing the overall City cultural budget to find arts initiatives?Answer: c) Ottawa’s spending on arts & culture is the lowest among the 7 largest Canadian cities. This poor performance hurts our local communities and businesses who are left to promote arts and culture solely with their own resources. The city must take a more positive leadership role. I will be specific. In arts funding, my priorities would be i) capital funding for city-wide arts projects that benefit everyone and ii) specific initiatives in Kitchissippi that strengthen the arts in our Ward. To use previous examples, I would have voted for the GCTC funding and for the City to purchase the former GCTC building to provide additional performance space for small arts groups.
How best can the arts contribute to making Hintonburg a more sustainable community that continues to attract cultural workers?
Attracting more cultural workers means having good, affordable spaces for them to work in and live in, as well as promoting a concentration of the arts in Hintonburg so that there is a critical mass. Hintonburg needs to become an arts destination.
For space, Hintonburg has a rich stock of heritage and traditional buildings that are underused assets which should be used to spur revitalization and economic development in Hintonburg, especially through their use as arts-related spaces such as galleries, studios, and performance spaces. In addition, non-traditional space can be created in innovative ways. Hintonburg Park is the site of an increasingly successful home-grown Shakespeare festival each summer, and this type of use should be enhanced in the upcoming park renovations. Parkdale Park is the site of ArtsPark, and infrastructure and promotion should enhance this type of arts-related use of recreational spaces.
The successful creation of diverse arts spaces will contribute to the distinctiveness of Hintonburg as a unique place which can be better promoted. As councillor, I would take an active role in this promotion. I fully support the QUAD arts district initiative. Artists who live and work in this community contribute to sustainability by their presence. Their contributions to events such as ArtsPark, and to public art projects as well as the galleries they run or support attract positive attention to Hintonburg. This, in turn, would be good for small businesses and residential development.
I will look at ways to welcome and support the arts in all aspects of City activity in Hintonburg e.g. recreation, infrastructure renewal (not only on Wellington St.), and the QUAD initiative.
If elected, what steps would you take to enhance Hintonburg’s QUAD arts district?
Firstly, I will work to have Hintonburg’s QUAD officially recognized by the City of Ottawa and identify funding sources that might be used to promote and enhance the QUAD. Secondly, I will work to protect the affordable housing stock, studio and display space available in Hintonburg through appropriate zoning and other means. Thirdly, I will ensure that upcoming development opportunities (for example, the Bayview Yards/Light Rail Corridor and the Mixed Use Centre area between Parkdale and Holland) that includes the new GCTC incorporate policies, zoning and incentives that will attract cultural workers. Fourthly, I support property tax reduction and zoning incentives in a designated QUAD arts district for studio and performance space.
In the planned Wellington Street infrastructure renewal project, would you support the full allocation of the “1% for public art” policy of the City? What barriers could you see to this becoming a reality and what would you do to overcome these obstacles?
Yes. The policy is not as well-known across City Departments as it should be, and is not routinely implemented. It must be. For Hintonburg, the current Neighbourhood Planning Initiative is one way to overcome this obstacle and to ensure smooth implementation. I will monitor the issue and intervene if necessary to bring the appropriate City staff together to achieve the full 1% for public art. More importantly, I will work to ensure that the 1% for public art policy is universally implemented in all city public works throughout the city.
In the forthcoming neighbourhood planning study, how would you ensure that arts and heritage are fully embraced as a cornerstone for future development in Hintonburg? What would be the function of cultural planning in this process?
I will promote the mapping of cultural resources as one of the foundations of the study. Cultural planning requires taking a broad view of a community that must include arts and culture. I will support the recommendations of the HCA Arts & Heritage Committees that emerge from the study. I will expect the study to seek examples of arts promotion policies and programs from other jurisdictions that can be piloted in Hintonburg. I will work with the HCA and City staff to identify sources of funding within the City and elsewhere to achieve the goals.
In 2001, the Ontario government opened the door to property tax savings for owners of some heritage properties. Under the Ontario Responsible Choices for Growth and Fiscal Responsibility Act, municipalities may now offer a tax reduction or refund to owners of designated properties who enter into a conservation easement to protect the property. What would you do to set up an Ottawa pilot project where such buildings in Hintonburg could benefit from this legislation and serve a cultural purpose?
I fully support Ottawa taking part in this Provincial program, and support using the easement as a tool to promote conservation and adaptive re-use of heritage properties for arts space. I would work to have the City adopt the necessary policies to participate. Furthermore, the Brownfields Redevelopment Community Improvement Plan could be another source of funding for cleaning up contaminated sites and converting them to places for the arts. A good example of such conversion is the new GCTC that has been built on a reclaimed brownfield lot -- a success story!
Daniel Narwa
Due to time restraints of an exceedingly busy schedule, I must defer to answering all the posted questions at this time. Furthermore, before having a chance to read up on and doing more research and being more informed about Arts and Culture in Kitchissippi (QUAD), I must refrain from commenting on or committing to any dollar amounts. In keeping with my campaign policy I do not make unachievable or empty campaign promises. I can assure you unequivocally that I am a strong proponent of Arts and Culture of any type in Ottawa. Being a businessman and somewhat of an artist myself, I understand the valuable social and economic effect that QUAD has and can have on our neighbourhoods. Should I be elected, I would look forward to working with the arts community in Hintonburg including the broader city as well, to make Hintonburg the number one QUAD in Ottawa.Vicky Smallman
Are you in favour of (a) cutting (b) maintaining (c) increasing the overall City cultural budget to find arts initiatives?C) increasing
How best can the arts contribute to making Hintonburg a more sustainable community that continues to attract cultural workers?
I think Hintonburg has done a great job at integrating the arts with community activity and urban revitalization. The QUAD effort, the Creative Lights competition, the use of vacant commercial window space for installations, the youth video project -- all help improve the visibility of the arts within our community, help improve the mainstreet, and benefit the area in so many ways. We need to continue to cultivate the productive partnership between the community association, working artists, cultural institutions, and businesses. The key is to place the needs of working artists at the centre of cultural policy decisions and future planning directions -- making sure the arts have a place at the table during the Neighbourhood Planning Initiative, for example This way, we can help to ensure that the diversity and abundance of cultural activities we currently enjoy here, which are created and produced by many people who choose to live and work here, can continue to flourish for years to come.
If elected, what steps would you take to enhance Hintonburg’s QUAD arts district?
I would continue to actively support artistic activity within the area by attending events and helping promote efforts (as I have been doing with my personal weblog for some time). I want to make sure that the lines of communication with the artistic community are open, so that I can better understand the needs of working artists and cultural institutions and respond to them effectively. Perhaps the most important effort (at least in the short term) would be to ensure that artists are involved in the Neighbourhood Planning Initiative, so that we integrate the vision for the QUAD into a long-term plan for the community, supported by the city and reflected in the plans for the Wellington West Mainstreet. I would also support efforts to secure affordable, permanent multi-use cultural spaces for shared artist/public use (like performance venues and galleries), but also affordable, well-maintained live-work spaces for artistic creation and production. As Hintonburg grows and changes, we want to make sure we don’t develop out of the reach of the people and groups that have helped shape this dynamic, diverse community.
In the planned Wellington Street infrastructure renewal project, would you support the full allocation of the “1% for public art” policy of the City? What barriers could you see to this becoming a reality and what would you do to overcome these obstacles?
Of course! The biggest barrier, in my view, is the repeated failure of the city to live up to this policy -- even the LRT project has not allocated 1% to public art. So we are going to need to rally tremendous community pressure to make sure this happens here. It may require some additional fundraising on the part of the community - can we match the city’s one percent, and increase the total to two? That would be a challenge and would require effort, cooperation and leadership, but it is certainly something I am motivated to work on.
In the forthcoming neighbourhood planning study, how would you ensure that arts and heritage are fully embraced as a cornerstone for future development in Hintonburg? What would be the function of cultural planning in this process?
The Neighbourhood Planning Initiative is an exciting project. As you know, I have been working with Creative Neighbourhoods and others to ensure the right stakeholders are invited to participate (including significant representation from the artistic community) and the public engagement strategy includes a diverse range of activities designed to build an imaginative, positive vision for the area -- one that celebrates the arts, creates beautiful and functional public spaces, fosters community and preserves our architectural and cultural heritage.
Ottawa’s 20/20 plan states that “The City will preserve distinct built heritage, streetscapes and cultural heritage landscapes that serve as landmarks and symbols of local identity in both urban and rural districts, as outlined in the Official Plan.” Let’s use the NPI to identify the parts of our heritage that we think are important, set priorities and establish a long-term plan for ensuring that our collective past is reflected in the streetscape as it continues to grow and develop.
In 2001, the Ontario government opened the door to property tax savings for owners of some heritage properties. Under the Ontario Responsible Choices for Growth and Fiscal Responsibility Act, municipalities may now offer a tax reduction or refund to owners of designated properties who enter into a conservation easement to protect the property. What would you do to set up an Ottawa pilot project where such buildings in Hintonburg could benefit from this legislation and serve a cultural purpose?
I think that’s a great idea. The city does have policy to provide “advice and assistance” to private owners of heritage properties. If a pilot is required to get this program going, I would be happy to lead an effort to convince my fellow councillors and city staff that Hintonburg is a logical community to start.
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