Questions Asked by SC Arts Commission at Canvas of the People Events
March 11th, 2010The next Canvas of the People events will take place in Bluffton, SC, at the Technical College of the Lowcountry on March 11, 2010 (that’s today) and then at the Governor’s School for the Arts in Greenville, SC, on March 16, 2010. Each runs from 6:45 to 8pm. Registration is not required.
Here’s the schedule:
Thursday, March 11 - Technical College of the Lowcountry, Beaufort area (Bluffton, SC)
Tuesday, March 16 - Governor’s School for the Arts, Greenville
Monday, March 22 - Black Creek Arts Center, Hartsville
Thursday, March 25 - Aiken Center for the Arts, Aiken
Monday, March 29 - North Charleston City Hall, North Charleston
Thursday, April 8 - Chapman Cultural Center, Spartanburg
For more information about exact locations visit this link (www.SouthCarolinaArts.com/canvas2010).
We found the questions you’ll be asked if you attend one of the Canvas of the People events on the Arts Commission’s website. You’ll only have an hour and 15 minutes so it will help if you know the questions ahead of time and have your answers written down. That will leave some time to tell the Arts Commission how stupid this process is. If that’s what you think. You might think you’re lucky that they even want to hear what you have to say.
Here are the questions and a few answers - off the top of my head.
Q1. What is one thing that is working in the arts, either in your community, the state or elsewhere?
A1. In North Carolina the NC Arts Council (equal to the SC Arts Commission) runs their program based on a Grassroots outlook - giving funding to the communities to use the way they feel best fits their needs. Not by everyone trying to fit their square pegs into the Arts Commission’s round holes.
Q2. What is one of the biggest challenges facing the arts where you live?
A2. Well, everyone in the arts is not a non-profit and those who are for-profit are invisible to the Arts Commission. They only want to assist groups that lose money and stay dependent on handouts and the Arts Commission. Let for-profits compete for funding too. Let the best ideas that serve the arts community get the funding - not just non-profits in need.
Q3. What is a great opportunity for the arts in our state?
A3. Since the state of South Carolina is in such a financial hole they could disband the Arts Commission and take all the money that doesn’t go toward the Commission’s overhead (huge staff and facility) and give it directly to each county on a per-capita basis. The overhead money could go toward keeping people on the job in safety, health and education positions.
I’m not saying that these are my answers. They just came off the top of a long list developed over the years. And, that’s one of the problems with this Canvas process - there are only three questions offered and you get only one answer. It’s like they don’t want to admit to any other problems or suggested solutions.
You want to know what was said in Columbia, SC - the first Canvas event where 20 people showed up. Click this link.
You say you can’t attend any of the planned gatherings - take this survey on the Arts Commission’s site. You can leave your written comments to be part of the official record. Of course - unlike a public meeting - if you do the survey, there is no way to guard against lost comments.
Funny, this survey - the ability to leave comments without attending the gathering wasn’t mentioned in the initial press release about the 2010 Canvas of the People process. You can always count on finding something extra on the Arts Commission’s website if you just dig deep enough - something not mentioned at first.
For instance I thought I was receiving all press releases from the Arts Commission - not so. I found notice of another Board meeting scheduled for March 10, 2010, 11am to 2pm, in Columbia, SC, at the Arts Commission’s headquarters dated March 1, 2010. Another ten day notice to such an important event.
They say the public is welcome to come to these board meeting, but the public has to know about them first. They shouldn’t rely on me to spread the word.




