In this photo, emerging Inuk artist and musician Tony Eetak reflects on the visible vault during a workshop at Qaumajuq and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Since 2021, Art Borups Corners and the Winnipeg Arts Incubator program have been supporting artists and communities across Manitoba, northern Canada, and internationally, seeded with support from the Canada Council for the Arts.
The Manitoba Arts Council is working towards a more inclusive and sustainable arts and culture sector with its latest strategic priorities for 2024-2026, released this week. Building on foundations laid in 2021, MAC is building on its committed to incubating equity, diversity, climate adaptation and environmental sustainability throughout the province.
As a locally and regionally-focused program, Art Borups Corners supports four primary objectives: Cultural Revitalization through Arts, Culture, and Creative Entrepreneurship; Indigenous Food Sector Entrepreneurship and Skills Development Training; Promoting Indigenous Agriculture and Agri-food-focused Research; and Promoting Trade in Indigenous Peoples’ Food Products.
The Arts and Culture sectors are key for our programs and Manitoba Arts Council programs were instrumental in creating the conditions for Art Borups Corners to become a real non-profit organization. And so much of what we’ve done has been driven by Inuit, First Nations and Metis artists and culture sector workers as well as those from marginalized communities. Most of our programming over the last few years has also focused on climate change, adaptation and social determinants of health, using arts-based approaches.
Here are some the highlights from MAC’s 2024-2026 strategic priorities:
Equity & Diversity: In its 2024-2026 strategy the Manitoba Arts Council recognizes the need to address historical imbalances in funding distribution. Initiatives include establishing priority groups such as Indigenous People, Black People, People of Colour, and more. For example, the Support – Operate program is being rebalanced to support a wider range of organizations and projects.
Priority groups at MAC include: Indigenous People, Black People and People of Colour, People who are D/deaf or living with adisability, Francophones, People who live outside of the capital region and People who are members of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community.
Priority groups may see dedicated granting programs, be allocated additional weighting in the assessment of grant applications, and inform updates to MAC’s policies and procedures.
Environmental Sustainability
“As a sector rooted in the human experience, arts and culture are intrinsically linked to one of the most pressing issues of our time: climate change. Collective action is required to mitigate the increasing number of extreme climate events happening now and to limit the degradation of the planet caused by our activity. The arts and culture sector has two important roles to play in this work: reducing the environmental impact of its activities, and inspiring others to do the same.”
Acknowledging the arts sector’s impact on climate change, the Manitoba Arts Council is incorporating climate action criteria into grant applications. Additionally, a new grant program will support projects addressing environmental issues.
Collaboration & Accountability and Rebalancing Operating Funding
“To address equity and diversity, MAC must begin to correct the historical imbalances in our Support – Operate program. MAC has supported the operations of arts organizations since making our first grant in 1967. 57 years later, the Support – Operate program supports 118 organizations with annual operating grants. The allocation of funding in the program perpetuates inequity in several ways.”
The strategic plan aims to address how the program has been closed to new applicants for 20 years. “This has severely limited the ability of a generation of arts and culture organizations to stabilize and reach their full potential. It has also insulated the organizations within the program from being assessed against newer organizations, which has stifled evolution in the sector.”
We’re really excited to see this happening, and how the Manitoba Arts Council values collaboration and accountability. There is a massive need for sectoral development in the arts and culture sector, to see this commitment to actively seeking input from stakeholders to ensure decisions benefit all Manitobans is encouraging. They are also considering expanding their role to better support the sector’s needs through surveys and analysis.
Read the full report on MAC’s 2024-2026 Strategic Priorities
About the Report: In 2021, the Manitoba Arts Council released “Arts & Culture for All Manitobans” – our Strategic Priorities for 2021 to 2023. This document, which included a new vision, purpose, and values, has provided the framework for MAC to begin shifting towards a more equitable model of funding arts and culture in Manitoba. To provide support and stability for the important work in progress, MAC has renewed and refined these priorities for 2024 to 2026.
Art Borups Corners (‘Come Eat With Me’) is a grassroots, community-driven non-profit organization building on more than a decade of participatory research. As a community program nurturing the skills, knowledge, and networks of our future leaders, this unique pilot program contributes beyond the success of its participants. Art Borups Corners also lays the foundation for sustainable and impactful business and entrepreneurship programming and strengthening relationships between the Kivalliq Region and Manitoba. The organization is proud to be supporting members of and dedicated volunteers with the Kivalliq Chamber of Commerce. For more information, visit our web site at: https://artsincubator.ca
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