The Nova Scotia Arts and Culture Partnership Council (NSACPC) has accomplished much since its formation in 2003. Highlights of these accomplishments can be found below. (Please note these are not presented in chronological order.) For a more detailed record of the Council’s accomplishments, please consult the Council’s annual reports in the Publications section.
The NSACPC provides advice to guide government’s ongoing investment in artists, cultural industries, and cultural activities. The 15-member council makes recommendations to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage* on planning, design and delivery of arts and culture programs in Nova Scotia. The Council’s mission is to facilitate the development, preservation and promotion of the arts and culture sector in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage and the arts and culture community.
| Creative NS Report | Independent Panels |
| Promoting Sector | Partnerships and Outreach |
| Program Reviews | Prizes |
Creative Nova Report
Creative Nova Scotia: How Arts and Culture Can Help Build a Better Nova Scotia was released by the NSACPC at the inaugural Creative Nova Scotia Awards Gala and Conference in 2006. The report gives 10 recommendations to government for the sector’s sustainability and growth. The first recommendation was to establish a committee with senior representation from key government departments to review the recommendations presented in the plan and to “determine how best to focus existing and identify new resources to grow the culture sector in Nova Scotia.” This recommendation has led to the creation of an interdepartmental working group on arts and culture involving more than 10 provincial government departments and agencies.
Implementation of the Creative Nova Scotia report’s recommendations has been featured as a measure in the Department of Tourism Culture and Heritage’s Accountability Reports for 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-2010.
Independent Peer Assessment Panels
The Council developed and recommended a new model for processing funding applications that uses external assessment panels (EAPs) and peer assessment committees (juries). It allows for community input, improves transparency and accountability, and encourages growth.
The model uses External Assessment Panels (EAPs) and Peer Assessment Committees (arts juries) to provide additional transparency and accountability. The Council also recommended that the names of grant recipients, panelists and jurors be published online as an added measure of transparency.
Upon the NSACPC’s recommendation to the Minister, this model was adopted and as of April 2007, all funding applications to the Culture Division are processed using EAPs or peer juries. The names of panelists and jurors are made available on the Culture Division website once a year.
Celebrating Excellence and Promoting Learning Opportunities
In 2006, the Council hosted the first Creative Nova Scotia Awards Gala and Conference in Pictou as a means to help develop, foster and promote an awareness of the value and importance of arts and culture in Nova Scotia. In subsequent years the event has been held in Membertou, Halifax, and Yarmouth. The Council presented the conference in order to provide an opportunity for artists and cultural organizations to learn from experts and leaders and to celebrate the richness of Nova Scotia’s arts and culture. The awards gala includes the presentation of the Established Artist Awards, the Community Award, the Prix Grand-Pré, Portia White Prize and the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia’s Masterwork Arts Award.
The 2010 Creative Nova Scotia Awards Gala will be presented again in Halifax on October 29. For more on this event, visit http://www.creativenovascotia.com.
Promoting the Sector
While the Creative Nova Scotia Awards Gala and Conference has a role to celebrate excellence in arts and culture, the Council has also been involved in other initiatives that promote the sector.
The Council was involved in Nova Scotia’s participation in the nation-wide 2010 Culture Days campaign, from September 24-26. Culture Days is a free celebration of arts and culture in a pan-Canadian volunteer movement to raise awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of all Canadians and our cultural world. Council representatives were part of the Nova Scotia Task Team and provided support by connecting the task team with community arts councils, distributing communications through the Council’s listserv, and offering other assistance as appropriate. It is the Council’s hope that Culture Days will become an annual event and will offer continued support into the future.
In September 2008, the Council planned the “Fall for the Arts” event in order to give added attention to the arts and culture sector and promote cultural tourism. This media launch, in partnership with members of the arts and culture sector such as Symphony Nova Scotia and Neptune Theatre as well as the Nova Scotia Tourism Partnership Council, was an event held at Pier 21 which brought together the press, government and artists in order to promote existing cultural activity through a website, calendar and other media dedicated to promoting arts and culture events during the fall season.
Partnership and Outreach
A number of public open forums were held by the Council across the province. Members also regularly participate in panels and conferences, including bringing a Nova Scotian perspective to the Canadian Public Art Funders’ Annual General Meeting, most recently held in Vancouver, November 2009.
The Council has met with all of the provincial caucuses in order to inform the parties of the role and importance of the arts and culture sector to the economic and social well being of Nova Scotians.
The Council’s outreach work has also included meeting with the media regarding how they report on culture, promoting cultural tourism at functions held by the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia (TIANS) as well as the Tourism Partnership Council (TPC), and providing input into projects and funding planned through the Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) initiative on Cultural Tourism through partnership with the Culture Division.
The Council also has an ongoing relationship with the various community arts councils across Nova Scotia. From hosting face-to-face meetings of all the councils to facilitating communications amongst the councils and government, the NSACPC supports the work of the community arts councils and acknowledges the importance of these groups to the vibrancy and health of artists and arts organizations throughout the province.
Program Review
The NSACPC reviews all programs offered by the Culture Division. In 2004, a review of the funding programs available to cultural organizations led the Council to recommend the consolidation of the Anchor, Facilities and Sustaining programs into a new program called the Operating Assistance to Cultural Organizations Program. The Council also identified the need for, and oversaw the development of, the Cultural Opportunities for Youth Program.
Likewise, the NSACPC has recommended changes to the Cultural Activities Program and the Portia White Prize and Prix Grand-Pré programs.
Review of New Culture Division Initiatives and Work with Other Departments
In addition to providing regular review of the Culture Division’s ongoing programs and policies, the NSACPC seeks to affect new policy and program development. As an example, the Council reviewed the department’s Culture Export Strategy Going Global: Creative Pursuits – A Partnership Strategy to Support Culture Exporters.
The Council strives to work with all government departments whose programming impacts the sector. For example, the Council has provided the Department of Education with feedback regarding its proposed External Credentialing Policy and has met with representatives from the Office of African NS Affairs and the Office of Aboriginal Affairs to examine outreach activities.
Changes to Funding Processes and Deadlines
Based on the Council’s recommendation, the Culture Division adopted the policy that funding commitments be paid out 100% at the time of approval. (Previously 20% of the total project approval was held until receipt of the final report.) This change was implemented to allow clients to make better financial planning decisions and to reduce administrative costs in the Culture Division by reducing the work required to issue two sets of payments However, to maintain accountability, it was recommended that payment be withheld on future funding approvals until outstanding final reports were submitted.
The NSACPC has also reviewed and made a number of recommendations regarding funding deadlines which have been implemented by the Culture Division. These changes address the order and time of the month which deadlines occur in order to improve the application process for groups and individuals.
New Prizes
In 2006, the NSACPC created the Established Artist Recognition Awards and the Community Arts and Culture Recognition Award using a portion of the investment interest on the endowment fund, thereby preserving the principle of the endowment fund. These awards, presented for the first time in 2007, are awarded annually at the Creative Nova Scotia Awards Gala.
The Community Arts and Culture Recognition Award is presented to a community in Nova Scotia which demonstrates the value it places on the presence of arts and culture in community life. The $10,000 prize is meant to be used to continue the integration of arts and culture within the community.
The Established Artist Recognition Award is presented to five artists who have emerged from their initial training and development to become recognized, established artists in Nova Scotia. Each prize is valued at $5000 and may be used by the recipient for any purpose.
* This Department was changed to the Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage effective January 11, 2011.
** The name of the NSACPC was changed to the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council on February 14, 2011.