Last week I wrote a blog post that was picked up by the Georgia Straight where I shared my views of the Spirit Festival grant program.

Thanks to all who responded, commented (60+), Retweeted (60+) and “liked” on Facebook (700+).

Here is a sample of some of the comments people made. The positive comments far out numbered the negative comments. In fact, there was really only one negative commenter who left a few comments.

POSITIVE COMMENTS

Bravo! You’ve said what surely everyone is thinking.

Hear hear!

Thanks for speaking up. I agree with you completely.

Starting a festival just to access a grant is the same as buying a rope to hang yourself with.

Another brilliant, articulate and bang on assessment from John McLachlan.

Brilliant & great incite from the voice of experience. Thank You John.

Thank you John. You said it.

Few festivals thrive in February (other than maybe the Push Festival — which is brilliant) — but BC spirit festivals?? They’re kidding, right? They aren’t? Oh my freaking god.

Thanks you John! we don’t need spirit festivals, or retractable roofs or whatever. Its just a little too ‘art for the state’ flavoured for this jew…..

Thanks, John. Too bad we can’t draft you onto the BC Arts Council. The gagged silence from those who are supposed to be the custodians of culture in BC is deafening.

Amen, John. This is without doubt the worst example of incompetent mismanagement of the cultural sector in Canadian history. The BC Arts Council does need to take a very strong public stand now, but the real villains are Minister Krueger and Premier Campbell whose unprecedented political interference in the cultural life of this province makes us the laughingstock of the whole country. The only artistic production in this province that needs its funding cut is Liberals du Soleil.

Well said and thank you, John McLachlan. These Spirit of BC festivals grants for artistic propaganda promoting the BC so-called So-Cred-Liberal government on the backs of struggling arts organizations sound suspiciously like Leni Riefenstahl’s work for Hitler’s Germany. Let’s remember that artists like Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, George Grosz, Kurt Schwitters, Otto Dix and others left Nazi Germany. Can BC afford this kind of exodus because it’s already begun – Crystal Pite, Kika Thorne, Cheyanne Turions and others. Elaine Carol, Artistic Director, MISCELLANEOUS Productions

This has Campbell written all over it. He’s just looking for another expensive party for his rich friends and a chance to wave his fucking red mitts in the air. There’s sea of drunks on Granville street already and it’s free! Give the money BACK to the real arts.

Agreed!

BC Spirit festival? The spirit of fascism, is being celebrated, attempting to thwart the spirit of artistic creation? pulling funding from that which goes against their corporate business like ideological spirit..? thats what this is about. Cant wait for these pigs to wake up to a complete rejection by the citizens of BC. sooner than their 3 year nondate. I can say I never once darkened the door of any BORELYMPIC festival during those horrible 2 weeks.

Well said. Haven’t business types always assumed that the art community lacks acumen of any kind? Are they trickling some scraps our way to appease us? Please, we must not re-elect them.

This program is worse than those stupid Millennium grants. How many arts organizations and artists were looking for ways to celebrate the Millennium? The quintessential top-down policy.

In this case, how many arts organizations in the north want to hold festivals in February? Another fine business model from the supposedly fiscally-prudent govt.

I can’t wait for winter with hordes of people driving to Wells from the Lower Mainland and Victoria in their all-season tires

How about a Spirit of BC Rail Festival? We could set up model trains all over BC and then sell them to the highest bidder – after a few insider shenanigans!

Or a Spirit of PST Festival? Set up yard sales & kiosks and charge the good ol’ pre-HST %.

No doubt there are many Spirits lurking in the wings that would make excellent themes. Otherwise, I hope every arts group boycotts this nonsense.

These ‘Spirit Festival’ organizers should have taken a look at Calgary’s desperate attempts to keep their ‘Olympic Spirt’ on life support after the 1988 Games. There’s a reason why you’ve never heard of the Calgary Winter Festival.

It’s like the people who won’t take their Xmas decorations down until well into February – give it up and move on already.

Well said, John. Thanks for the straight talk.

We need the BC government to restore arms-length funding of culture and art, and stop bleeding real artists and cultural organizations dry!

Diverting funds from real art to a blatant propaganda event is reprehensible behavior and indicates no respect or understanding of what art or culture is. Real art and culture creates a real legacy.

John, In complete agreement with your thoughts on this issue. It’s really disheartening to see the BCAC on life support and the adverse affect the radical funding cuts are having on the provincial arts sector. Spirit Festival concept is complete rubbish designed to buy votes in non urban communities and simultaneously to tell the “real cultural workers” in the community exactly what they (Liberal gov’t) think of them. The gov’t just doesn’t give a damn about culture and art. That much seems pretty clear.

Totally agree. Everyone I talk to think that the idea of ‘Spirit Festivals’ is really tacky.

Is there any chance that the government will back down on this ill-conceived and incredibly gauche idea? Is this REALLY going to happen? Maybe it’s a government conspiracy…they’re hoping that all the arts orgs will be so upset that everyone will boycott, so they can shrug ‘your loss’ and put the money back in their pockets ?

Given the unanimous opposition to the BC Spirit Festival expressed here, will artists take the next step and boycott it?

Artists and concerned citizens can complain all they want – but what does any of it mean if grant applications continue to be submitted?

If you hate what the government is doing to the arts – if you hate this festival in particular – you have to unite and, in solidarity, declare you will have nothing to do with it.

Boycott the BC Spirit Festival.

Consider this folks – the ‘Spirit Festival’ grant can only be applied for by Members of the Assembly of BC Arts Councils, or Aboriginal Friendship Centres, Band Councils or other Aboriginal cultural organizations.

Too bad they didn’t resurrect the BC Festival of the Arts. Every year a different city took it on, it supported all manner of art and artists, all at the same time. It was uplifting to be present at one whether or not you were a delegate.

And February? A bad storm and there go your participants

Right on John. I was wondering when someone would speak the truth about this ridiculous idea. 30 million thrown away while bonafide groups, like mine, the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra, limp along after 100% cuts. It;s sheer insanity.These Liberals wouldn’t know art from a f-art. These are scary times for democracy and the arts, two things that go hand in hand.

Right on!!! Thanks for speaking up when so many of us feel we can’t . Millions of dollars being sucked up by/for the Olympic Games…AGAIN, instead of being used for and by the community at large. It would be laughable if not so devastating.

BRAVO!

Well put, John. And yes, shameless hussy productions will boycott this BC Spirit Festival grant crap. Why not go out in flames?!

Boycott the Spirit Festival!

I applaud John McLachlan and Jane Danzo for standing up and telling everyone that what the Campbell Liberals are doing to the Arts in BC is unacceptable. They give us something to cheer for but unless we stand with them and form a united artistic protest we lack a strong enough voice. If we apply for these Spirit Grants and implement the government’s vision of what artists should do, we sell out our own community and our own visions. Let’s do what artists do best – show people what is and what is possible!

This is bang on. The only art gallery in my northern B.C. town lost all it’s funding from the province and is now fundraising locally in order to keep its doors open so that local artists have a place to show their work. It’s sad times and a festival celebrating last year’s news isn’t new or innovative.

I did NOT vote for this. Stop killing the Arts.

Oh yeah, Spirit Festivals. Those are those parades Kim Jong Il throws, right?

Sorry but if you had worked in industry and business as I have for many years, you’d be well aware of the handouts given to that sector not involved in the arts (Sun-Rype, mining companies, lumber, and the list goes on and on)!

The more restrictions you put on arts-based funding, the less art that gets made…. so, are we all to assume that this province, and this country are becoming too elitist for the majority of the citizens to actually live here?!

The cultural crème de la crème are replying to you Mr. Campbell and Mr. Krueger in these comments in support of John’s position. And we are only the tip of the iceberg.

When are each and every one of us finally going to take back the power into our own hands and start demanding that this government remember that we are their employers and we pay their salary and we have the power to fire them? Now that’s a festival I could get behind!!!

We must address public mistrust of government funding of the arts. We are a province of people who don’t get the business, jobs, and value impact culture plays in our quality of life and our prosperity as a province. Perhaps it’s from too long and so recently being solely reliant on resource based industries.

Providing seed money to the arts is economic stimulus and is the lifeblood of our ability to fully join the knowledge based economy, fight the brain drain, and lure central business activity like head offices to BC

NEGATIVE COMMENT

If the arts community cannot sustain itself as opposed to perpetual reliance on the taxpayer for funding, then it has no reason to exist.