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40 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday March 23, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com New managing director hopes to help MASS make next step By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Music and Art Shared Space (MASS) started as a dream. And if you ask the local group's new managing director, that dream is on its way to becoming a reality. "It's now about implementing the dream, it's about shaping it," said MASS' newly-installed Britta Martini-Miles. "I'm very excited. I mean, how could you not be? It's a wonderful thing to be working on." The mother of three joins MASS as its managing director after working with the Suzuki Music Association since moving from South Africa a year ago. Senio and Stu rs den $11.00 ts Wed. Mar 28 The Oakville Players present A Bad Year for Tomatoes by John Patrick Hilarious complications arise when a famous actress moves to a small town to write her autobiography and is beleaguered by nosy neighbours. Thurs. to Sat., March 22-24 and Wed. to Sat., March 28-31 The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts Tickets $22 · Call the Oakville Centre Box Office 905.815.2021 or 1.888.489.7784 or online at www.oakvillecentre.ca MASS' goal is to create a centre for the arts for the many cultural and artistic groups struggling to find performance, practice and display space in Oakville. So far, the group has been given a Trillium grant to create its game plan ­ a business and feasibility study. They're now looking for a place to create the facility, and have been talking with Sheridan College about the possibility of MASS' dream facility being built there, Martini-Miles said. "I think to put a centre at Sheridan would make a lot of sense ­ it's a win-win. It's prime location for us, the Town Hall is right there, so it would tie everything together very nicely, and Sheridan would benefit from having it right there." MASS is also working with the Town, which Martini-Miles says has been supportive. "They have given us a strong endorsement that they want to support us for this." MASS has also received support from the Oakville Arts Council and the Community Foundation of Oakville as well as from other private individuals and companies. Martini-Miles emphasizes the project MASS has in mind is by no means small in scale. Britta Martini-Miles "It's not well-intended and well-meaning artsy folk that got together to build themselves a little clubhouse," she said. "This is broad-based, we're building a facility for everyone." A facility not only to show talent, Martini-Miles says, but also to cultivate it. "This is how you create and maintain talent. It's important that you have a centre somewhere. Co-existence of different cultural groups, craft groups, music groups ­ that's how you create a community. That's how you create a hub." Neighbouring communities like Brampton and Mississauga, the managing director noted, already have such a facility. "We do have to have it. There is definitely a sense that Oakville is due." Resource development, fundraising and looking at possible options are all in MASS' game plan now. Its board has been restructured to reflect all groups and interests necessary after Susan Obermeyer, MASS' former executive director, stepped down to devote more time to her family. MASS will also be renamed and will develop a new logo soon to reflect these changes. "Up until recently it really was a volunteer-driven concern," said Martini-Miles. "That is not how you build buildings. This project is enormous." Don Pangman is the board's new resource development officer. "He's building a really huge support network from both private and corporate sectors," said Martini-Miles. "It's not going to be the one building that's going to fix it all. That's impossible," she added. "But Oakville has been starved in this area for a number of years and it's time to get to work on addressing some of those needs." MASS plans to launch its fundraising campaign in the fall, and hopes to have the building open by the fall of 2009. For more on MASS, visit www.musicartsharedspace.ca. Former President Bill Clinton & Bob Rae to appear at Hamilton Place April 3, 2007 at 12:30 p.m. Corporate Social Responsibility Supporting Youth, Our Next Generation Visit www.Ticketmaster.ca or call Ticketmaster @ 905-527-7666 Limited Seating - Student Tickets Available Champions of Youth Speaker Series The Oakville Beaver DIVISION OF METROLAND MEDIA GROUP LTD. www.tfyhalton.ca www.oakvillebeaver.com