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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, W ednesday N ovem ber 1, 2006 - 23 MASS polling election candidates for support of the arts By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Music and Art Shared Space (MASS) is m aking its goal a campaign issue by challenging mayoral and local council candidates to come up with answers. Rallying for the co n stru ctio n of a facility to house the tow n's m any artistic and musical groups, the non-profit group has em ailed candidates asking questions like how each would make local culture a priority, and w hether they'd com m it to building a com munity art and m usic cen tre in town during their four-year term . "The town does recog nize the need for such a facility," said MASS board member, Susan Obermeyer. "The im p o rtan t thing right now is translating support in to som ething concrete," added Carole Crotty, w ho's also on the board. One of the reasons MASS has decided to make it a campaign issue is because "There is an urgency here," says Obermeyer. "An absolute urgency." C rotty is a volunteer w ith the Oakville Suzuki Association, a 345-student large musical group that has never had a full concert, simply because th e re 's nowhere to do it. "We don't have a group of pianos in one place," she said. The H alton Youth Symphony, she offered as a n o th er example, uses space in a church and it's "absolutely choc-a-block full in there." For the past three and a half years, MASS - a volun teer organization th at's now m ore th an 20 cultural groups strong and growing - has been working towards the creation of a com m uni ty art and m usic centre to house these groups. W ith a business plan facilitated by a Trillium grant now in the hands of the Town, MASS hopes to have the building up and ru n n in g w ithin the next four years. "We've done a lot of very careful groundwork," said Obermeyer, including the business plan, investigating fundraising feasibility and options for the building's location. Years ago, before MASS was formed, a group of local artists, including Crotty, took the issue to local coun cil. "We said, we need space, and they said, start collabo rating. So we did," she said. And the progress, MASS board m em bers say, has been steady every since. "We have all the equipment and the people to teach, but there's no place to do it." Tony Last, MASS board member "People have noticed more appreciation for local arts since we started," said Obermeyer. "We feel we've already done something." A building, though - a cultural hub - is the ulti mate goal. "The im portant thing is it needs to be as central as possible, as visible as possi ble, as accessible as possi ble," said Obermeyer. "You can't be buried somewhere. We have to be visible so we can attract as many groups as possible...to help sustain the enterprise." The ideal building would be 44,000 square feet and m ulti-use to incorporate various groups that require things like good acoustics, lighting and large spaces. "We hope to build some very specialized use areas," said Obermeyer, who added a large recital space with foldable chairs could also be used for art shows and vari ous musical concerts and practices. "It would be used by many, many groups." And not just music and art groups - poetry, literary groups, the horticultural society and groups like the Oakville Sculptors and Woodcarvers Guild are all part of MASS. Right now, the sculptors and woodcarvers are meet ing at a seniors centre on Bronte Road. "What we need is a space of our own so we can teach," says its founder and MASS board member, Tony Last. "We have all the equipment and the people to teach, but there's no place to do it." T hat's the over-riding problem MASS hopes to solve. Local political candidates had until last-F riday to retu rn th eir answers to MASS' questions on their support of a music and art centre, local culture and how to ensure more effi cient and better directed funding and cultural grants. Answers will be posted on MASS' website at www.musicartsharedspace.c a and will also be available in its free E-notes enewsletter. To register, visit the website. --Krissie Rutherford can be reached at krutherford@oakvillebeaver. com. Investment today and tomorrow. C IB C CIBC Imperial Service For w h a t matters. advice for R eaching y o u r c u rre n t an d lo n g -te rm goals is easier w h e n y o u have a F inancial A d vise r w h o w o rk s w ith you to b u ild a n d m a in ta in an u p -to -d a te in v e s tm e n t pla n - co m p le te w ith s o lu tio n s th a t are ta ilo re d to y o u r personal s itu a tio n . 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Children from the com m unity are invited to par ticipate in the event, which will feature instrum ental ists, vocalists and a variety of perform ers from diverse genres and backgrounds. The P erform ing Arts Challenge is different from oth er talent com petitions in th at it focuses on the com plete artist rather than ju st one com ponent. Stage presence, dress, com m and of the audience and m ore will all be taken in to consid eratio n by judges. "We recognized the need for a com petition where a child could focus beyond th e labour of tech n iq u e and allow his or her per sonality and a rtistry to shine through," said event ch air and G lenburnie School's instrum ental spe cialist, Paul Carr. As a result, com petitors will receive separate scores for tech n ical m e rit and artistic im pression. The judges, who are all professionals in th eir fields, will score the perform anc es and w in n ers will be announced at the end of each category. G lenburnie school has specialty teachers for pri mary, ju n io r/in term ed iate m usic, visual a rts and dram a and has d istin guished itself as a local leader in arts education. To register for the Third Annual P erform ing Arts C hallenge or for m ore inform ation, call Judie Roy at G lenburnie School, 905338-6236 or visit the web site a t w w w .glenburnieschool.com s ' youfcH O N TA R IO JU N IO R CITIZEN O F THE YEAR AWARDS Sponsored by: The strength of our community lies in solid citizens. Here is your chance to nominate a young person, aged 6 to 17, who is involved in worthwhile community service; who is contributing while living with limitations; who has performed an act of heroism; or is a 'good kid' who is m aking life better for others and doing more than is nomally * n« w m o» im m n u k m expected of someone their age - help us recognize their contribution. E r r r ilv r r i Coordinated by: Canada T ru st Nominations w ill be accepted until November 30. Nomination forms available at www.ocna.org or 9 0 5 -6 3 9 -8 7 2 0 or contact this newspaper. Aocna Ontario Junior Citizen Of The Year Awards NOMINATE SOMEONE TODAY!