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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday August 29, 2008 - 29 Artscene Oakville Beaver · FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 2008 Sign up now for guitar, bass, drums, and piano OAKVILLE'S MUSIC STORE CHRIS KORNACKI / OAKVILLE BEAVER WORKING FOR THE ARTS: Megan Whittington, left, executive director of the Oakville Arts Council and Pamela Keywan, membership administrator, stock brochures at the organization's office in downtown Oakville. The non-profit, community-focused group is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Oakville Arts Council going strong after 30 years By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Unlike humans, who often worry about the years as they pass, the fact that there are 30 candles on the cake for the Oakville Arts Council is cause for celebration. Megan Whittington, executive director, says age is a good thing when it comes to a community-focused organization, as it proves it has stood the test of time. For those who might not know, the Oakville Arts Council is a non-profit, umbrella organization representing a large and diverse membership from the Oakville arts community. It is an important element of the town's arts scene, Whittington said. "The mission of the arts council is to cultivate the arts and enrich the creative life of the community of Oakville," said Whittington. "We are thrilled to be three decades old." The arts council is celebrating several successes it has achieved in recent years. A major milestone was working with the town to make the cultural grant application process easier last year. "There used to be a 13-page application," Whittington said. "Our artists want to focus on their craft. They don't have time for that, so we slashed the 13-page document to two pages of information that was really needed to justify the public funding of these groups." The arts council was also key in lobbying the Town for more money for cultural grants. Last year, funding from the Town for grants was increased from $78,000 to $98,000. This makes Town spending on arts grants 58 cents per capita. However, this figure is still not good enough, according to Whittington. "Are we content with it being $98,000? No," she said. "It should be far more than that. It should be at least the 90 cents that had been suggested years ago. But even that's still not good enough. I'd like it to be three dollars per capita." Whittington is also happy to report that membership numbers are healthy. There are currently more than 250 members, encompassing about 50 non-profit arts groups that represent 3,000 individuals, 50 for-profit businesses like galleries, and 150 individual artists, who are mainly visual artists. The arts council is working on doing even better in the membership sphere. "We're looking to recruit more members in all the disciplines, particularly photographers, film and new media artists, as well as individual performing artists," Whittington said. In exchange for an annual fee, members enjoy several benefits, such as receiving and being included in the council's newsletters and magazine, having their brochures displayed around town, and receiving discounts from member businesses. The arts council's budget is funded by a number of different sources. The Town of Oakville is the biggest source of money, providing about 40 per cent of the budget. Cash also comes from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Arts Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Oakville. Revenue also comes from corporate sponsors, individual donors, member fees, as well as fundraisers. Although the Town is the arts council's largest source of funds, the arts council is an independent body. See Arts page 32 TRAFALGAR GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB Resident & Associate Memberships Available If you love golf, you will love Trafalgar Golf & Country Club! 18 New Greens · Family Oriented Practice Facilities · No Capital Assessments Join for 2009 & play the remainder of 2008 905-878-2303 www.trafalgargolf.com 2009 MEMBERSHIP SALE SEPT 1-21 GREAT DEALS FOR 2009 CALL TODAY!