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5 Thursday , D ecem ber 9, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Oakvilles CommUnity Arts Space (CUAS) will continue its support work for the creation of cultural space thanks to a two-year $130,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The funding will be used to help the organization support cultural groups through communication, operations and programming at the soon to be open Queen Elizabeth Park community and arts centre. This is the second major grant CUAS is receiving from the provinces funding arm, after it received a three-year grant of $225,000 in 2007. After the 2007 funding ran out, its members volunteered their time to work until now, said the organiza- tions executive director, Britta Martini- Miles. This new money will pay for two part- time positions, one for herself as executive, Martini-Miles said, and one for a currently vacant position of administrative support, among other things. The use of the money will be directed at being an advocate for Oakvilles communi- ty and arts groups to voice their needs for the new arts centre, which is due to open sometime next year. Of the grant money, $12,000 per year is also allocated to bring in expertise from outside the community, such as represen- tatives from other cultural centres. The groups in Oakville have never had that opportunity, she said. We now have money to bring other experts to Oakville and thus create learning opportunities that are open to all community groups. She said all groups, not just the arts, will benefit from outside expertise on building a vibrant community hub. They will gain insight on what is financially viable, what has and hasnt worked for other centres and much more. The overall thing will be capacity building of the groups so that the facility at QE Park becomes more than just room rental. Its not just about facility rental. The groups have made it very clear that they want a cultural hub and were a long way from that, Martini-Miles said. We will go back to the community groups in January and sit down with them and understand from their perspective what are their needs and then roll out the work plan. Aside from the QEP work, CUAS also fundraises for and organizes the annual For the Love of the Arts Festival, acts as a community liaison between various arts groups concerning space issues and hosts meetings. After the two-year money runs out, Martini-Miles said she hopes another grant will not be necessary. I think, hopefully, by then some kind of operational model is in place for CommUnity Arts Space that external fund- ing is not required in this way, she said. Either some kind of membership system will finance coordination of activities or the Town will do it all or the groups will become engaged as a steering committee. Those are things we need to explore now. Those are the things we need to do in the two years. The group, along with the Oakville Arts Council, received a smaller grant from Trillium in 2003, to run a feasibility study for an arts space, which has since become a reality with the construction of the QEP centre, located at the former Queen Elizabeth Park High School site in Bronte. The grant will officially be presented on Friday, Dec. 10 at Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens at 4 p.m. by Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn. The gallery is located at 1306 Lakeshore Rd. E. Trillium funds group to continue QEP support work We now have money to bring other experts to Oakville and thus create learning oppor- tunities that are open to all community groups. Britta Martini-Miles, CUAS executive director Classroom: 125 Lakeshore Rd. E, Ste 305 Call: 905.842.6846 Next Course: Dec 27, 28, 29, 30 MTO APPROVED BEGINNER DRIVER EDUCATION COURSE PROVIDER ISO 9001:2008 Registered A TRUE STORY A few weeks ago a car swerved into my lane while I was driving home from dinner with my parents. Lucky for us, I was well prepared. Young Drivers of Canada, you saved our lives! Expect the Unexpected Other drivers make mistakes. Knowing how to drive safely means having the skills to react to the unexpected. We teach these life-saving skills everyday. Trust Young Drivers of Canada to prepare you for the road ahead. Graduate certificate recogniz de by the Insurance industry. Also check out our flexible payment options. Visit www.yd.com today.