Write a letter

We are writing to enlist the help of Assembly of BC Arts Councils members and supporters to urge the provincial government to increase its investment in BC’s arts and culture sector through increased funds to the British Columbia Arts Council. The Assembly has been working with a coalition of arts organizations under the banner of Arts Future BC to lobby for this increased support delivered through the BC Arts Council. The arts provide our communities with a heart and soul that must be nurtured. We believe that that BC Arts Council is the best vehicle to deliver provincial investment in arts and culture into the hands of individual artists and arts organizations throughout the province. During September and October Arts Future BC has been busy rallying artists, arts organizations and supporters of the arts to make their voices heard. Arts supporters in eight BC communities have made presentations before the government’s Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services in support of increased investment in the arts in BC delivered through the programs of the BC Arts Council. It is this committee that will bring forward recommendations to the Minister of Finance for the 2007/08 provincial budget. We have had a real impact with these presentations. But we need more support to drive our message home! It is of utmost importance that our elected officials get the message that arts and culture are important, and that a significant portion of electors care about government support for the arts. Please write to your MLA , lobby community leaders, and get the word out that arts and culture are vital to our communities, and direct funding to arts and culture practitioners is the best way to keep the sector healthy and growing -- and providing social and economic benefit to our communities.
To find your MLA’s contact information, go to MLA Finder on the provincial government web site: http://www.leg.bc.ca/mla/3-1-1.htm .
For statistics and quotes on the importance and contributions of the arts to our province, visit the Assembly website “Advocacy” pages at http://www.assemblybcartscouncils.ca/WebSite/gAdvocacy/index-2.asp.
The Assembly has also posted Arts Future BC’s written brief to the Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services on our web site at http://www.assemblybcartscouncils.ca/WebSite/bNews_Home/NewsEventsProjects/ArtsFuturebrief.pdf> Write to your MLA immediately, before the 2007/08 budget is finalized, to urge him or her to support government funding for arts and culture through the BC Arts Council.
Please circulate this information to your members, friends, colleagues and supporters asking them to contact their MLAs too.
Thank you for your support
Gina Sufrin Executive Director
**Assembly of BC Arts Councils**

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