A Message from the Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society

Last week, I informed Leah Selk (Coordinator for the Central Cariboo Arts & Culture Society or CCACS) that I had heard concerns that the Central Cariboo Arts Centre was nothing more than a "members only" club and recommended to her that the CCACS might wish to release a clarification that this was untrue and if they (CCACS) wanted – I would place the clarification note, unedited, on my blog for my readers' to read and judge for themselves the true intentions of the CCACS. As I explained to Ms. Selk, I was not a big fan of the Cariboo Regional District's Arts and Culture Function but it is here and I'm willing to do my part to ensure the facts get out there and to provide my opinion on them and have a community wide debate. I still have concerns about the precedent we've set for other groups, like Minor Hockey and Baseball, to ask for similar treatment (establish a Function or Tax for direct financial support for Hockey, Baseball and other groups). In the meantime, I will try to make the Function work the best way that I can – get information out to the public for its consumption and try to ensure that the CCACS operates, in my opinion, in the most transparent way possible, by providing my input to the CCACS from time to time

Note from the Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society:

The Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society is a BC registered non-profit society founded in June, 2010. Leah Selk, appointed in March 2011, is the Society's Coordinator and sole employee. The Society's purposes as defined in its constitution are (a) to support artistic and cultural organizations and events in the Central Cariboo, (b) to facilitate, coordinate and assist in the development of arts and culture in the Central Cariboo, (c) to provide strategic advice on arts and culture to local governments and other organizations and (d) to educate the public with respect to arts and culture matters.  The Society also has a contract with the City of Williams Lake to manage the Central Cariboo Arts Centre.

Most effort to date has gone into renovating the Arts Centre and establishing policies for its use. The Society's contract specifies that arts and culture groups or related activities be given preference in the use of the Arts Centre and designated studio space is allocated to three arts groups – the Cariboo Art Society, Cariboo Potters' Guild, and the Williams Lake Spinners, Weavers and Fibre Artists' Guild. However, this is not to say that the Centre is closed to anyone else—far from it.  In fact since the Society took over its management in February 2011, the Great Room of the Centre has been regularly used by a variety of groups for meetings, rehearsals, workshops, fundraisers and community events. And the list of future bookings continues to grow.

Leah's office is located in the basement of the Arts Centre. She is generally onsite from Monday to Friday during regular business hours, unless otherwise posted. She is also available via email at info@centralcaribooarts.com or by phone at 778-412-9044. If you would like to discuss how you could make use of the Arts Centre or the Society's services or if you would simply like a tour of the facilities, please do not hesitate to contact Leah.