Season’s Greetings,
As the snow continues to fall across BC and we head into the busy holiday season it felt like the right time to reflect on my first 6 months at the BC Touring Council and share a personal message.
This is a time of change for BCTC across our governance, leadership and operations. In my first few months with the organization we have undertaken a strategic planning process, engaged in outreach to cultural and Indigenous presenters under the guidance of Nina Buddhdev and Sandy Powlik, committed to a new block booking system, and entered into discussions with the BC Music Festival Collective about a potential merger. BCTC is also transforming and modernizing our internal systems and starting on a path to develop key resources that will better support provincial touring.
I have been getting up to speed with national and provincial advocacy campaigns and have realized that BCTC can be most effective by working in partnership – at the national level with CAPACOA and the CLMA advocating for an increases in funding from Canadian Heritage and at the provincial level with the other arts service organizations advocating for increases in funding to BC Arts Council from the Province of BC.
It has been a real privilege to convene so many meetings for the network this fall. What is clear to me is that we are still on the road of recovery from the legacy of the pandemic, with many colleagues experiencing burn out from the stress of the past few years and the ‘log jam’ effect in our venues. We know presenters, artists and agents work tirelessly to present outstanding performing arts experiences and create memorable experiences for audiences. Beyond this we can see the important Indigenous partnerships, community building, and mindful engagement taking place across the province. We want to hear from you about your successes, your challenges and how you have overcome them so that we can share these stories with the network and beyond. This key information gathering and sharing work will help us better advocate for increased support for the important work you do.
In the new year we are looking forward to supporting a new Indigenous touring network in BC, starting with assisting BC presenters to participate in the Talking Stick Industry Series at PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver. We will continue to invite topical and stimulating speakers to our Town halls, hire a block booking coordinator and present Pacific Contact in a new location with the addition of outdoor stages and a family showcase. In 2023 we also plan to launch our new interactive GIS mapping tools, implement the new block booking software, and develop online directories. We also plan to introduce a new committee structure to include new voices and perspectives that will help us to innovate, advocate and expand in new directions in the future.
I would like to thank the BCTC Board and particularly Sheryl McGraw and Linda Tamblyn for supporting me in my new role. We are here to serve all of you and with that I hope everyone is able to take a well-deserved break this holiday season, and can return in 2023 prepared for the revitalization that is to come.
Miriam Manley
Executive Director
BCTC