Edmonton Arts Council has a new funding strategy and leader
The Edmonton Arts Council is pausing all new multi-year funding agreements with arts organizations for one year because its budget is stagnant and likely will remain so, its interim executive director said.
"The main thing is (that) the strategy is about maximizing the impact of our existing budget," Shirley Combden with the EAC told Taproot. "Our budget has been static for the last three years, and we know we will not be receiving an increase — or not likely to receive an increase — in our budget in the near future."
On Oct. 1, the EAC published an outline of its funding strategy changes. In force for the next three years, the changes affect EAC's granting and assessment processes by increasing focus on inclusivity and safety. The post outlines that organizations that receive EAC funding and have positive peer reviews will not experience much, if any, disruption, while those with mandates that previously received one stream of funds may be referred to another, and those with poor peer assessments may see their funding reduced or restructured.
The arts council, created by Edmonton's city council in 1996, is primarily funded by the City of Edmonton. It currently has 192 funding agreements with arts organizations, with recent funding announcements for Citadel Theatre, Arts on the Ave, and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
Combden said she understands the wider context of why the organization's budget has not increased for many years. "I think (the city is) working with a limited budget, and they are doing the best they can," Combden said. "The static funding is non-ideal, and in this world, and given the economy that we live in, it isn't great."
Multi-year funding is a way to ensure consistency and allow arts organizations to employ long-term thinking. But new multi-year funding and the renewal of existing multi-year agreements is unavailable until 2026, Combden said, adding there are reasons for the change.
"We've just suspended the multi-year process for one year because we need to go through a full peer-assessment process, and by putting people into a three-year peer assessment, we would only have one year to assess them," Combden said. "I mean, you need to have more than one year to make assessments to actually … (offer) comparative information."
Funding is not the only change coming to the arts council. Combden has served as the arts council's interim director since March, when Sanjay Shahani left, but will return to her other role with the EAC later this month when Renée Williams takes over.
Williams was announced as the new, full-time executive director for the council on Nov. 4. Williams previously had leadership roles at the former Edmonton Economic Development Corporation and the Fort Edmonton Park Management Company.
Combden has worked as interim director but is primarily the associate executive director of finance, organizational effectiveness, and engagement at EAC. She took on the interim director role with no ambition for it to be permanent. "My real job is back in finance, and I'm looking forward to reverting back to doing that," she said.
