cultural asset mapping in niagara
DESCRIPTION
Presentation delivered by Rebecca Cann, Cultural Planning Supervisor, City of St.Catharines at November 27 2008 "Economies in Transition" forum in Chatham, Ontario.TRANSCRIPT
Cultural Asset Mapping in Niagara
Presentation for the Ontario Rural Council
Municipal Cultural Planning Forum, November 2008
Welland Canal Lock 3 and the St. Catharines Museum
Cultural mapping is a process of collecting, recording, analyzing and synthesizing information in order to describe the cultural resources, networks, links and patterns of usage of a given community or group. - Cultural Mapping Toolkit
Regional Culture Committee
Goals/Purpose:• To advise the Regional Municipality of Niagara
regarding ways to enhance arts, culture and heritage in the fulfillment of its responsibility to its citizens.
• To act as advocates on behalf of the arts, heritage and cultural sectors.
• To develop a Cultural Policy and Strategy that is endorsed by Regional Council.
The Four Phases of CAM
• Collect
• Record
• Analyze
• Synthesize
Who’s Doing the Work?
War of 1812 Re-enactment in Fort Erie, Niagara
• Establish Working Group and Network
• Ensure a variety of sector reps, ie, music, theatre, visual arts, museums, libraries, heritage committees, educational institutions, cultural industries
• Resource base, ie. staff, funding, expertise
• Review geographical mix and other representation issues
Define Culture• Arts – performing,
written, visual and media arts
• Cultural industries – the for profit sector
• Heritage resources – buildings, collections, sites, stories and traditions
Artwork by Carolyn Wren, photo by Sandy Fairbairn
Primary Categories
• Cultural Facilities
• Organizations
• Festivals and Events
• Sites
• Moveable Heritage
• Cultural Human Resources
Port Dalhousie Inner Range Lighthouse
Why CAM?
• Purpose: to better understand our community, articulate the extent of the sector and change perceptions towards culture.
• Strategy for First Phase: Undertake a broad mapping, with limited information (not a survey).
• Longterm Strategies will include: collating information with culture-friendly sectors and industries, ie. wine industry, culinary attractions, educational opportunities etc.
COLLECTINGStrategies for Information Gathering• Who gathers what?• Where can you find some of this pre-existing
information? – Niagara Premier Ranked Destination project database– Chamber of Commerce business directories– Other municipal databases– Information Niagara database– Museum network, multicultural centres, arts service
organizations etc.
Collating Data
• One point person for data entry ideal
or . . .
• On-line excel-based system for multiple contributors– Avoid duplication– List alphabetically– Drop-down lists for categories– Drop-down lists for fields, ie. Street, City etc.
Format – More important than you think!
Street
St.
St
Str.
ON
On
Ont.
Ontario
PO Box 30, RR #1
P.O. Box 30 R.R.#1
RR#1, P.O. Box 30
R.R. #1
PO Box 30
Community Buy-In
• Clear communication is essential• Pipeda needs to be considered• Consultation mid-process can be helpful
The Results?
Presentation to Regional Council in November 2007
Cultural Assets by Type(Total 3628)
Cultural Facilities
Cultural Organizations and Education Providers
Cultural Festivals and Events
Cultural Businesses and Industries
Cultural Sites
Artists
Uses of Asset Inventory
• Research and Development• Growth Management • Economic impact• On-line database• Marketplace Gap Analysis• Cultural Districts and Neighbourhood
Identity• Measure impact on crime reduction
Niagara’s Heritage Assets
Heritage Districts 4, with plans for 5 more
Designated Heritage Buildings in 7 municipalities
1,064 buildings
Artists By Region In Ontario
• 2006 study by Hill Strategists Research• 1,490 artists in Niagara, including:
– actors;– artisans and craftspersons;– conductors, composers and arrangers;– dancers;– musicians and singers;– other performers;– painters, sculptors and other visual artists;– producers, directors, choreographers, and related
occupations; and– writers.
www.creativecity.ca – Free on-line toolkit
Tara Rosling in the Shaw Festival production of
Saint Joan, Niagara-on-the-Lake. Photo by David Cooper.
Thank you
Rebecca Cann, Cultural Planning SupervisorCity of St. Catharines905-688-5601 ext [email protected]