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business Business & the A r t s : Needing Each Other Last November, the provincial government announced clawbacks and cuts for the ministry of Small Business, Tourism and Culture. For the brand new British Columbia Arts Council this meant a 6-7% clawback to the 1996 fiscal year and a further 25% budget cut for 1997. Similar cuts were projected for the publishing programs and to BC Film. The Arts Council members considered resigning en masse but then adopted a unified voice saying the cuts were unacceptable and advocated that the government re-establish the budget to its previous promised level. Whatever the outcome of these budget cuts by the province, and consequently the municipalities, one thing is clear: if the arts are to grow, there must be less reliance on shrinking government Where will the money come from? by Gloria Loree coffers. I artners for arts groups seem to be Pa in the business industry. Many arts groups have been onto the idea of partnering with big business for years. They have enjoyed a much more stable funding source than their counterparts who wouldn't pull their heads out of the government-grantsand. The ironic thing is that many corporations and businesses are often willing to provide more money for less administrative work than many government programs (the difference between a grant application and a sponsorship proposal is huge, and another story). With government sources drying up. all arts groups, big and small, are going to have to get more savvy at attracting business partners and less concerned with writing 30-page grant applications and meeting politically controlled criteria that often makes qualification absurd. Big business is also becoming more savvy at using the arts to sell their image, their products, and their ideas. The arts appeal to large audiences. They are entertaining, cross language boundaries, are highly visible, and hey. they feel good. So in addition to having the corporate logo thrown up on event signage and pro- grams, big corporations are employing photographic artists to shoot their annual general reports. A d agencies have a history of luring talented, and hungry, artists into their graphic design departments. Corporate newsletters and reports feature articles on an arts group or artist the company has financially backed, and businesses are promoting the arts through the sponsorship of a variety of awards and publications. Here's a few examples of how the times are changing, and in some cases, how they changed a while ago. In 1990. the Vancouver Board of Trade introduced the Business and the Arts Awards as a means of honouring people and companies who support the arts above and beyond the call of duty. Categories include awards for innovation, joint ventures, small business, and sustained support. The vice-president of Marathon Developments Inc.. Graeme Stamp, wrote in last December's issue of the Sounding Board (the official publication of the Vancouver Board of Trade) that there is a prevalent public notion that "anyone associated with business is typically selfish, heartless and preoccupied exclusively with the bottom line." He notes the commercial consequences of this unflattering public perception and says that "changing-- or at least challenging--this image of the corporate world is therefore a vitally important task." He points to the Business & the Arts Awards as being an excellent means of doing this, as the program "has highlighted hundreds of Vancouver businesses whose actions prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that businesses care about the community and the quality of life we enjoy in this city." (See photo below for 1996 winners.) / 996 Business & the Arts Award winners l-r (back row): Robert Ledingham. Robert M. Ledingham Inc.; Diane Farris, Diane Ltd.; Isabelle Canadian I'arris Gallery; Cindy Ball. Robers Cablesysterm Bouw'er, Seagram Symphonia Rogers Coblesystems Ltd.; and Marjorie Program; (front row): G/en Wong. MacLean, Audiences. Institute for the Arts for Young