2020 A Record Year of another kind - Salt Spring Arts Council
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Salt Spring Arts Council, Annual General Meeting 2020 - Executive Director Report
Yael Wand, March 2021
2020 - A Record Year of another kind
My 2019 AGM report was titled ‘A
Record Year’, highlighting a year
that pushed SSAC’s envelope in
both engagement and programs.
2020 could not have been more
different.
Unanticipated crises shine a harsh
light: on loses, values, and on
things we take for granted. The
pandemic focused my attention
on SSAC’s core strength and what
the crisis threatened to take
away: SSAC brings our community
together through the arts.
In March we all hit the same icy
patch: for SSAC this meant
complete uncertainty in our
revenue streams (sales, funding,
sponsor, donor support), inability to plan and deliver our normal programs, and a push to move
operations and programming online. ‘How we work’ and ‘what we do’ changed overnight. With
this in mind, I drafted new objectives to focus my attention; these continue to guide my
approach to planning and operations:
1. Eyes on the Prize: Find new ways to foster the cultural
vitality of our community;
2. Stay Local: Leverage our resources to support local
spending: hire artists, artisans and performers, shop local,
maintain staffing;
3. Stay Nimble: Plan for flexibility, knowing the situation is
fluid and our responsiveness must be nimble;
4. Stay Strategic: Our immediate efforts are deliberate,
safeguarding our ability to weather future uncertainty and
geared to building organizational strengths;
5. Community Well-being: Ensure our activities support the
health and wellbeing of our community, particularly those
most vulnerable;
6. This will pass: Knowing the need for physical distancing
will pass, our current activities are a platform to encourage
future, in-person engagement to foster the arts.
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Salt Spring Arts Council, Annual General Meeting 2020 - Executive Director Report
Yael Wand, March 2021
Successes Unrelated to the Pandemic:
• We are blessed with Volunteers, Board, Staff and
Artists that shine (even in hard times) and who are deeply
committed to serving our community through the arts;
they are adaptable, full of humour and compassionate;
• Against the Current – a moving arts exploration of a
critical local ecosystem issue curated by Jane MacKenzie;
• Art Therapy project lead by Stefanie Denz brought art
accessibility, and shared the stories of community
members living with disabilities;
• Participation in DIG (Vancouver Island Digital
Innovation Group) could not be timelier, providing
support and incentive to develop our digital literacy and
adopt digital solutions;
• Developed a new relationship with the SSANP
Society, moving both organizations forward in their
respective goals.
Unanticipated Pandemic Impacts:
• We were called on by local, regional and provincial bodies to represent our arts community;
• New opportunities to collaborate and share knowledge with Island and regional colleagues;
• COVID Chronicles online exhibit – we are
capable of adapting and learning new skills;
• Took a pause from asking local businesses for
support and instead distributed the Dr. Henry
Buttons - the brainchild of Kathy Ramsey with
art by Patrick McCallum - in a show of solidarity
and thanks to local business and organizations;
• After cancelling Artcraft, we found a way to
move ahead with the summer show safely - it
felt like a beacon of hope and normalcy;
• The successful Artcraft Winter showed us just
how much our local community believes in
supporting local artists and artisans, and how
fortune in a Manager such as Sarah Hyams;
• Facebook: SSI Cultural Connections group has
nearly 500 participants; while our SSAC fb page
followers grew by 18%.
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Salt Spring Arts Council, Annual General Meeting 2020 - Executive Director Report
Yael Wand, March 2021
Looking ahead to 2021
First, I could not be more thrilled to welcome Anna Szul as our Program + Engagement
Coordinator. She brings years of experience the arts, an artist’s sensitivity and sensibility and a
know-how to get things done. Her knowledge will be invaluable as we dive into a year that
remains unpredictable.
2020 forced us to respond to unanticipated challenges on many fronts. This year, we are better
prepared to respond. We are:
- Rebuilding and relaunching our website to develop a robust online Artcraft store, a user-
friendly interface, and enhanced membership features;
- Participating in a regional arts impact assessment study as part of DIG;
- Reviewing our organizational ecosystem so we can implement new, efficient tools;
- Completing a new strategic plan to carry us boldly into the next 5 years;
- Exploring how to conserve and enhance Mahon Hall for the next 100 years.
Our programs too are adapting:
- Artcraft is removing the barriers to
participation for those regional
Indigenous artists for whom the
Southern Gulf Islands are their ancestral
territories;
- Artist in the Class continues to connect
classrooms with local artist mentors;
- Artists in Residence has launched an
exciting new summer residency for
emerging artists;
- COVID Musical Chronicles brings
attention to our local musical talent
through videography;
- Workshops: Social Media Series –
supporting artists and creatives to
enhance their online presence; Art Not
Apart – at home workshops kits for kids;
Summer Art Camps – returning this year.
I look forward to the transformations, collaborations and ingenuity that this year will bring to
the Salt Spring Arts Council in pursuit of fostering vitality through the arts.
Photos: School Visits during Against the Current: Salmon + Orca; Reopening with safety protocols in place for
Artcraft Summer; Sculpture by Summer Student Teagan Moore; Country Grocer staff sporting Dr. Bonnie Buttons;
Artcraft Winter display
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