After two years of hard work and community consultation, initiated and led by the Bowen Island Arts Council (BIAC), BIM Council has adopted the revised Cultural Master Plan as Bylaw #466 on October 10. Dave Pollard, chair of the Cultural Plan’s steering committee, and a member of the Board of Directors of BIAC, says this is significant because the plan’s approval continues to recognize the Arts Council as the leading organization for the implementation of arts and culture on Bowen.
“We’ve identified 16 strategic goals and 36 recommendations for our community’s cultural development moving forward,” says Pollard. “These activities will be on top of all the things the Arts Council has always done and will continue to do. The activities identified in the Cultural Plan push the boundaries of the things we always do… they won’t require a large amount of funding, what they will require energy to push them forward.”
The ideas identified in the plan include strengthening connections between Bowen’s students and local artists, creating a craft-producer’s co-op to manage and market its member’s products, and reviewing the current draft policy guidelines for movie companies to receive permission to film on Bowen and include provisions on local hiring.
Pollard says that moving these ideas forward will probably start by someone hosting a salon, or simply by some kind of experimental action. Once an individual or group has committed to an idea and started visioning a way forward, the Arts Council will do what they can to support that group in making the idea a reality.
“If the project champions seek support,” says Pollard, “BIAC, dependent upon resources will attempt to assist with information, ideas, leads, sponsorship, funding and volunteer resources.”
Pollard adds that if only six of the plan’s recommendations get done, he won’t consider the project a failure – it will simply mean that Bowen Islanders were too busy to make all the others happen.
“Truly, though, I love all of these ideas,” he says. “And I believe we really do have the talent to bring all of them to fruition.”
