A Global Strategy
Click here to download a free digital version ofA Global Strategy in English
Introduction to the English Tranlsation by Kathy Hamer President, ArtsLinkNB
It is a pleasure and an honour for ArtsLink NB to present to an anglophone audience a translation of this key strategic document. It was developed by the Association Acadienne des Artistes Professionnels du Nouveau-Brunswick through extensive and well-structured consultation with the Acadian professional arts community and representatives from anglophone and aboriginal arts and culture sectors.
Early in the development of ArtsLink NB, the path-breaking leadership and profile of the AAAPNB were recognized as a model for the kind of organization that had long been lacking in the anglophone arts and culture sector. Stratégie globale, published by the AAAPNB with the support of the New Brunswick government, was the distillation and documentation of months of discussion, debate, and definition of priorities and plans to achieve specific goals. These are as relevant to anglophone and aboriginal arts as they are to the Acadian community. Recognizing the similarities of purpose and objectives, the ArtsLink NB Board of Directors worked closely with the AAAPNB and the Department of Wellness, Culture and Sport to bring this document to a wider English-speaking community, in the first instance to our own New Brunswick membership. Jo-Anne Elder undertook the translation, and it is an elegant text, brought to life by an experienced and accomplished translator.
At its first annual general meeting in November 2010, ArtsLink NB members heard the engaging and provocative presentation of Stratégie globale by René Cormier of the AAAPNB, and immediately wanted to know more. Group discussions identified concerns and challenges that echoed those already outlined in the Acadian document. We are seeing clear indications that, regardless of language and cultural background, arts communities have many issues in common. Consultation with ArtsLink NB members has already elicited a number of priorities for action, and that process continues, frequently in collaboration with the AAAPNB.
This document defines processes, objectives and plans to achieve a number of goals. It is a very significant first step. It is not the only step: inevitably and understandably, the priorities of ArtsLink NB may differ from those of the AAAPNB. ArtsLink NB members may have goals that require distinct planning and action. We work together on many issues: the Premier’s roundtable, the book purchasing policy, the development of cultural policies and resource tools for artists. We may work in different ways towards other goals, even though these are common to the entire arts and culture community: revitalizing arts education in the schools, for example.
There is great potential for joint action on many issues of interest and importance to the entire arts and culture sector of the province - its contribution to the economy; the socioeconomic status of the professional artist; public education on the importance of the arts, to mention only a few.
We have many people to thank for their moral and financial support: the executive of the AAAPNB, especially Carmen Gibbs, René Cormier, and Line Godbout, who worked enthusiastically with us on this project; the Department of Wellness, Culture and Sport and Canadian Heritage for generous funding that enabled the project to come to fruition; and not least in the list, Sandy MacKay, ArtsLink NB’s Executive Director, whose tireless energy has contributed so much to raising awareness, generating enthusiasm, and establishing the relationships that are so critically important to our sustainability and ultimately to the flourishing of arts and culture in New Brunswick.