The P.E.I. government has stopped funding the P.E.I. Council of the Arts since the organization could not meet what the province describes as accountability and transparency obligations.
The council received $211,000 annually from the Department of Culture, delegating $94,000 of that money to grants and event funding.
The remaining $117,000 is used to run the organization. The government provided the majority of its operational funds.
RELATED: P.E.I. Council of the Arts quick facts
Doug Currie, minister culture, said he wasn’t prepared to continue working with the council because of some challenges the organization was experiencing, including ongoing tax liabilities and missing information from audits.
“As a result of their activity or inactivity, government has decided that in the best interest of the public and public money, we have stopped their administrative funding,” said Currie.
“This has been an ongoing issue, as far as their lack of transparency and accountability. The work wasn’t done to meet the requirements in respect to receiving the funding.”
Currie said they wrote the P.E.I. Council of the Arts a cheque for $21,000 to meet its financial obligations and commitments to the end of August.
Currie said this decision will not affect the arts community in P.E.I. Artists and musicians can still access the $94,000 as the process and applications for those grants are still in place.
The government is also looking at ways to reduce administrative overhead and get more money into the hands of the cultural community.
In a letter sent out to all members of the P.E.I. Council of Arts, it states “this recent news from the province has been shocking and devastating” and that “all board members have indicated their intention to resign from their positions”.
There were five board members for the council and they have all expressed their intentions to resign. Operations are now in the hands of their membership. One staff person was also laid off.
The Guardian reached out to board members but no calls were returned.
Currie said the application process for the second round of grants will run until the end of September.
“The objective here is if we can continue to find ways to put more resources in the hands of artists and musicians, we are prepared to do that.”
Currie said they will keep the public informed in the coming weeks. They are currently looking at ways to jury those applications in an independent process away from government.
“People who are looking for grant awards and event resources, it’s business as usual. Prepare your forms and applications and government will be updating ASAP.”
The P.E.I. government has stopped funding the P.E.I. Council of the Arts since the organization could not meet what the province describes as accountability and transparency obligations.
The council received $211,000 annually from the Department of Culture, delegating $94,000 of that money to grants and event funding.
The remaining $117,000 is used to run the organization. The government provided the majority of its operational funds.
RELATED: P.E.I. Council of the Arts quick facts
Doug Currie, minister culture, said he wasn’t prepared to continue working with the council because of some challenges the organization was experiencing, including ongoing tax liabilities and missing information from audits.
“As a result of their activity or inactivity, government has decided that in the best interest of the public and public money, we have stopped their administrative funding,” said Currie.
“This has been an ongoing issue, as far as their lack of transparency and accountability. The work wasn’t done to meet the requirements in respect to receiving the funding.”
Currie said they wrote the P.E.I. Council of the Arts a cheque for $21,000 to meet its financial obligations and commitments to the end of August.
Currie said this decision will not affect the arts community in P.E.I. Artists and musicians can still access the $94,000 as the process and applications for those grants are still in place.
The government is also looking at ways to reduce administrative overhead and get more money into the hands of the cultural community.
In a letter sent out to all members of the P.E.I. Council of Arts, it states “this recent news from the province has been shocking and devastating” and that “all board members have indicated their intention to resign from their positions”.
There were five board members for the council and they have all expressed their intentions to resign. Operations are now in the hands of their membership. One staff person was also laid off.
The Guardian reached out to board members but no calls were returned.
Currie said the application process for the second round of grants will run until the end of September.
“The objective here is if we can continue to find ways to put more resources in the hands of artists and musicians, we are prepared to do that.”
Currie said they will keep the public informed in the coming weeks. They are currently looking at ways to jury those applications in an independent process away from government.
“People who are looking for grant awards and event resources, it’s business as usual. Prepare your forms and applications and government will be updating ASAP.”
At a glance
- The P.E.I. Council of the Arts has been around in 1974 supporting the arts community in the province with the goal to make arts an integral part of the lives of Islanders.
- The council nurtured the development of the arts through education, programs and services by allocating funds to artists and arts administrators.
- The council received 291 applications for grants from 2010 to 2015, 119 of those were accepted. They approved $395,188 worth of grants during that five-year period with the average grant being $3,320.