‘Wasteland of culture’: Cuts to arts grants in Richmond Hill prompts public outcry

Alzheimer Society of York Region, Opera York, Richmond Hill United Church, and Home on the Hill also on grants list

Yorkregion.com
February 27, 2020
Sheila Wang

Artists and cultural groups slammed Richmond Hill council for calling off its annual community and cultural grant program this year.

Members of the local arts and cultural community have taken to social media, emails and letters to the editors to oppose council’s decision that denied a $$64,820 annual funding for selected local individuals and groups.

Four councillors voted on Feb. 12 to discontinue the annual grant program on the grounds that the city should not donate tax dollars on behalf of residents.

Council made the decision in front of a roomful of artists and group representatives who were asked to come to council in order to “answer any questions they may have.”

However, the delegates did not get a chance to speak before councillors voted to withdraw the grants originally allocated for 20 cultural groups and individual artists.

“I’m ashamed to be a resident of the City of Richmond Hill,” said Sean Cisterna, a local award-winning filmmaker, after walking out of council, exasperated.

Cisterna was among the potential recipients staff had selected out of a total of 34 applications to receive a maximum of $5,000 funding.

The grant Cisterna applied for this year would have gone towards a screenplay intended to teach a local high school film class about film production.

Without the seed money, the project might not move forward, Cisterna said.

The Alzheimer Society of York Region, Opera York, Richmond Hill United Church, and Home on the Hill were also on the list.

The cuts may affect dozens of cultural events and programs, according to a staff report, such as a floating concert at Lake Wilcox Park, an event to raise awareness about Alzheimer's disease and mural paintings in local parks.

Richmond Hill United Church held its sixth annual fundraiser Jazz Pasta Evening for the Stephen Lewis Foundation and African AIDS orphans on Friday evening Feb. 28, 2014.

Councillor Greg Beros, who proposed to cancel the funding, won support from fellow councillor Tom Muench as well as regional councillors Joe DiPaola and Carmine Perrelli.

“What I do not believe is that I should be taking taxpayers dollars and deciding for them where and to whom their money should be given,” Beros wrote in an email on Feb. 20 to the Richmond Hill Liberal.

The councillor said, as a “firm believer” in community and cultural groups, he has raised funds for many organizations such as Oak Ridges Lions Club and Yellow Brick House.

He noted “overspending” created problems and “hard decisions” had to be made.

The $65, 000 funding represents about 0.035 per cent of the operating budget recently approved for 2020.

“It’s very short-sighted at best, and insulting to the art community at worst,” Cisterna said of the motion.

Cisterna reminisced about the "thriving artistic" community that Richmond Hill used to be when he started his filmmaking career in 2007.

It was in Richmond Hill where he received a small grant for a draft script in 2015, which snowballed into an internationally-acclaimed film 'Kiss and Cry' two years later.

“For such a small investment, the impact on the community is so great,” he said. “Now Richmond Hill is becoming a wasteland of culture.”

He posted a letter to council on Feb. 12 on Facebook and instantly received numerous reactions and comments, mostly fulminating against the decision.

Many others followed suit in publicly denouncing council for the cuts.

“Councillors desperately seeking the sound of their own voices through personalized microphones, rather than implementing any real steps toward action,” resident Alex Karolyi wrote in a letter titled 'Smart People Like Art' to council on Feb. 12.

In the face of criticism online and letters sent to council, Beros said these complaints originated from "the same small groups of people, most of who have vested interests," and do not represent the majority of the people who do not have a complaint.

He said the opinions gathered from his ward residents over the past 12 years showed that they wanted public money to go toward sewers, roads and libraries rather than arts and culture.

Local visual artist Ona Kingdon, who received the grant in the past but didn't participate this year, said it was a shame to cancel the program after volunteers and staff spent so much time preparing their applications months ago.

She said she suspected “one person decided it and the buddies on council decided to go with it.”

Richmond Hill has been distributing the annual $65,000 fund for many years in order to support groups and individuals who help build a vibrant community through their services and activities.

From 2016 to 2019, the city provided funding to 87 applicants, the report said.

“They’re not thinking of the wider implication of it,” Kingdon said, noting the funding could have helped the events bring in more visitors, boost local businesses and enrich residents’ lives.

Disheartened by the decision, Cisterna said he has withdrawn his participation from this year’s Cultural Summit because he does not wish to contribute to a city “who does not respect its cultural creators and ambassadors.”