GUERILLA knitting, or "yarnbombing," is a positive community activity, according to the City of North Vancouver council, but not one worthy of thousands of tax dollars in support.
Councillors came to that conclusion Monday night after North Vancouver's Arts Office requested $7,500 worth of funding through the city's consent agenda - a list of items usually passed as a matter of housekeeping - for knitters to decorate public spaces with knitting.
"A community group of knitters create the work over a period of time and then typically install the art in one evening, thus creating an overnight transformation of the space," wrote public art coordinator Lori Phillips in her report to council. "The phenomenon has exploded, and textile artists are now transforming public places worldwide."
Coun. Rod Clark, who called for the money to be brought back up for debate, was unconvinced.
"My understanding of this is it occurs within a community and is not regulated or funded in any way by a public jurisdiction," he said. "This is $7,500 of taxpayers' money and an expenditure like this would be quite foolhardy . . . So I'm imploring council to not pull the wool over the taxpayers' eyes."
Coun. Pam Bookham said she also couldn't back the program. "I had to do homework," she said. "I didn't know what yarnbombing was. So I went online, where it was described as knit graffiti, guerilla knitting, covert textile street art, and adornment for lonely street furniture. . . . I get the tongue-in-cheek attitude, I get the whimsical, I get the humour, and I'm not going to argue that it isn't artistic. I just don't get the need for $7,500 of public money to support this activity. Like flash mobs, I think some activities are best left to the general public. By all means have at it, but do it on your own dime."
Some members of council, however, thought council shouldn't be second-guessing recommendations from their arts professionals.
"I don't think council should be dabbling in these things," said Coun. Craig Keating.
"I think it's up to the arts council and the arts community, and we have a report saying this is a growing area," agreed Mayor Darrell Mussatto.
Council voted 4-2 to "receive and file," the traditional kiss of death for a staff initiative.
