Dear Editor:
As representatives of the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee, we read with interest your article Heritage Advisory Committee 1 of 5 Disbanded By West Van Council. The article reported on council’s decision to replace many of the municipal advisory committees with citizen panels which would only meet when specific topics needed input from knowledgeable volunteers.
Perhaps we can provide a degree of context for this decision.
The ACAC was established by council in 2018 to oversee the district’s 2018 Arts & Culture Strategy. As one of our areas of responsibility, we conducted a thorough examination of the structure of the various arts committees which reported to council. From that examination, it became clear that the current structure did not effectively represent to council the voices of the artists, arts organizations and arts attendees in the community. In June of 2022, we held a strategic planning session to explore alternative possibilities and decided to examine best practices in governance structures in six similar-sized communities around B.C.
The ACAC spent more than a year researching and consulting with these other volunteer committees. From these discussions, we recommended to council in September 2023, that it should set up one overarching arts and culture committee which would include representatives from major organizations in the community, (e.g., Kay Meek Arts Centre, West Vancouver Memorial Library and West Vancouver School Board) together with community members with experience in arts and culture.
We believe that the new organizational model for the various arts committees, including the new role for Arts and Culture Advisory Committee, will result in more efficient use of staff and volunteers. In addition, we believe that this new structure will create a more effective, cohesive voice; allowing all the artists and arts organizations to share information and work collaboratively for the continuing growth and development of arts and culture in West Vancouver.
Scott Swan, past chair, and Patricia Bowles, past vice-chair
West Vancouver Arts & Culture Advisory Committee
