History
The origin of the St. Catharines and Area Arts Council (SCAAC) lies in the community consultations for the development of the City of St. Catharines Municipal Cultural Policy, when the need for an umbrella group was repeatedly raised. Need for an umbrella group was identified also in the Final Report of the St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre Feasibility Study, submitted by dmA Planning & Management Services to the Cultural Task Force in St. Catharines (comprised of members of the Niagara Performing Arts Centre Committee and the Cultural Coalition. The Cultural Coalition was the precursor to the City of St. Catharines’ Culture Committee.)
Following the adoption of the Municipal Cultural Policy on November 1, 1999, the former Cultural Policy Coordinator, Elizabeth Chitty, called the founding meeting of a Cultural Umbrella Group for November 16 at Dalhousie House. Mae Denby subsequently took on responsibility for galvanizing the organization’s formation and in early 2000, a nucleus of individuals generated momentum. By June, a membership fee was established, a bank account opened, an interim executive was formed and SCAAC participated in its first event by providing volunteer gatekeepers at the Solstice Festival in Port Dalhousie.
In October 2000, SCAAC held its first networking event at Henry of Pelham Winery. A series of workshops were delivered in 2001, including, “Fundraising”, “The Media and You” and “The Business of Art”. SCAAC inherited from the City of St. Catharines Cultural Coalition, an arrangement with The St. Catharines Standard to run a monthly article in the Front Row column of the Spectrum section. The inaugural Strategic Plan, for 2002-2003, was prepared in 2001 and was facilitated by the City of St. Catharines Cultural Supervisor, Rebecca Cann.
SCAAC received its Letters Patent on October 26, 2001. The Founding Board was Mae Denby (President), Rodger Swinton (Vice-President), Leslie Francombe (Treasurer), Keith Dixon (Secretary), Roxann Vivian Smith, Greta Hildebrand, and Erika Beatty. Workshops delivered in 2002 included, “The Funding Formula” and “Ready for Tourism”.
The Membership Directory was first produced in 2002 and also in that year email communications were streamlined into an electronic newsletter coordinated by Communications Officer, Peter Feldman. In 2002 and 2003, SCAAC participated in events such as Enku Festival of Peace (which later became Art of Peace Festival), which was organized by the City of St. Catharines and Project Ploughshares Niagara, and the St. Catharines Museum’s Children’s Art Festival.
In November 2003, SCAAC submitted its first grant application, which was to the Ontario Trillium Foundation for $112,500 over 24 months. By this time, an initiative was underway to form a new organization, Arts Niagara, in partnership with the inactive organization, Niagara Performing Arts Centre (NPAC).
In 2004, SCAAC became a full partner in the Art of Peace Festival, providing volunteer leadership in the development and delivery of Community Art Workshops as a component of the growing festival. It received its first public funding, a Trillium grant of $64,700 over 18 months. In June of that year, SCAAC submitted an application to participate in Toronto Artscape’s Creative Clusters Development Program (CCDP) and also began the hiring procedure for its first Executive Director. Elizabeth Chitty was hired end of July.