A forced marriage between Tauranga arts and heritage communities is to be tried as part of a rev-up of the stalled Smart Arts Strategy – the sub regional arts and culture strategy.
Tauranga City Art Gallery.
Councillors agreed to the ‘360 degree' review of the smart arts strategy, and supported Murray Guy's amendment that the city's heritage groups be included in the strategy review at a strategy and policy committee meeting this week.
Councillors supported the amendment stating that there are synergies between the arts and heritage groups.
The council controlled organisation Creative Tauranga has been tasked with implementing the strategy.
The Smart Arts strategy was established in 2006 and was reviewed in 2008 and 2010, followed by a workshop session this year.
While aspects of the strategy have been worked on from time to time, other projects like the Hairy Maclary sculptures have arisen to take up staff time.
Mayor Stuart Crosby stated in the meeting the development by bureaucrats of an arts and culture strategy requires dealing with artists, who will do things in their own way.
The city's arts sector is constantly changing, says Stuart.
The development of an arts and culture strategy is an action identified in the SmartGrowth strategy and Tauranga tomorrow.
31 comments
Are there any,
Posted on 15-08-2012 17:26 | By Butch
council employees laid off with this merger, or have they all changed titles, and have created themselves another job, but is not this all Council funded anyway, and why should I worry, we have a interim C.E.O on 350k to sort out these issues.
Creative Tauranga NOT a CCO
Posted on 15-08-2012 19:28 | By Murray.Guy
Creative Tauranga is a 'service provider' to Tauranga City Council (our community), and is a separate legal entity, NOT a 'Council Controlled Organisation' (CCO). TCC has determined that in some instances it is better to contract out it's requirements and to add value to the 'Arts and Culture' sector, Council employs Creative Tauranga rather than employing in-house staff. TCC employs Sport Bay of Plenty, Priority One, and others on a similar basis with similar rational. TCC is not the sole source of income.
CANT GET ME ...
Posted on 15-08-2012 20:51 | By YOGI
They ?NEVER" loose a job ever, there will be a transfer and promotion with some nefarious title, then there will be the massive salary as well. End result more staff, more wages and then they all get a bonus for "saving" money, we are all left wondering how?
JUST BECAUSE IT IS
Posted on 15-08-2012 21:01 | By YOGI
Does not mean that one needs then to indulge in it with a fantasiful feavership spillage of ratepayers money, I can not see a saving for ratepayers here. Point is proved that the changes have been avoided for 6 years now, even The hairy merry ferry distraction has "used up staff time" bet that was not included in the cost that is to be funded by the "community"!
Yes Murray Guy, but what does it cost us?
Posted on 16-08-2012 09:17 | By Phailed
How many $ does Council give Creative Tga every year? Additionally what is the cost of Council staff for liaising, monitoring, talking, strategising or whatever else goes on? You say TCC isn't the sole source of income. Please give details? Why is Council in effect subsidising a shop where art is sold on behalf of artists? Why has a privately owned art shop closed down in the same area? Why is Council required to interfere in and fund art anyway?
Good Point Phailed
Posted on 16-08-2012 10:01 | By Accountable
You have some good questions to answer Murray.What do Creative Tauranga do apart from dispensing large amounts of alcohol on a regular basis from their Willow Street premises? Who pays for this alcohol and is it necessary to have it? What does Priority One do for the Council and at what cost? Will they be accountable for the damage they have done to the CBD? Lets hope the new CEO has the testicles to close these types of Council organisations down and save the ratepayers a small fortune.
Phailed questions ...
Posted on 16-08-2012 11:10 | By Murray.Guy
Creative Tauranga is a separate legal entity from Tauranga City Council. We ask them to provide a service and we pay for that service, similar to when we get a roading contractor to fix a road. If you have issues with how they operate it is to Creative Tauranga you need to direct your questions. We have many staff monitor all manner of service providers from lawn mowing contractors to rubbish removal and sports venue management. Council uses a small portion of it's rates income to provide or contribute to rugby fields, boat ramps, children's play areas, events, The Elms, community centres and Arts. To varying degrees, the community requires it's city to reflect the needs of the community, not just the needs of a few 'loud, opinionated folk' like myself.
WE SEE IT, YOU DONT MURRAY!
Posted on 16-08-2012 11:21 | By YOGI
Phailed has the right questions, how about you answer them. Priority One, Creative Tga and whatever else has been created to hide a few more staff outside the loop. I would certainly agreee with you Murray that they are not a Council "CONTROLLED" Organisation, but I acn not yet figure if that actually makes any difference to the free wheeling spending that is currently in progress with or without TCC's approval.
THE HERITAGE CONNECTION?
Posted on 16-08-2012 11:43 | By YOGI
Does that mean that the Art Gallery is going to the Historic village into one of hte empty sheds there? Then the Museum-ites will amke a move on the art gallery, end result more TCC staff and noting achieved as usual for ratepayers!
CREATIVE Tauranga is just that !
Posted on 16-08-2012 12:49 | By YOGI
Looks to me that there is no point talking to Creative tauranga as TCC is paying them so they will purpertrate that little gravy train because there is a trail of ratepayer money there to follow and suck up. Call it the "Never Ending Story". Phailed is right to question you Murray and so Council, Council provides the money so that is where the questions should be placed and answered. This actually is no difeent that the huge mess at the Mount Hot Pools of the last few years, that massive mess is still there and many millions later the facility is worse than before. Where is the TCC "monitouring" there? We know there is none, no accountability, not factual informaiton, no full and open transparent accountability to the ratepayers, if there was then much would be better and much would not even be started so dying a natural death.
Cr Guy, as a councillor you should answer
Posted on 16-08-2012 12:51 | By Phailed
Cr Guy doesn't answer my valid questions saying I should direct them to Creative Tga. Sorry, but your Council gives part of my rates to them and you are accountable for what they do with that money. I ask again what does Council pay them and what is the cost of Council staff time? Your analogy to roading fails. If there's a problem with a road I contact the Council who pays for it, not the roading contractor. Tell me why a council subsidised organisation Creative Tga competes with private art retailers? Tell me why you keep giving the Art Gallery money, when they promised a one-off council grant only?
Arts in Tauranga
Posted on 16-08-2012 14:27 | By handbag
Well, well, well phailed (you certainly have) and yogi (are you a bear?)... perhaps if you took the time to educate yourself instead of expecting everybody else to provide the answers, the Tauranga community as a whole would understand what Creative Tauranga do. I have taken part in some wonderful group exhibitions in their gallery - which, by the way is there to promote our local artists - not to compete with other retail shops. The gallery gives artists opportunities to exhibit their work in a wonderful space...and by the way...the artists themselves pay for this...including the opening nights...or as 'accountable' (what for I wonder) suggests they are alcohol fueled parties...they are called 'openings' because the artists 'open' an exhibition they have worked for many months preparing for. This is an opportunity for supporters and art lovers to gather together and celebrate creativity in our community. The staff at Creative Tauranga have been fantastic to work with, they are encouraging and always have time to be helpful, they understand how hard artists, musicians, writers and all manner of 'creative' people have to work to get their work recognised. They provide a service that can not be found anywhere else in the bay. By the way yogi, might pay to trim the hair on your finger tips, you make quite a few mistakes in your posts :0)
@Handbag
Posted on 16-08-2012 18:05 | By Phailed
I've taken note of your advice and educated myself as to what Creative Tauranga do. It seems they take at least $250,000 a year (based on a 2008 figure) from Council. You say artists pay to use the gallery that is part of the premises. How much? The true cost or a subsidised rate? Since Creative Tauranga began selling art at its premises one privately owned art shop (only a few doors away) has closed down. And what about that cooperative one? I feel sorry for a private business providing a service that then seems to have found a council subsidised one on its doorstep.
HAND BAG PAINT POT MELSTROM
Posted on 16-08-2012 18:20 | By YOGI
Creative Tauranga may well be wonderful and all that, but in end result the Art Gallery gets a wind fall of ratepayers money and I do not agree with the $850,000 a year hand out. The gallery RORT is doing exactly what was already being done except that there is now a HUGE bill for ratepayers to "UNWILLNGLY" pay. You can not say that there is a majority there, all of the "facts" surrounding Creative Tauranga and the Art gallery are all very "creative". A good example is the 56,000 reported as attending annually (as per the gallery report to TCC whilst the hand out is out for more ratepayer money). It is reported that school kids are bused in every other day, no entry fee is paid and the bus cost is paid for by TCC, now when you look at that, say 200 kids a day by say 200 days is 40,000 kids a day and at some huge cost to ratepayers, when you get those "creative" numbers out then that at best leaves 16,000pa or 61 people a day, like one never sees people going in so I would say that it is more like 55,000 school kids a year and a 1,000 visits by 5x staff being paid to be there. In effect it is an afternoon off for the teachers paid for by ratepayers. Perhaps I am being silly to have a problem with this but for the life of me I can not see what the point of it all is?
Old Handbag
Posted on 16-08-2012 18:55 | By Accountable
Why should the ratepayers and government subsidise artists of any sort? If you want to make a living from it be like everybody else who starts out in business and use your own money or go to the money lenders with a business plan and take the risks as every business takes starting up.
BLIND LEADING THE BLIND
Posted on 16-08-2012 20:48 | By Hebegeebies
What a combination Tauranga City Council Creative Tauranga Priority One and the Art Gallery all have one thing in common they know how to waste money and cost TCC Ratepayers a fortune.Smart Arts (Artz) or Artz about Face whats in a name the final result is inevitable.
NOT ACCOUNTABLE
Posted on 16-08-2012 22:20 | By PLONKER
The flow of alchole looks like a mid winter flood on an every day basis, I am sure that the "CREATIVE" Tauranga would have found a novel way to relicate the Council staff room antics all be it only during work time.
MERGER BEST INDEEDY
Posted on 27-08-2012 11:27 | By TERMITE
With Te Maunga recycling site would provide the best solution to all the woes of the ratepayers of Tauranga, sucked dry at every turn by the so called needy few wanting all the desires and wishful dreams fulfilled at someone else's cost, and what a cost it is!
WHAT ART IN TAURANGA
Posted on 28-08-2012 00:26 | By PLONKER
The defintion of Museum is "A building where objects of historical, artistic or scientific interest are exhibited and preserved." There would seem to be a few elements of the proposed Museum that a significantly adrift from this defintion.
HISTORIC VILLAGE?
Posted on 28-08-2012 17:44 | By YOGI
Better to move the so called "artifacts" and the Museum scam upon ratepayers to the historic village than the other way around. They already have sheds there, so why build more expensive unnecessary buildings and employ more officials to do what?
TCC PAID BUSES OF CHILDREN
Posted on 30-08-2012 23:56 | By PLONKER
If the Art gallery and the Historic village were all in the same place at the Historic Village then that woul dbe half the cost of free buses on the ratepayer to take children to both separately, all would be in one place and so a lot more economical for ratepayers who are funding both outfits for millions a year.
JUST A FEW BUSES MORE?
Posted on 31-08-2012 16:15 | By PLONKER
That is all it will take each day to get 56,000 randomly entering the door of the Art Gallery, lets say that this is a joke cos these are not willing attendees, nor do they pay, in fact the bankrupt city pays instead, that means all of us pay for what no one else wants so as a few can self justify there own existence and jobs. Great system isn't it!
56,000 pa GO TO ART GALLERY?
Posted on 01-09-2012 18:15 | By YOGI
The only time I have seen anyone going in or out (usually a lot faster than going in ...) is a mob of kids, so I would say that a few busses a day go to/from the place and that the diligent staff count them in and count them out and that is how the numbers get so unbelievably high, the truth does not relate to what is reported to be happening. 56,000/pa means 1077/week and that is about 215/work day and the place is only open 9-4 week days, something like that. So 215/day is about three bus loads in/out. Nothing much is paid for this to the Art Gallery, but TCC apparently pays the bill for the bus? No wonder TCC is going broke and trying to take us all down with them as well.
MERGE?
Posted on 03-09-2012 13:14 | By PLONKER
Where and how? bet that means the staff will double as a result. In TCC bigger usually means the costs and staff multiply exponentially!
GUNNA COSTS US ALL MORE
Posted on 06-09-2012 13:02 | By YOGI
I can see it all coming just like that.
ART GALLERIES AND LIBRARIES
Posted on 07-09-2012 16:35 | By TERMITE
The game has long since got the same for these two outfits: huge costs, heaps a staff, stated purpose for existence is out of date (same a HPT) and the usage of the places is only enhanced for completely unrelated activities, i.e. coffee at the Library all on the ratepayers! Spot teh difference here!
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE?
Posted on 09-09-2012 11:30 | By TERMITE
There is none, lack of real justificiation, only self indulgent self gratification, no basis whatsoever in the real workd to exist.
ARTS STRATEGY
Posted on 09-09-2012 11:34 | By TERMITE
As "Smart" Growth have identified this as a "strategy" then I would suggest that the best answer here is that Council do exactly the opposite, in so doing Council stand a far better chance of getting it right.
ART & HERTIAGE?
Posted on 09-09-2012 13:38 | By TERMITE
How are they related? Art and all that hairy lot are completely differnt to "heritage" of the city and area. I guess that is part of trying to add some whisky of credence to art somehow, to provide some sort of value to it so trying justify all since and that "they want".
THE
Posted on 11-09-2012 13:01 | By YOGI
Yeah well that is an interesting concept, certainly better than 'Art and Heritage' guess it is all about how it is presented and to who and what purpose. One must of course keep all the turkeys happy and contented else they may decide to revolt if they knew the half that was going on.
Merge
Posted on 14-09-2012 11:33 | By TERMITE
That would certainly help lift the standards for Art, to have any "heritage" value it has a long way to go, can't see how it is a going to get there really?
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