We're RTRACTION, and we love the arts.That's why we're giving away $25,000 worth of design, strategy, and/or communication services to one deserving arts organization.

WHO CAN APPLY? YOU... if you are an individual or part of an organization working in any aspects of arts or culture, and you're in Canada.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Your application, along with the others we receive, will be judged by our team along with a panel of notables from the visual, performing and literary arts world.

WHAT ARE THE TIMELINES? Apply by September 30, 2014. Judging will be completed by October 31. Applicants, including the winner, will be notified by November 7. And then we'll start the project, whatever that turns out to be.

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News Release
Investment of $165,150 to support arts and culture workforce strategy
03 July 2014 - FREDERICTON (GNB) – The provincial government is investing $165,150 over two years to support Phase 1 of the implementation of an arts and culture workforce development strategy.

“Our focus is on people, skills and jobs and we will ensure that this important sector, with enormous potential, thrives and flourishes,” said Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Jody Carr. “Our province is known for its unique and rich cultural history, which is why our government is pleased to support the arts and culture sector to ensure that our identity continues to live on for future generations to discover through things like fine art, literature and music.”

In 2012, L'Association acadienne des artistes professionnel.le.s du Nouveau-Brunswick (the Association of Acadian professional artists of New Brunswick) was tasked with leading and co-ordinating the development of a provincial workforce development strategy for the arts and culture sector.

“We were proud to work with cultural stakeholders and sector professionals on the development of Creative Futures: a renewed Cultural Policy for New Brunswick,” said Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister Trevor Holder. “This strategy will help support those who make their living in the industry, as together we work toward the goal of a vibrant and productive cultural sector.”
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Workers at cultural and heritage sites protest government cuts CBC News May 30, 2013

Some of the U.K.'s most visited cultural and tourism spots are closing their doors Thursday or Friday as part of a one-day strike to protest recent cuts.

Approximately half of the National Gallery in London, one floor of the National Portrait Gallery and the entire Tate Liverpool museum were closed to the public on Thursday — to name just a few of the high-profile sites participating.

On Friday, the strike will affect the British Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, according to the Public and Commercial Services Union.

Meanwhile, workers at popular heritage site Stonehenge will walk out on Sunday.

According to the PCS union, the U.K.'s largest civil service union, the industrial action is part of a three-month campaign by its members to protest government cuts to pay, pensions and jobs.

A national walkout is also planned for the end of June. CBC News

The Globe and Mail, May 23, 2013 by ERIN MILLAR
Ten years ago, urban theorist Richard Florida popularized the idea that creative people are linked to economic growth in his book The Rise of the Creative Class. As his theory goes, cities with high concentrations of creatives – designers, musicians, tech workers, artists, and so on – tend to experience higher levels of economic development. But it’s not necessarily the creatives themselves who drive growth, per se; to those who accept Dr. Florida’s ideas (and he has had considerable influence on some city planners), the creative class is seen as having an indirect impact by fostering an exciting, dynamic and open culture that lends itself to innovation.

Doug Richard takes this line of reasoning a (big) step further. The former Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor-turned-adviser to the British government argues that creative types are not nonbusiness-minded layabouts who contribute to the economy only passively by making a city cool but are key figures who have the potential to push stagnant economies back into growth. If we knew what was good for us, he says, we’d support creative industries with the same enthusiasm we do science and technology.

“There is this preoccupation with technology, but we don’t do ourselves any favours when we try to build Silicon Valleys all around the world,” Mr. Richard said. “At what point do we run out of the desire to consume creativity? Never. We will never want less music or great television programming.”

The presence of vibrant creative industries in Britain was one reason that Mr. Richard relocated there in 2001 after a career in California that included founding and selling two technology startups. “London is home to some of the best design and art schools in the world. They produce so much talent, but no one was tapping that.”

He now advises the British government on innovation, mentors entrepreneurs through his educational initiatives and is an active angel investor. But his main goal these days is changing perceptions of creative industries; he believes business leaders and governments need to recognize the value of a sector that he says accounts for about $1.6 of every $15.6 that Britain exports. He calculates British creative industries generate about $108,890 every minute. Read more

How can we make the most of culture for economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social inclusion ?  How can we place culture, innovation, and creativity at the heart of public policy ? From 15 to 17 May, UNESCO’s "Hangzhou International Congress" in China will set the stage for a landmark global debate on integrating culture in the conception, measurement, and practice of sustainable development. The Congress seeks to inspire governments, civil society, businesses and communities to harness the power of culture in addressing the world’s most pressing developmental challenges.  Read More

The Guardian, April 15, 2013
Cultural tourism has been a concept I've applied for years, whether launching an international arts festival or working with cultural consortia and destination management organisations. But it's only in the last couple of years that there's been an awareness in the wider cultural sector of just how valuable cultural tourism is – an awareness underlined recently via the newly-signed memorandum of understanding between Arts Council England and Visit England.