Steering committee members sought

The Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance (CKCA) invites members of the arts, culture and heritage community in the Columbia Basin to join its volunteer Steering Committee.

The CKCA represents the arts, culture and heritage communities across the Basin, and manages and administers relevant funding programs on behalf of the Columbia Basin Trust (CBT).

The CKCA Steering Committee consists of 14 members: six from the West Kootenay, five from the East Kootenay, one from the Valemount area and two from the heritage sector. CKCA represents all the disciplines in the arts (visual art, music, theatre, dance, film/video and literary arts), culture and heritage; therefore, it is important to provide broad representation on the committee.

CKCA is particularly interested in new members that represent youth or cultural diversity.

Steering committee members are elected for two-year terms and represent the broader needs of arts, culture and heritage sectors in the Basin rather than individual arts councils, heritage organizations, or the communities in which they live.

Nominees must have a strong background in arts, culture or heritage, experience working on boards or committees and must understand the needs and issues of the sector. Members are expected to attend at least two meetings per year in various locations in the Basin.

Nominees to the CKCA Steering Committee do not have to be members of any organizations, but must be nominated by their local community arts councils or by the Heritage Federation of South East BC (HFSEBC).

Each eligible arts council may put forward only one nomination. If there are more arts council nominees in each region than seats available on the Steering Committee, regional elections will be held in the beginning of April. The HFSEBC may put forward one nomination this year. The HFSEBC nominee will be elected at its annual AGM. It is recommended that nominees (if elected) will be willing to attend occasional arts council or HFSEBC meetings to stay in touch with local/sector issues.

Currently, community arts councils eligible for nominating representatives to the Steering Committee are:

West Kootenay: Arrow Lakes (Nakusp Area), Nelson, Revelstoke, Rossland, Salmo (including Ymir), Slocan Valley (as far as Slocan) and Slocan Lake (Silverton/New Denver)

East Kootenay: Cranbrook, Fernie, Columbia Valley, Kimberley, and Sparwood and District.

All other communities/sectors currently have a sitting Steering Committee member.

For more information on the nomination process, please contact your local arts council or call CKCA at 1-877-505-7355. For more information on CKCA, please visit www.basinculture.com.

Deadline for arts council nominations is 5 pm, Tuesday, April 2.