The next Leap Day will be February 29, 2020.
Three predominant arts groups have joined together under the banner of “arts capaCITY,” a collective collaboration aimed at improving the education, accessibility and appreciation for the arts in Barrie. And their goal is to make an impact before the next leap year.
Theatre By The Bay (TBTB), Talk Is Free Theatre and The Barrie Filmfest will work for the next four years to help breathe more live into the art into the city.
Alex Dault is the assistant director of the TBTB and came up with the Leap Day idea that was official launched on February 29.
“We had a committee set up and were trying to set goals and how to reach them,” said Dault. “With Leap Day being something that happens once every four years, it seemed to be a great opportunity to look ahead and have date where once we get to it, we can look back and see all that we’ve accomplished.”
Barrie has long been seen as a city on verge of something big in the arts community. With the close proximity to Toronto for a grand, modern, fashionable look at the arts, Barrie is also very close to Ontario’s cottage country where folks are usually looking for something a bit more down to earth.
The group knew going into the plan that turning Barrie into a place recognized as an arts city will take some planning and time.
“It’s hard to come up with a definition of what is an ‘arts city’ or how one becomes an art city,” said Dault. “How we look at it is you have to have education in place, festivals to showcase the art and of course space for the artists to grow. There are many components needed but I think it’s achievable. We are a dedicated committee and Barrie has some mature and driven artists who can make this work.”
Arts capaCITY is hoping to raise $1.2 million over the next three years in order to provide workshops, speaking engagements, education and other platforms to reach the arts community. They know they will also need help from the corporate sector and has already seen some support from different levels of government.
“Every year we have to tread water with all resources going to maintaining what we already have,” said Dault. “Sometimes donors feel that if they give to one group, they can’t to another. With this partnership, it shows that your money will be going to the arts as a whole.”
Four years will come and go quickly as time often does. One of the activities that was organized for the launch event on February 29 was a prediction game. People in attendance were asked to write on a card what four years from now will look like.
While the odd prediction included Donald Trump being President of the United States or Kevin O’Leary as Prime Minister, many in the crowd anticipated a strong Ontario and Canadian arts presence in Barrie.
“Many people wrote that we as a city would make a lot of noise in all aspects of art,” said Dault. “This is not a random thought process and we feel we have everything lined up for success. With a grant writing body, sub-committees, fundraising teams and community leaders, we know that February 29, 2020 will be a day we look back and realize that we succeeded.”
