Cultural Infrastructure in Small to Mid-Size Communities

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Cultural Infrastructure in Small to Mid-Size
Communities
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City of Grande Prairie
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Mission

• We Make Things Happen

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One of the fastest growing citys in Canada
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A few facts.

• The population of Grande Prairie is currently
  50,227 people
• City serves a market area in excess of 200,000
  people within a 200 kilometre radius
• Median age of the population is 29

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What drives the Economy

• Agriculture
• Forestry
• Oil and Gas
• Retail Services
• Service Industry
• Regional Services

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What makes up our Cultural Infrastructure?

• Grande Prairie Live Theatre
• Grande Prairie Public Library
• Centre for Creative Arts
• The Prairie Gallery
• Douglas J. Cardinal Performing Arts Centre
• Grande Prairie Regional College Fine Arts
  Conservatory
• Crystal Centre
• Grande Prairie Museum
• The Heritage Discovery Centre

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Grande Prairie Live Theatre

• A 180 seat Theatre in the heart of Downtown
  Grande Prairie
• Producing 10 shows a season
• Offering summer camps and rentable space

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Grande Prairie Public Library

• Support for education, literacy, lifelong
  learning and economic, social and community
  development
• Public access to computers, newspapers, magazines
• Partnership with regional automation consortium
  and the Alberta Library

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Centre for Creative Arts
Community Arts Centre that nurtures and promotes
the arts, offers studio space for developing
artists and provides a wide range of programs.
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The Prairie Gallery

• Collection
• Exhibits
• Education
• Summer Camps
• Programs Events

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The Prairie Gallery Today
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New Library Gallery

• 100,000 square foot cultural centre, which will
  house the Citys public library and art gallery
  opening in 2009

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Douglas J. Cardinal Performing Arts Centre
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GPRC Fine Arts Conservatory

• 40th anniversary concert series
• Performing Ensembles
• Community courses lessons
• Student Gallery

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Crystal Centre
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Heritage Discovery Centre
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Grande Prairie Museum

• Operating the Grande Prairie Museum and Heritage
  Village
• Heritage Discovery Centre at Centre 2000
• Forbes Homestead Provincial Historic Site
• Municipal Heritage Site programs

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River of Death DiscoveryDinosaur Discovery
Centre

• Opening in 2010

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A Hub of Activity
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Needs/Challenges/ Emerging Trends

• Increase in Partnerships
• Fewer volunteers
• Harder to recruit Board membership
• Declining memberships
• Greater dependency on public funds
• Fundraising by Friends of
• Need for more sponsors
• Public demand for more meeting and programming
  space and training tools in existing facilities

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Needs/Challenges/ Emerging Trends (cont)

• Defining appropriate, sustainable infrastructure
• Demand for more programming
• Desire to be in the downtown core
• Difficulties attracting and retaining staff
• Demand for state of the art technology
• Awareness of community needs and defining a
  response
• Identified need to preserve and protect Heritage
  resources

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Timelines Tipping Points What led to Yes

• New Library Gallery facility
• Lobbying efforts by stakeholders to Mayor
  Council, municipal and federal governments
• Survey and Word of Mouth feedback from the public

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Balancing Tourism and Quality of Life

• Tourists are looking for free internet access
• 20-30 of city event ticket sales are from non
  residents
• City is seen as the hub for regional shopping

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New Emerging Partnership Models

• The Library/Gallery stakeholders
• Centre for Creative Arts the John Howard
  Society
• Crystal Centre Ticketmaster
• Heritage Municipal Heritage Partnership program
• Library and GPRC, school divisions, Canadian
  Parents for French
• Commmunity Foundation of Greater Grande Prairie
  and the Downtown Association

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Community Impact
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On the Horizon

• 2009 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Gala Awards
• 2010 Arctic Winter Games

Photo courtesy of Government of the Yukon
gv
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