After BC Arts Council’s recent rejection of my third major grant application for my Humanity project, it’s time for a GRANT RANT!
Although I don’t believe our government should be involved in financing the arts, someone receives these grants every year, so I gave it my best shot…
But as a libertarian-minded individual, I strongly disagree with the notion that maintaining a vibrant and relevant Art scene requires money to be taken from certain individuals, run through a bureaucracy, and then portioned out to the few deemed worthy.
Running counter to mainstream Canadian ideology, I believe that inspiration (individualism), rather than coercion (statism), should guide the flow of resources and support for any communal undertaking, be it commercial, social, or Artistic.
For, where in history flourished the freshest, most dynamic Art scenes?
And were they a product of government subsidies, supporting those who wrote grant applications that most impressed the presiding Arts hierarchy?
Or borne of a hungry and competitive creative free-for-all that rewarded those creating the most compelling works?
What force drove the Renaissance?
Modernism?
Surrealism?
Punk Rock?
Hip Hop?
Not overly bitter here, just disappointed that after receiving the Arts Council’s feedback three times and attempting to re-tailor subsequent applications to meet their criteria that the project which so excites me still fails to inspire them.
But!
Maybe it’s for the best.
Cause good Art shouldn’t come easy.
And a good Artist no stranger to suffering and sacrifice.
For my part, for the past five years I’ve sunk thousands of dollars and thousands of hours into Humanity’s development.
Financing this has required me to live in a basement, sleep in a tent, eat low-grade food and sacrifice countless other opportunities.
And I’ve loved every minute of it.
Grants are not required to create Art.
What’s essential are creativity and determination.
If you haven’t got those, you’re a hobbyist, not an Artist.
Accordingly, I’m going to bring this film to life, if it’s the last thing I do.
Above all else, it is why I was put here.
And so, instead of simply whining away on my blog about the current state of affairs, I’ve devised A New And Better Way. And never again will I apply for a grant to create this film.
Instead, I’m going to post my grant application online, making it available for feedback and asking those who believe in the project to please contribute whatever they can (which could be significantly more if everyone wasn’t overworked+overtaxed in order to sustain Canada’s myriad bureaucracies)…
Approximately $30,000 will be required in order to complete Humanity.
Not an astronomical sum, but it far exceeds my annual income.
I have no idea how many people can be inspired to help me create this film, but the response so far has been overwhelmingly positive. And somehow, I’m going to make this happen.
If you, gentle reader, would like to help out, that would be righteous.
I’m hoping to have the preliminary website launched very soon.
Love,
Gary Lachance
>>Update August 2010
Just discovered Kickstarter.com, a website that has put this financing formula into practice- Awesome!Â
This is certainly THE FUTURE of creative financing models and once I have a moment, my projects will be there!!!
>>Update August 2011
The (very rough) Humanity Website.
>>Update August 2013
Crowdfunding is now a multi-billion-dollar affair, fueling a modern artistic renaissance and surely the death knell for all corporate and government intervention in our cultures.
