Two death knells for any city are the loss of urban trees/green space and the arts.
People are attracted to Victoria, BC’s downtown area because of its inherent natural and architectural beauty and the vibrancy of the wide variety of art-based programming offered in event spaces. Everyone benefits from a city filled with beauty, culture and art…businesses, residents and tourists alike.
If this city becomes totally about funding police, what does it say about the way we address the other problems we face? Solutions exist far beyond just trying to sweep everyone and everything away that costs money for the illusion of a vibrant and resilient city. It has become apparent what the dark side of the equation is when budgets are spent hiding problems not addressing them in a fulsome community way for the better good of all.
The City of Victoria needs to rethink how it values its residents, trees, greenspace and the arts. Please share your opinion by writing to mayorandcouncil@victoria.ca
City Needs to Rethink Priorities
To join with the many other voices pushing back against budget cuts, here’s my letter to the Victoria mayor and council regarding the proposed cutbacks to the arts (including the $8000 yearly budget for the poet laureate/youth laureate/Butler book prize) that will be discussed at the upcoming Victoria City Council meeting on January 13th. Hope there are lots of persuasive speakers (maybe even some poetry!), and that these important programs and other arts programs can be saved!
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Subject: Poet Laureate position of Victoria and Youth Poet Laureate positions and Victoria Butler Book Prizes: Jan 13th City Council Agenda
Dear Mayor and Council,
I am writing in support of the continuation of Victoria’s poet laureate position, youth poet laureate position and Butler Book Prize. The arts are an essential component of any city’s soul and spirit. All three of these programs in Victoria support and promote literacy and community connections that especially necessary during post-pandemic times of economic instability and environmental anxiety. These programs foster the vibrancy, history and culture of Victoria, making its presence and identity known across the country through its talented authors.
Past laureates in Victoria and Vancouver have been involved at countless public events over the decades, nurturing young emerging writers, and engaging disenfranchised, marginalized and vulnerable communities. Furthermore, municipal book prizes honour complex local histories and stories that need to be heard and that deserve recognition. As Vancouver’s sixth poet laureate 2022-2024, my legacy project generated poems about local historical, cultural and ecological sites, that led to poetry videos made by post-secondary students, the best of which have been selected for screening at festivals around the world. I conducted numerous workshops in the Downtown Eastside and at various schools and participated in community events. I was honoured to join the ranks of past laureates in the lower mainland in bringing diverse communities together and strengthening our social fabric.
These municipal literary programs are lean and cost-efficient. They continue to have far-reaching and profound beneficial ripple effects across generations. I urge you to maintain them: literacy and artistic expression form the foundation of a thriving society as much as bricks and mortar.
Yours truly,
Fiona Tinwei Lam
Vancouver’s past poet laureate 2022-2024