Cultural summit back

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

Ask an artist – a creative space can mean a lot of things.

It can mean their physical studio space or it could mean the space where art is seen, like the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, or one of the city’s libraries, or it could mean a coffee shop, a park bench, or it could mean even mean a space in time.

On Oct. 22, members of the arts and cultural community and the city are inviting everyone to come out and talk about these creative spaces and learn about the past and future of arts, culture and heritage in the city.

For the second straight year, the city is hosting its annual Cultural Summit, set to take over the Arts Resource Centre from 7 to 9 p.m.

“I think it’s for everybody – it’s about gathering people and energy to build cultural momentum,” says Donna Raetsen-Kemp, the RMG’s CEO. “So I think anyone who is interested in that would take something away from it.”

Raetsen-Kemp will also be one of the presenters taking the state throughout the night, talking about the RMG’s Gallery A, a studio and exhibition space for budding artists.

“There’s been a lot of great things that have happened, a lot of learning that has happened,” she says of the space, which has been up and running for nearly a year now.

Raetsen-Kemp will be giving a rundown of how things have progressed.

“Also some of the interesting things that have happened, what we’ve learned and kind of looking forward, where we think it might go and some talk about artists as well and their involvement in the process,” she adds.

The night will also include a presentation from Carla Sinclair, a co-owner of Empty Cup Media and manager of community and volunteer development at the RMG.

Sinclair will be talking about Heal Myself, a documentary she’s been working on for the past nine years – a span of time which, for her, represents its own creative space.

“Looking back over the nine years, when I (finally) had that DVD in my hand it wasn’t so much about the DVD as it was the space between when I started and finished the project and all the lessons and challenges and triumphs in between,” Sinclair says.

From what she’s learned, Sinclair says she is looking to make it easier on others who wish to follow their own creative pursuits.

“Making that film was not an easy process. I didn’t have any equipment when I started, I didn’t have that much experience and I had no money and throughout the process I had to really work hard to find those things, but I was really fortunate and had a lot of support and I was able to do that,” she says. “Not everyone has the means to be able to do that so I really want to foster the creative spark in our community by offering those spaces and making them accessible to everyone.”

The summit will also include a keynote speech from Tom Potocic, the director of the Hamilton Supercrawl, and a presentation from Laura Suchan, executive director of the Oshawa Community Museum and Dr. Helen Haines, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at Trent University.

“Whether you’re creative or just interested in art, cultural or heritage this is an opportunity to learn what Oshawa is doing in those areas and perhaps give us some ideas to look at for enhancement,” states Councillor Bob Chapman in a news release.