United Council to match arts grant?

Press, 22 January 1988, Page 5

United Council to match arts grant?

The economic and employment value of the arts in Canterbury will be the subject of a comprehensive review if the Canterbury United Council agrees to help fund the study. The Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council has offered a $15,000 grant towards a study of the economic contribution to the region and the job opportunities created by the arts. The study is a follow-on to similar reviews in the Hawke’s Bay and Nelson

regions. The chief executive of the United Council, Mr Malcolm Douglass, confirmed last evening the council would discuss matching the Arts Council figure at its meeting next month. The Arts Council had made the initial approach about the study, he said. It was keen to examine the contribution and potential of the arts in the region. The Christchurch Community Arts Council would be directly involved in the

study, Mr Douglass said. That council’s chairman, Mr Mark Skelding, said a regional policy for the arts was perhaps the most important issue facing arts groups. Mr Douglass said he hoped the United Council would support a project a little out of its usual sphere. Whether the study went ahead depended on the council’s support. He estimated the $15,000 from the Arts Council would meet half the cost of the study.