"I never thought it would take this long to get ahead with this one," Coun. Bryan Raiser said.
Having first discussed the idea three years ago, last week Squamish council voted to ask the Squamish Arts Council (SAC) to put out a call for artists to give four downtown B.C. Hydro electrical boxes a facelift.
The initiative is to either paint or wrap the green boxes with designs or scenes by local artists. But while the vote (Jan. 24) to move the project forward was unanimous, the funding to make it happen still has to be approved in the upcoming 2012 capital budget.
Cost to paint a unit consists of a $600 to $1,000 honorarium for the design or art work, approximately $160 for the materials and $200 to get a box prepared for the paint.
Wrapping each box would cost between $1,000 and $1,600 fee depending on the size of the box and an approximate $500 artist honorarium. Wraps can last up to seven years, district staff told council.
Raiser said he was somewhat surprised by the cost estimates.
"I didn't know the artists were going to be paid," he said.
A lot of artists have come to him asking to paint the boxes for free, Raiser said. He said he saw the project as a great community involvement initiative, in which people would be happy to get on board.
"We could do this old-school Squamish style for a lot cheaper," Raiser said.
Raiser's comments are "regressive" and "uninformed," SAC President Krisztina Egyed told The Chief in an email, and should be a concern to anyone who values arts and culture as well as residents who want to develop into a sustainable, progressive community.
The federal Copyright Act recognizes artists as the primary producers of culture, and gives artists legal entitlement to exhibition and other fees,including honorariums, she noted.
"As the voice for arts and culture in our community, SAC defends artists' economic and legal rights and educates the public on fair dealing with artists," Egyed wrote. "In doing so,SAC promotes a socio-economic climate conducive to the production ofall disciplines ofarts."
Coun. Susan Chapelle suggested the district and artists could add to the project by including Quick Response code (QR code) on the boxes. That would allow people to scan the small, square barcode with their phones and be directed to the artist's or SAC's website. Incorporating such an interactive feature might appeal to tourists and potentially put money in the pockets of the artists, Chapelle said.
Council also voted to ask SAC to put out an artist's call for street banner designs. A total of 288 new banners are required at a cost of $15,000, plus an additional $5,000 for installation, district officials stated in a report to council.
