ALBERTA PERFORMING ARTS POLICY Marda Schindeler B.A. (Distinction). University of Lethbridge, 1993 A Thesis Submitted to the Council on Graduate Studies of the University of Lethbridge in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Lethbridge, Alberta Apn123, 1998 O Marda Schindeler, 1998 National Library 8ibliothèque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services seMces bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OnawaON K1AW OttawaON K1A ON4 canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, disticbute or selI reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film,de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor nibstantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. ABSTRACT Alberta's first arts legislation, the Cultural Developrnent Act, was passed in 1946. It was followed by numerous policy initiatives to support the arts, including creation of facilities for training of artists, development of agencies and agreements to deal with arts funding. enactment of regulations to guide arts institutions, and creation of various Departmental structures depending on organizational location of this policy sector. The thesis examines the historical evolution of performing arts policy in Alberta from 1905 to 1997 to identify government activities, shifts in policy-making, and methods of implementation. The study utilizes Paul Sabatier's advocacy coalition approach, which treats public policy as determined by the dynamics of the advocacy coalition within a policy sector and the manner in which extemal factors and system parameten stecr policy development. This study conciudes that Alberta performing arts policy ha largely developed within the context of meta public policies emphasizing economic development and provincial statebuilding. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ........................................................2 Chapter 1 The Period of Non-Govemment Involvement in Arts Policy: 1905to 1946 .................................................12 Chapter 2: The Entry of the Alberta Govemment into Performing Arts Policy: 1946-1970 .................................................. 25 Chapter 3: Policy Implementation through Alternative Policy Instruments: 1970-1991: ..................................................36 Chapter 4: Govemment Downsizing and the Increased Importance of the Private Sector in Ans Policy .................................... .50 Conclusion ........................................................66 Appendices ........................................................78 Cumulative References ...............................................9 1 INTRODUCTION In 1946. the Alberta govemment passed the first arts legislation in Canada, An Act to Promote the Cultrcraf Development of Alberta. Nurnerous policy initiatives to support the arts followed including the creation of facilities for the training of artists, the development of agencies to deal with arts funding, and the enactment of regulations to guide arts institutions. In addition, advisory groups were created to provide government departments wi th specialized knowledge about the arts. These initiatives rc flect the govemment's experirnentation with a variety of administrative structures in response to changing attitudes among both the public and political elites toward the role that govemment should play in arts development and support. The recent govemment emphasis on fiscal restraint and downsizing has meant a reconsideration of the role for govemrnent. resulting in a time of uncertainty for the arts. Despite over 50 years of government activity in the ans area. the study of performing arts policy-rnaking in Alberta remains relatively unexplored. Studies of ans policy have been largely focused at the national level. In the United States for example. see the research of Cummings and Katz's ( 1987) The Patron Stm~Government cind the Arts in Europe, North Atnericn, und Japan and the many contributors to the Joiirnul of Arts Munagemenr, L~wand Soci~ry. In Canada, federal govemment task forces and legislative cornmittee reports hav- been supplemented by studies such as Schafer and Fonier's ( 1989) Review of Fedrral Policies for the Arts in Canada as well as Globeman's ( 1987) Culture, Govemments and Markets: Public Poficy and the Cultrrre Industries. No comparable studies of Alberta performing arts policy exist. This thesis addresses the gaps in the literature on the arts in Alberta by exmining the historical evolution of performing arts policy in Alberta. My objectives are twofold. Fint, the thesis will provide a descriptive history of performing arts policy in Alberta by identifying govemment activities, shifts in policy-making, and rnethods of implementation. Second, the thesis will suggest explanations for why performing arts policy has developed in the manner it has. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY The specific focus of this study is on the performing arts' that encompasses the activities of music, drama,? and dance. The visual and literary arts, as well as media and film, have been excluded because, although closely related, they have experienced different patterns of development and have their own identifiable cornmunity of participants. This scope establishes policy' parameters to my study. The time frame to be examined includes the yean from 1905 when Alberta became a province to the last provincial election held on March 11, 1997. My research on perfoming ans policy development in Alberta uses both primary and secondary sources, including govemrnent documents, as well as minutes, constitutions, mission statements. and bylaws of arts groups. In addition. 1 have completed extensive elite-type interviews of governrnent officials, rnembers of ans associations, and selected members of the arts community. Finally, arts forums, conferences, as well as workshops involving arts groups and governrnent officials formed part of rny research.' Theoretical Framework In order to explain the historical evolution of performing arts policy in Alberta, 1 utilize Paul Sabatier's ( 199 I ; 1988; 1987) advocacy coalition approach. This conceptual framework is sufficiently broad to allow for inclusion of al1 the relevant factors that influence policy-making. Sabatier's frarnework of advocacy coalition views policy change over time as a. function of three sets of factors ( 199 1 ): a) policy participants interacting as an advocacy c~aiition;~ b) the influence of factors extemal to advocacy coalition; and c) the stability of changing system parameters. Policy Participants Policy participants are individuals, groups, organizations, and agencies that interact by virtue of their shared interest in a particular public policy sector, thus comprising what Sabatier (1991) terms a policy coalition. The extent to which these participants are able to agree on policy objectives directly relates to not only what kind of policies are developed but also the process of policy development that is involved within the policy community. The level of agreement among members of ci policy-making coalition cm also effect the strength of the policy sector within the overal! scheme of public policy-making. This is particululy true in what is a weak policy sector such as the ans, which occupies a relatively low position within the existing hierarchy of policy sectors. The dynamics of interaction among participants within a policy coalition, in the sense the relative importance of different participants, is dependent upon stability of both government and non-govemment organizations, the availability of financial resources, and the agendas and political strengths of individuals. both govemmental and private sector. Within the coalition of policy participants not ail stakeholders have equal influence and power. Different stakeholders have had varying degrees of influence in forging a change in the arts policy. Horst Schrnid, Minister of Culture, Youth and Recreation ( 197 1-74) and Alberta Culture ( 1975- 1978), for example. was a policy innovator. Unlike some other ministers who later headed the govemment department concerning the performing arts, he was effective in carrying his agenda through cabinet (Johnson, 198 1). Similarly, some bureaucrats (such as J.S. O'Neill, Deputy Minister from 1979 to 1992) - particularly those who were long tenured and experienced - had a better chance of influencing the government agenda chan those who were shuffled in and out. The participants interacting as an advocacy coalition in the performing arts policy- rnaking arena include (1) elected oficials of the government of Alberta - MLAs, rninisters, and high-Ievel bureaucrats; and (2) organizations and collectivities - Alberta govemment departments, a variety of corporation-like foundations, and organizations of artists - collectively they constitute the stakeholders in enhancingkhanging performing arts policies in the province.' Influence of Factors Externul