It’s election season in the City of Hamilton. Nine candidates are vying for the mayoral seat, and a further 81 are vying for 15 City Council seats. It is not unreasonable to expect that the political landscape in Hamilton is about to shift significantly.
According to the City of Hamilton, Ward 14 is the western portion of Hamilton Mountain. Its borders are the Niagara Escarpment (north), hydro corridor (south), Garth Street (east) and the City of Hamilton municipal border (west).
In a joint partnership between the Hamilton Arts Council and Beyond James, a nonpartisan candidate survey was sent for prospective leaders to map out their vision for our city. Just three questions have provided a window into what those running for office in Hamilton would do to invest in creativity.
The Hamilton Arts Council will utilize survey responses to continue conversations with elected councillors following the election.
Kojo Damptey
What arts event is a must do for every Hamiltonian?
Festival of Friends and SuperCrawl would be the main festivals every Hamiltonian needs to attend. However, as someone who used to run a music festival, the curators of Festival of Friends and SuperCrawl need to focus on other genres of music.
What do you see as an opportunity to expand arts and culture in Hamilton?
There are many opportunities to expand arts and culture in Hamilton. As a former member of the Hamilton Music Advisory Team, I worked with the City to start a Musician Conference which continues to expand and support emerging musicians by connecting them to the music community. The tourism department has made some strides in assessing the arts and culture sector but more needs to be done. – Building arts centres across the City. – Providing funding for arts and cultural entrepreneurs and organizations. – Increasing funding to the City Enrichment Fund so the sector can have access to municipal funding.
If elected, how will you leverage your position as a City Councillor to advance the arts in Hamilton?
If elected, I would work with the Arts Commission to address the gaps the sector is experiencing. During the budget process I would advocate for an increase in the City Enrichment Fund to support the sector.
Brian Lewis
What arts event is a must do for every Hamiltonian?
Now that we are back to semi-normal, I strongly recommend the Super Crawl, Festival of Friends and Hamilton Film Festival.
What do you see as an opportunity to expand arts and culture in Hamilton?
Hamilton has changed so much since the days of Bill Powell’s Coffee House on Augusta in the ’70s (sorry, showing my age, miss you, Bill!). Because of the aggressive vision he and others had, the arts and culture community has grown more than could have been imagined. I see the growth in our community in the television and movie sectors will only add to arts and culture in Hamilton. The development of theatre companies in the area (If you haven’t, check out the Binbrook or Dundas little theatre – along with Theatre Ancaster- all outstanding productions) will only add to what is already a time of new opportunities in Hamilton.
If elected, how will you leverage your position as a City Councillor to advance the arts in Hamilton?
Hamilton is changing, and we are attracting people from around the globe to work, visit and live in this community like no other in Canada. Council has a responsibility to help in whatever way we can to promote art and culture- after all, it is who we are.
Colleen Wicken
What arts event is a must do for every Hamiltonian?
Every Resident of our great City of Hamilton should attend at least one Art Crawl every year
What do you see as an opportunity to expand arts and culture in Hamilton?
We have many beautiful perks across Hamilton, I believe that a monthly Art in the Park event would be appreciated by those who cannot attend either Art Crawl or the Art Gallery or any of the amazing studios that the City has to offer
If elected, how will you leverage your position as a City Councillor to advance the arts in Hamilton?
As above, during the summer months, I would promote any of the beautiful Parks across Ward 14 and beyond for a monthly Art in the Park.
No Response Received
Christopher Pool
Don Ross
Christine Seketa
Mike Spadafora
