The City of St. Catharines' Arts and Culture Advisory Committee (ACAC) is a volunteer committee made to advise on policies, plans and programs related to the arts and cultural sector in St. Catharines. Explore our arts and culture programs and services to learn more.
Meetings
The Committee meets monthly or at the discretion of the Chair. For a schedule of upcoming meetings view our meeting calendar. For more information, read our agendas and minutes.
Our purpose
The Arts and Culture Advisory Committee was established to:
- Review applications to the St. Catharines Cultural Investment Program (SCCIP) and make annual recommendations to Council
- Assist with event coordination and recipient selection of the annual Arts Awards
- Participate in the creation or renewal of cultural plans and policies
Members
Membership terms align with Council terms or as determined by Council. The Committee may invite non-member participation as needed. The current Committee members are:
- Mo Al Jumaily
- Danny Custodio
- David DeRocco (artist appointee)
- Justus Duntsch (Vice-Chair) (artist appointee)
- Don Evans
- Kate Leathers (artist appointee)
- Suzanne Melville
- Sandy Middleton (Chair) (artist appointee)
- Janice Slade
- Emily Kovacs (representative from Folk Arts Multicultural Centre)
- One representative from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport (ex officio)
- Ashley Judd-Rifkin, Culture Coordinator (staff liaison)
Composition
The Arts and Culture Advisory Committee consists of up to 11 members including:
- Six citizen members of the cultural community
- Four artists (any discipline)
- CEO or designate, St. Catharines Folk Arts Multicultural Centre
- One representative from the Ministry of Culture will be invited to attend (non-voting, resource member)
Members should include professional and amateur artists from the cultural community representing the following disciplines:
- Artistic practice (all disciplines)
- Arts and cultural management, promotion and production
- Creative entrepreneurship
- Ethnocultural community development
- Business development, marketing and communications
- Grant-writing and/or evaluation
- Cultural advocacy
The Committee has two standing sub-committees:
- St. Catharines Cultural Investment Program (SCCIP) Selection Committee
- Arts Awards Committee
Reporting structure
The Committee reports to Council through the Cultural Sustainability Committee. The Chair of the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee will also be a member of the Cultural Sustainability Committee.