Arts and Culture Partnership Council Selects Executive

TOURISM/CULTURE--Arts and Culture Partnership Council Selects Executive

Visual artist Timothy Gillespie has been elected the first chair of the Nova Scotia Arts and Culture Partnership Council. Mr. Gillespie is the chair of the Shelburne County Arts Council.

Paul Gallant, the executive director of Le Conseil des arts de Cheticamp, will serve as vice-chair and Ted Cavanagh, professor of architecture at Dalhousie University, is the partnership council's secretary.

Dianne Coish, executive director of the culture division, will represent the Department of Tourism and Culture on the executive.

"I am delighted the Arts and Culture Partnership Council has its first executive and look forward to working with the group," said Rodney MacDonald, Minister of Tourism and Culture. "Together, we will continue to make significant investments in our artists and cultural organizations. And we will continue to look for ways to make our programming more responsive to the needs of the sector."

"The partnership council has proven to be a focused and hard- working group," added Mr. Gillespie. "I think we are all looking forward to the work ahead of us."

The partnership council has been operating with an interim executive since its first meeting on May 21, 2003. It has 15 representatives, 13 from the arts and culture community and two from government. The council will consult with people in the arts and culture community and make recommendations to the minister on planning, design, and delivery of arts and culture programs in Nova Scotia.

The multi-million-dollar culture sector has emerged as one of the fastest-growing sectors in Nova Scotia, supporting thousands of direct and indirect jobs.