SRAC bids adieu

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

The Strathmore Regional Arts Collective (SRAC) society’s annual general meeting on Oct. 13 proved a double-edged sword for the seven board members, when they unanimously agreed in favour of the society’s dissolution.
The decision came shortly after five out of the seven board members resigned, and with only seven community members in attendance, lacked the necessary individuals taking action to keep the collective going.
“It was way too much work for way too few people, because of that, I think we were just not getting done what we had set out to do,” said Brandy Hebbes, Chair of SRAC and the president of the Wheatland Society of Arts.
“I believe we played a pretty big role in forwarding arts awareness in the community and the region. The few of us that deeply cared just valiantly kept struggling to keep it going. At some point you hit the balance point and it either goes or you make the other decision. Sadly this was the way the teeter-totter tipped.”
Three years ago, the collective was first introduced into the community as a not-for-profit umbrella company that, among other things, set out to connect all of the art groups in the existing art community and support and promote each other. As part of the original feasibility study completed by RC Strategies, the society also worked towards the creation an art facility – a project that never materialized.
While the society managed to raise awareness for the arts, connect artists with opportunities, create galleries, produced a mural for the Strathmore 55 Plus Alberta Summer games, created the Canada Day art, and celebrated their third annual Arts and Sounds festival, a demanding workload and a lack of traction for the society’s ambitious aspirations contributed to the heavy-hearted decision last week.
Battling mixed feelings of sadness and relief, Hebbes hopes their efforts will pave the way for new approaches and an increase in town involvement.
With a new community-based art installation policy on the horizon, members were adamant that the arts continue gaining strength through other initiatives within Strathmore.
“It wasn’t a case of giving up, it was a ‘well this isn’t doing what we want it to do, so let’s try a different way,'” said Councillor Denise Peterson, who represented the Town of Strathmore on the committee.
“My hope is that the major art societies in our community will form an executive committee and that they will act in an advisory capacity to the town and continue the work of SRAC. They did a really good job of gathering data on all the home-based artists in this community and surrounding … and I think that you’ll see the presence continue. I do really believe, and I’m really hopeful, that it will evolve into what they had initially intended.”
Strathmore is home to various art organizations, such as the Youth Club, Strathmore Musical Arts Society, Strathmore Theatre Players’ Guild, and the Hope Bridges Society.
“The arts are not dead, this is not the end,” said Wanda Reinholdt, vice-chair of SRAC.
“The arts collective was a step. We tried it and it didn’t work like we thought it would, so now we have to try something else.”
The Strathmore Regional Arts Collective will officially dissolve on Nov. 30.