BC Performing Arts Presenters get redesigned forms
I’ve mentioned in earlier blogs that I work on contract for the BC Touring Council to administer a program of the BC Arts Council’s called Community Presenters Assistance. This is the second year I’ve taken on this contract and it’s actually a lot of fun.
Most of the year I work on graphic design so this really shifts things for me during the month of July as I sit for hours at a time reviewing grant applications and entering the data from the forms that are sent in. I find it hard to believe, but I enjoy doing it. I tend to crank up the music (today it was Bob Dylan’s, MTV Unplugged and CBC Radio 2).
The presenters that send in applications are generally non-profit or municipally-run organizations from all parts of British Columbia. They range from very small, volunteer-based societies to fairly large theatres with professional, paid staff. The smaller organizations might only present three or four touring performances per year but these events often garner really good-sized audiences.
Many years ago (the late 1980s and early 1990s), I was one of those artists booked by these presenters as I toured BC with performances of my folk-based songs. Part of what makes doing this contract so interesting is that it’s something I believe in strongly and have a knowledge of. Touring is an important part of an artist’s income stream and career development.
Last year, the presenters who applied to the Community Presenters Assistance program paid 1.6 million dollars to artists from across Canada and Internationally. The assistance from this program helps in a small way to cover the costs of some of those artists.
The front page and budget page of the 2009-10 Application
In an attempt to streamline the application process this year, we reduced the amount of information that was required to go on the application forms. This allowed me to redesign the forms in Adobe InDesign and present them as PDFs that allowed for the entry of data into the forms themselves, including fields that automatically totaled and “carried forward” figures. It allowed for the elimination of MS Excel forms which were not very attractive and for many people, caused problems for printing.
The new forms have been very successful even with the bugs discovered in this first round of applications. It will mean some tweaking and fine-tuning before next year’s applications are prepared. As one client said: “I like the new format and the simplicity of it! Thanks for thinking about the applicants!”
