The Steinbach Arts Council invited their members to drop by the centre this past Thursday for their Annual General Meeting and a barbecue.

Board Chair Audrey Barkman Hill says they really wanted this year’s AGM to be a time of celebration.

"We have come out of a difficult time and what we have become aware of is how incredibly important our membership is. We have missed them. We have missed seeing the kids in the classes, we have missed seeing our members at concerts in the concert series and yet they are out there in the community supporting us through this whole time.” Barkman Hills notes “We just like to recognize how important our members are to us here at the arts council."

SAC Chair Audrey Barkman HillBarkman Hill says this past year was a rollercoaster for the SAC, much like it has been for other organizations. She adds they did learn some valuable lessons.

"We discovered that some people like to do things online and some people like to do things in person and so in some ways, we doubled our audiences. We are looking at perhaps that being a way of moving forward to meet the needs in our community in an even better way."

Director of Development Cindi Rempel Patrick gave an update at the AGM and noted the amazing financial support they have received over the last 12 months.

"Despite all of the challenges that the COVID-19 climate presented to us during our operations, the community stepped up. They wanted to make sure that the Steinbach Arts Council would remain strong and viable and sustainable and so our individual and corporate donations actually increased this last year. We had some new fundraising projects and a lot of new people step forward to be part of that."

Overall revenue for the SAC was down slightly this year at $785K compared to last year’s $842K, however, expenses were also down. When all was said and done, the SAC ended this year with a modest $65K surplus this year that will be invested in the centre’s future.

Director of Programming David KlassenDirector of Programming David Klassen says despite the challenges this past year, they were very happy with what was accomplished during the shifting and changing restrictions.

He notes one surprise highlight this year was the online pottery classes.

"Everybody thought we were crazy to do pottery online and we said 'why not, let's do it' and it was a huge amount of work but they were so successful and families throughout our safe-at-home programming were so grateful and so happy that we were able to put that energy into programming."

Looking forward. Klassen says there is plenty to be excited about at the SAC.

"We are hoping for a concert series that will look almost normal, bringing people together in a safe way. Now, of course, that all takes a lot of planning and we will do whatever we need to do to keep it safe. With the classes and arts instruction that we have planned, we are sticking with classes that we know people want and are popular and we see a really good turnout for those classes."

Klassen says they have also polished up their classes and created a system that grows with artists as their skill level increases.

Rempel Patrick says there is also a lot to look forward to on the fundraising side as well.

"We are going to have our regulars, the gala is coming, the Corks and Canvas, we have an Art Print Campaign, and we have a user group fundraiser. We also have two new fundraisers, one is called Schmountfat and Champagne and we are partnering with the Rotary Club and MHV and that is going to be so much fun."

The second new fundraiser is a Star Sponsorship Program which will involve stars and local artists who will be performing on stage if all goes well.

The SAC board and the directors thank the community and all of their members for an amazing year as they look to the future.