Steinbach Arts Council looks back on 2024 as a ‘monumental’ year

Steinbach Arts Council executive director David Klassen has declared 2024 a “monumental” year for the organization.

“We experienced an amazing response from the community to our programs,” he said, noting there was an influx of people accessing programs and accessing bursaries.

“We felt that we could sustain all of our programs, including our corner stone offerings like our free afterschool arts program, which has been a huge asset to programming in this community.”

Klassen said there has been an increase in corporate interest in the arts organization and a return of audiences to community productions like Godspell and Fiddler on the Roof, which were sold out productions with Fiddler adding another performance due to demand.

“(Getting audiences) has been a struggle since the pandemic and we’re starting to see some renewed enthusiasm and several new subscribers, which means that new people are coming to our programs along with some of our loyal participants.”

Some of the highlights of 2024 included SAC celebrating its 45th anniversary and also investing in its cultural and heritage workshops, such as Metis jig dancing and Filipino lantern making.

“We’re offering new opportunities for our communities to engage in arts and culture that might be new to them and celebrates the diversity of our community. That’s been very exciting,” said Klassen.

The centre has also expanded its Hall Gallery thanks to a donation from the Steinbach Community Foundation. “Visual arts is an incredibly important part of what the Southeast is known for and we’re excited to showcase a lot more of that work in our centre and make it available to our community, either for purchase or lease or simply for awareness. I think it’s such a valuable part of who we are.”

The year also had another milestone for SAC as it reached $1.1 million in its operating fund, which Klassen attributed to higher registration numbers and more public engagement. The money also meant SAC could research more grant opportunities to maintain the building and to pour into programs.

“The more we are able to grow financially, the more we’re able to support new initiatives for the future, which is very exciting for us as we look forward to growth,” he said.

One of the challenges of 2024 was the use of space. SAC’s programming has become so popular that there are long waitlists, and the use of space gets creative when it comes to scheduling and booking classrooms. In terms of whether SAC is looking to expand into a new space, Klassen said the organization’s goal right now is to make sure the classrooms remain full and that there are as many programs offered as possible and to “develop the space that we have and care for our building.”

“Our goal is to make sure that everyone that we interact with understands the value of what it is that we do for others. We provide a huge amount of opportunities for kids and that’s really important because we believe that arts and culture is a huge part of developing well rounded individuals who can really contribute to society in many ways. These are our future leaders,” he said. “And arts and culture is such a huge part of understanding one another. We are very committed to making sure we do everything possible to keep doing this work to the very best of our ability.”