Local artists and the annual Artisans Festival were discussed during committee meetings in Madawaska Valley Township this week.
On Jan. 29th Acting Interim Treasurer, Ross Jeffrey gave a progress report to the Finance & Administration Committee about the remaining unpaid consignment payments for artists’ work sold at the Railway Station last year. Jeffrey said that 25 artists/suppliers remain unpaid out of a total of approximately 45. Many of the amounts payable are very small – under $100 and in some cases as little as $4 – but township staff have been unable to track addresses for some of the artists, perhaps because they used to collect their cheques in person. Staff discovered stale-dated cheques that would need to be re-issued. Jeffrey said staff are preparing the 2017 year-end accounts and he requires Council’s approval to write off any amounts.
After discussion, the committee confirmed that the remaining payments should be subject to the same 25 percent commission charged to artists who have already been paid. The committee further directed staff to clear up the largest amounts first and ended by advising artists who had not yet been paid to get in touch with MV Township. Mayor Love said staff should make a public statement that the cheques are ready so come and get them.
At the Recreation Heritage and Culture Committee meeting the following day, Chair Carl Bromwich read an email from Shirley Murphy of Hummingbird Weaving Studio in Barry’s Bay. She asked if there is going to be an Artisans Craft Show on July 7, 2018, saying:
“I have been a participant for the past 18 years and am anxious to know if it will be held again this year as Anya who looked after it is no longer an employee.”
Committee chair Carl Bromwich said:
“I can’t say at this point in time. We have yet to have summer events aligned but we are looking to have an increase of staff who would look into this. We’d like to have an Artisans Crafts show. It’s happened the last few years. It’s not a big mystery how to organize it. It has wonderful things from the Valley along with all the other events but we can’t really say for sure. We can’t give an answer today. There will be announcements made once we have our coordinator in place.”
I am hoping that there will be an artisan craft show this year. It brings many people to the area and it is always such a success. We get to see and appreciate the talent of the many artisans that display their products. Here’ hoping??