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l I WA'rFitiiX) CHRONICLE - Wednesday, Septevnbel 24. 2014 ~ 19 Sticking to the plan . , . . City s new manager of arts, culture, festwals and events looks to Implement culture plan Bit BOB VIIBANM “lt's not just something for the elites to go 77 7 libraries/7917” .,...,.Â¥. and do. it's something that benefits every- body in the community." ‘7 l 7]? he importance of the arts to the (Iity It starts with changing the place ofthe ans “ii oi Waterloo is so pronounced that in the comtiiunity. It can be organic and implementation oi it's new culture grassroots and doesn't necessarily mean it plati has been moved into the office of eco has to come top down front arbiters of cul~ nomic development. tiire or from city officials. . It's an acknowledgement that iii order to “It means a whole bunch of different & ’ attract the knowledge economy workers of things to people, and it means a whole bunch .: . :1: the future. nutnlt‘lpdllfles have to proVIde of different kinds of activities," said ‘ .{v-‘igyi-‘bit more than a good livelihood and good job Kalogeropoulos. "lt could be a community ’ t. 95;" “i" 'ngT optmrtunities 7 ~ they have to provide a good arts protect or it cotild be a visiting exhibit at ‘ ‘1 ; Wfifiw ’2 ‘* quality oflife as well. a local an gallery A it really runs that gamut. «a; , - i .6?” 35¢; ' l the cultural sector pron’des some of that "It could be a band performing in some- iv, 4‘ ' ' raison d'etre, biit it is chronically underfund body‘s garage. which is really an important 'l - ed and struggles to provide the programming part of the culture scene, or it could be the l . 1' . that offers colour to a community's cultural iKW‘; symphony. " choices. She said the culture plan movmg forward » V; ‘ 3) s the city decided to change that in Will help the city stay focused on providing 1’3, : December 2013 when it adopted a new cul- supports and will give the community a bet . ' , ’ turr- plan after much public input. it included ter understanding of why they are doing {‘3’ I six goals and 37 recommendations. things they are doing 2' fi Implementation of that plan has already “It will mp meet that bigger picture that a.- s‘ ‘3 ‘ begun. but the city has brought on a new was created by the community." said ‘ § , manager for arts. culture. festivals and events Kalogeropoulos “I think that's really exciting /‘ ‘ ' I i to be part of the new strategy, Astero because of how much community involve- ' : Kalogeropoulos. who has been involved in merit there was in its development. the culture sector for the past twenty years “Often these things are more top down. so working With other municipalities such as it‘s been great to see how engaged the com- Guelph. has taken over the helm and those munity is In building that vision. which is _ responsibilitiw. After only a week on the job really unusual. It's often hard to get the com~ she acknowledged there is a lot to do. munity to come together to create a unified. ‘ “I've lived and worked in the local com shared picture,” munity and I've got to know a lot of the local There were also a lot of needs identified. .. artists and got a sense of the local cultural and that's where her role comes in ‘ stenc.’ said Kal()geropoulos. “For the last l0 She said she would continue to com en- " years I've worked with municipalities and the irate on developing the community’s (‘apaCtr importance oftheir role in culture.” ty to reach the goals laid out. and place more l ' The importance of culture isn't lost on emphasis on neighbourhood initiatives & ('lVl( leaders. It can make a difference in lHM ”It's going to be about continuing comr .i ( ommunityis perceived. munity engagement ~ the community is "for a long time culture has been looked going to be a big pan of making those things at as a full." said Kalogeropoulos. who graduv happen.“ said Kalogeropoulos "My sense is ‘ . a .‘ ati‘tl mtb a degree in archaeology from MA]- there's a real sense ofurgency in the comma §J ‘ ‘ friil Laurier Unwersity and has also done nityto make some ofthose things happen." 1 ., work in the local cultural sector With the Justin McFadden. the city's executive 5 Homer Watson (iallery and the former Sea director of economit development. said :‘ gram Museum. “It's only in the last decade or Kalogeropmilos will help accelerate those _ so that people have started to understand changes. “She will play a significant role in Astero Kolageropouloshlslolned the city‘s Wk mm as”! newmaoager that culture is part of the sustainable com driving the cultural evolution of the ( ity of of arts. cutture. festivals and events as the city looks to speed up Wench of its new munity development model Waterloo.” he said culture plan, adopted last December. new um . . “r h j w“ x; , My: .i - . 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