Achieving our purpose

Our bylaws state that our purpose is to foster and promote the spirit of creativity in the City of Kenora and the surrounding area of Lake of the Woods; inspiring unity, joy and opportunity through the arts. Our Board and members will agree that we have certainly worked hard to achieve this over the past years with many exciting events and initiatives that you can read about on our website.

More recently, we responded to the limitations placed on the arts community during COVID with a very successful virtual platform – Arts@ Home – where artists and art lovers came together to experience the arts in new, exciting and safe ways.

Then there was ARTSFEST 2022 – a memorable 2 days in July this year that exceeded everyone’s expectations. We couldn’t be happier with how the festival turned out, thanks to all of you, our organizing committee, coordinators and volunteers.

What now?

LOWAC continues to run with a small Board of Directors and volunteer complement, and we are in dire need of new people and energy to help us fulfill our purpose. Our AGM is coming up in November and we hope you’ll join us to review our accomplishments and plans for the future and to offer your help, however you can. 

ARTSFEST brought us many new members, so we invite all of you to think about how you’d like to play a role in LOWAC’s exciting future!

Send any questions to lowacdirectors@gmail.com.

Annual General Meeting

Our 2022 Annual General Meeting is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 22 at the Lake of the Woods Museum. An agenda and confirmation of details will be sent out a month in advance of the meeting. Everyone is welcome.

Join us to hear about our accomplishments in 2022 and our goals for 2023. We are urgently seeking additional officers and directors for our Board and volunteers to support our activities.  Following are the officer roles that we need to fill:

President

The President shall, when present, preside at all meetings of the Organization and, along with the Board, generally oversee and supervise the governance of the Organization including the signing of By-Laws, special resolutions and other such documents requiring his signature and such other duties as may from time to time be prescribed by resolution of the Board or that are otherwise required by this office.

NOTE: Our current president, Leanne Fournier, has completed her term but will stay on as a director in the role of Past President to offer guidance and mentoring for anyone who wishes to fill this role. To help ease this transition, Leanne has worked to develop templates for ongoing website updates, newsletters, grant applications and is also working to ensure LOWAC is compliant with our financial/tax/governance obligations.

Vice-President

The Vice-President shall, in the absence of the President, preside over meetings of the organization and of the Board and otherwise exercise all the powers and duties of the President. The Board, in the absence of the President and Vice-President, may appoint from among its numbers, an Acting President for its meetings.

Treasurer

The Treasurer shall be responsible for

• Keeping full and accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements of the Organization in proper books of account and shall deposit all monies in the name and to the credit of the Organization in such bank or financial institutions as may from time to time be designated by the Board.

• Under the direction of the Board, disbursing the funds of the Organization, taking proper vouchers therefore; and

• Rendering to the Board at regular meetings thereof, or whenever required, an account of all such transactions and the financial position of the Organization.

NOTE: LOWAC has a bookkeeper who prepares the monthly financials and various other duties to support the treasurer.

Directors

Directors shall hold office for a term of three years starting from the date of their election by the Members of the Organization. The Board of Directors may lengthen or shorten the term of office for any Director in order to establish a rotation schedule as may be required. Directors shall be eligible to stand for election for two consecutive terms unless minimum board membership (5) cannot be achieved.

Chair ARTSFEST

The ARTSFEST CHAIR will organize and preside at all meetings of the ARTSFEST Planning Committee and, along with the Committee designates, generally oversee and supervise all activities related to this annual festival. If funding allows, they will allow guide the activities of the Coordinator(s) hired to manage performers, exhibitors, volunteers, site setup and partnerships.

Nominations for vacant Director Positions can be submitted in writing to president@lowac.ca up to and in advance of the AGM at which the vote is to be held.

ARTSFEST

The success of ARTSFEST 2022 is thanks to all of you but also a very small organizing committee and group of volunteers. If you would like to see ARTSFEST happen in 2023, please think about how you can help – either as Chair or part of the volunteer organizing committee, as a coordinator (if funds are available), as a volunteer, or a community partner. You can email lowacdirectors@gmail.com or fill out our volunteer form at  https://forms.gle/svuoyYHn4fbuZ4to9.

We anticipate that ARTSFEST 2023 will be staged on a slightly different scale (due to funding), but our goal is always to give our artists and community the opportunity to come together to experience, explore and perhaps discover something new!

Don’t forget to also watch for regular updates on Facebook and Instagram!