It's been a while since we've been in touch, so we wanted to bring you up to speed - and ask for your advice.  Feel free to circulate this to anyone who might be interested. 
 
First - watch us on tv! 
Check out our latest documentary - it's aired a couple of times in the last year, and will air again this weekend:  Hand Made, Hand Held tells the story of fine craft collectors from across the country.  It's a charming and engaging look at why we like something we can "hold in our hands".  It's already aired on the main CBC channel, and on CBC's Country Canada Digital Channel (CCDC).  It will repeat on CCDC on Friday November 2 at noon ET, and again on Saturday November 3 at 2pm, 11pm and 4am ET.  If you miss the program on the Country Canada Digital Channel, you can always visit www.cbc.ca/artspots and watch it on-line.
 
Second - give us feedback...
We are in the midst of completely revamping what we like to think of as Canada's premiere online arts video content website, CBC Artspots or www.cbc.ca/artspots.  For ten years, we have been hardcoding pages, and placing art videos online, bit by bit.  We are finally moving to the delivery of Artspots online content via a database.  As a result, we are redesigning the entire Artspots website, its functions, its possibilities, and its overall content, sources, and uses.  At the bottom of this message, you'll find a list of a few of the other websites we're looking at, to see what else is out there, where we fit in and how we might go about this to best benefit both an expanded audience, and the rapidly developing arts world.  We already know that when we relaunch the site in 2008, the emphasis, and the strength, is on being a video site.  But it's not YouTube, and it's not just fine art and craft.  Yes, we will have individual art and artist videos, like we always have.  Sure, we continue to produce short items artist by artist, as well as longer documentaries.  But we're also going to be able to act as a 'hub' of content for a wide range of Canadian video art and art video.  And, we're expanding our subject areas to include design and applied arts, maybe even architecture and fashion.  We'll be able to have some curatorial work take place, and we'll build "exhibitions" of work from our database.  Eventually, we will even be able to have people upload content directly to the site.  So - let us know by replay email if you've got suggestions about sites we should look at.  And, let us know if you're interested in being involved in providing additional feedback as we refine what the site can and will do. 
 
Third - check out Canadian fine craft...
In celebration of the 2007 Year of Craft, and in partnership with several other cultural organizations, CBC Artspots is actively showcasing Canadian fine craft.  In partnership with the Canadian Museum of Civilization and CBC Digital Archives, and featured on the 2007 Year of Craft website, CBC Artspots created an interactive website, where you can watch Canada's finest craftspeople show their remarkable artworks. Have a look at "For the Love of Craft", at www.cbc.ca/artspots/craft or at www.cbc.ca/archives/craft.  You can watch dozens of videos of archival footage from the CBC vaults, and a select group of CBC Artspots artist profiles focused on craft.  In addition to that, keep an eye out for the content we'll be putting up online about the international NeoCraft Conference to be held in Halifax on November 23-25. 
 
Fourth - see you there...
If you're going to be at the Visual Arts Summit in Ottawa November 25-27, please be sure to look for Artspots Executive Producer Mary Elizabeth Luka, to provide feedback, touch base, make suggestions, or just to connect.  If you'd like to set up some time to meet, just email back. 
 
From everyone here, thanks for all your continued support of CBC Artspots.
 
Here are a few of the websites we've been watching:
 
Creative Commons

http://creativecommons.org

 deviant ART

http://www.deviantart.com
 
Independent Media Arts Alliance

http://www.imaa.ca
 
Saatchi Gallery

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk

 Virtual Museum Canada

http://www.virtualmuseum.ca

  
CBC ARTSPOTS
P.O. Box 3000
Halifax, NS  B3J 3E9
Phone: 902-420-4774
Email: artspots@cbc.ca
 
www.cbc.ca/artspots