Seducing Traffic - courtesy of Ming Wu Photos
On September 23rd, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the following statement about our national arts community:
I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see … a bunch of people … at a rich gala all subsidized by taxpayers claiming their subsidies aren’t high enough when they know those subsidies have actually gone up, I’m not sure that’s something that resonates with ordinary people.
(First of all, I’d like to point out that artists who require funding don’t generally attend rich galas. They are “ordinary” [gawd, I hate that word] hard-working people who justify every penny they spend on their work. Government funds go towards organizations – like the Canada Council for the Arts – that distribute these funds amid various arts companies, training programs [including programs geared towards artistically inclined children; and didn't Pablo Picasso once claim that "every child is an artist"?] and festivals in their beginning years. Many of the artists, companies, and festivals that we know and love once relied on arts funding to become the cultural icons they are today. Without this preliminary support, they would be non-existent.)
Mr. Harper seems to suggest that the majority of Canadian citizens see no value in the arts. He suggests that government funds would only be wasted on theatre companies, literary festivals, concerts, arts education, and urban arts. But a full-house at the Vote Culture town hall in the University of Ottawa yesterday would seem to prove him wrong.
Sylvie Lemieux (Green Party) and Raphael Dery (Bloc Quebecois) - courtesy of Ming Wu Photos
On the panel were members of the artistic community and a representative from each of the political parties. Oh, except the Conservatives – even though they were invited to participate in the discussion. Members of the audience were given time to ask questions of the representatives. Afterward, the large group marched up Elgin Street to the Parliament Buildings, and several people (including myself!) spoke through a microphone with large speakers directed at the building and out into the street so the public could hear.
Student presentation from De La Salle arts High School - courtesy of Ming Wu Photos
Here I have compiled a short list of letters written by members of our community (and a few celebrities!) stating in great detail why the arts are important for all Canadian citizens. Despite Mr. Harper’s knack for public oratory and his talent with fiction, I think you’ll find the following arguments much more believable and infinitely better expressed.
- Kris Joseph, local actor
- rob mclennan, local poet and writer
- Kathryn Hunt, local writer and employee of the Ottawa International Writers Festival
- Margaret Atwood, Canadian author
I plan to write my own thoughts on the subject in my next entry. For now, I suppose I should get back to writing my thesis on touring theatre in Canada and doing research for a National Arts Centre festival because – despite what Mr. Harper and his “ordinary people” might think – I believe my work is making an important contribution to our national community.
Photos of the event included here are courtesy of Ming Wu Photos. Thank you so much for sharing.
Joel Beddows - courtesy of Ming Wu Photos
Wajdi Mouawad - courtesy of Ming Wu Photos
Paul Dewar (NDP) - courtesy of Ming Wu Photos
Peter Hinton and Mark Chatel - courtesy of Ming Wu Photos
Thanks for linking, Jessica! I’m still hoping that this issue will galvanize enough people to make a difference. Quoting my sister Jennifer, I’m imagining “an alternate universe where in order to survive, accountants and business moguls had to justify their existence by eloquently describing how their daily tasks brought meaning and fulfillment to their lives and enriched the spiritual and emotional growth of those around them.”
I had a scheduling conflict that made it impossible for me to attend (annoying since I live only a few blocks away from Ottawa U). I’m quite pleased to hear that there was such a robust turnout, though. Bloody important issue and I’m still more than a little stunned that Harper had the gall to say what he did. Or that he thought that it would resonate with the “ordinary Canadian” and not alienate him/her instead. I actually think, in hindsight, it might be the biggest misstep of his campaign so far.
Here’s hoping.
Hey Jessica
you can seduce my traffic anytime!!
(brainstorming for your website…just telling you im stopping by ;)
Great post Jessica!
What about the point that this is a $45 million cut — 2% — to a budget that has increased from $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion — 10% — since Harper came into office?
Or that the money is really just being re-allocated to cultural programs that artists may not see as being artistic enough for them?
It’d be interesting to see how many of these arts programs that generate so much economic activity are getting large government handouts. If it’s something like the Shaw, Stratford, and broadway musicals in Toronto, for example, that are generating huge amounts of activity then it’s almost a counter-argument in support of art cuts because well-off people go to see these shows in large numbers and they could easily stand on their own two feet if required. They may have required funding at the beginning, but they have been around for a long time. Where are their replacements?
And, in support of the “ordinary people” argument… most ordinary people were out working at their jobs or taking care of their families when these protests were being staged.
I think part of the problem is that most working people have to show results in order to be compensated for their work, whereas it’s a very grey area with the arts… especially if you’re to get government support and not be accountable to your audience. Surely we don’t want to give out money to just anyone that says that what they are creating is art? Yellow snow, anyone? Where does it begin and end? That’s part of the problem for me.
“What about the point that this is a $45 million cut — 2% — to a budget that has increased from $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion — 10% — since Harper came into office?”
Hey Matt, I’ve heard that, too. As it happens – and there have been articles written about this – those increases for arts & culture actually included funds for the 2010 Olympics. Harper seems to be stretching the definition of arts to include, among other things, sports; any thoughts?
I’m not convinced that Broadway musicals get government funding. They probably shouldn’t, since most of them are touring from the US. But I haven’t actually checked the facts on that. Not sure how much Stratford and Shaw are getting these days either. There are a lot of new companies around that rely on funding: independent groups in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, and pretty much everywhere. They haven’t made it as big as Stratford (of course) but they are slowly becoming important names in the arts community. I think the Magnetic North Theatre Festival, which brings touring theatre to a different Canadian city every year, is really lending a hand with this.
I’ll respond to more of your post later. But thanks for asking the right questions.
Well, back in 2007, Alexandra Gill had this to say in the Globe & Mail (no friend to Harper, and critical of the rather small cut):
—
“Culture is enshrined in the Olympic Charter as one of the three pillars of the Olympic Movement. And for the host country, the artistic program – the razzle-dazzle spectacle of the opening ceremonies, most significantly – is the ultimate opportunity to set the tone of the games and sell the soul of the nation to the world.”
—
I disagree to some extent, because the winter games are not the summer games and the whole world isn’t watching. But, the Olympic committee has a significant cultural mandate:
http://www.allianceforarts.com/about-us/News/VANOCCulturalPlan.pdf
Some of the recipients of the funding diversion (promotion of the French language at the Olympics) could reasonably be considered cultural.
Also, I wasn’t trying to suggest that Broadway musicals in Toronto get arts funding (I don’t know whether they do or not, although I know Shaw does). I was saying that if such shows are being included in the category of “arts and culture that contribute to the economy of Canada” — even though they don’t get funding — then that needs to be pointed out.
Anyway, if huge cuts to the arts were being made then I would be concerned. But, this has been made a political issue by the NDP when there’s really nothing to be concerned about — $45 million reallocated (not cut) out of a budget of $2,300 million… I don’t care about that, to be honest, and I think Harper’s right in saying that it’s not a concern that most people have.
And what was one of the other things cut? A program that paid for well-established people like Gwynne Dyer to go to Cuba and talk about Canada. I don’t care about a cut like that.
The “ordinary people” thing has been blown out of context, too. He didn’t say that ordinary people don’t care about the arts. He said:
—
“”I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see a gala of a bunch of people at, you know, a rich gala all subsidized by taxpayers claiming their subsidies aren’t high enough, when they know those subsidies have actually gone up – I’m not sure that’s something that resonates with ordinary people.” ”
—
It was meant to paint a particular image in people’s minds, of course, but he did not say that ordinary people don’t care about the arts.
There is art in Canada that is created for an inner circle by people and for people that don’t even want it to reach a broader audience. Pet projects and things like that… why fund that kind of thing?
[...] to a rally about the Arts cutback that the Harper Government has created and causing alot of grieve with the artist in [...]