Invest in the Arts

In the "MLAs Face to Face with the Filipino Community" session held last April 19, 2011 hosted by MLA Carl Benito, amongst the issues of temporary foreign workers, immigration,  and Filipino nurses, a concern on the significance of arts and culture in the work of the ministries represented, i.e. Health, Immigration, and Education, and a push for an increase in profile of Philippine arts and culture was raised. 

It was gratifying to hear Minister Dave Hancock's response that the next direction for Education is Creativity, after Literacy.  This thrust then makes the Arts a core subject, rather than a peripheral one.  For to create tomorrow's leaders in a world we are not definite on how it will look, we need to nurture creativity and innovation.

Music, dance, poetry, visual arts, etc., are thought to enhance intelligence, physical and mental health for the young and old, and foster multicultural understandings.  The arts are expressions of creativity and can instill confidence and build self-worth.

Mayor Stephen Mandel himself highlights the importance of arts in our community, with the following excerpts from his State of the City address:

• ...if we truly want to focus on attracting business and creating a superior quality of life for Edmontonians, we must start with the creative industry of our citizens...
• ...the promise of our future can be secured by cultivating and investing in our arts industry...
• ...the vision is to establish Edmonton one of Canada's clear cultural HUBs, supporting excellence across all mediums with arts as an economic driver for our region...

Arts then, indeed, is an industry and is an economic factor in society.  In America, its highest earning industry is Broadway and also its biggest export, with all the touring these productions do.

So with all these proven individual and societal benefits, why not invest in the arts?  It is never too early or too late to be involved.  Enrol in courses in dance, music, theatre and the visual arts.  Watch local performances, visit galleries, instill a love for reading.  Take advantage of the cyberworld and visit the different companies, theatres and witness the artistry in their various works.  Volunteer in and/or sponsor art events in your local community.  One does not have to have professional aspirations to appreciate and benefit from art.  For when the art speaks to one self, it speaks direct to the core, to the soul.

And having experienced that, we make our world a better place to live in.

Mayor Stephen Mandel's State of the City Address - April 5, 2011

Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel highlights the Arts in his State of the City Address


Here are some excerpts:

I want to thank the Belle Rouge Music group for entertaining us today and bringing a bit more of the spirit of spring into this event.  

I asked them to be here, not just for their talent but to provide a concrete example of what we all know to be true – that we have an amazing arts community in Edmonton.

And because I wanted to highlight something that I believe will be true about our future – that if we truly want to focus on attracting business and creating a superior quality of life for Edmontonians, we must start with the creative industry of our citizens. 

Yes arts are an industry. 

And I believe that the promise of our future can be secured by cultivating and investing in our arts industry as we do across many environments, and in more equal measure. 

One of my favourite urban commentators is Richard Florida who has shown repeatedly that cities who thrive do so on the creative industry of their citizens. 

And he notes that these people, who are mobile and who see a world without boundaries can choose to go anywhere. So why not here? 

Why not make Edmonton the kind of City that welcomes artists to a level that we have not yet contemplated? 

Doing so is good business. As a city government, we invest in structural foundations that help our communities and businesses to thrive. Why not consider arts in the same way? 

Edmonton has a tremendous, talented arts community, and we all enjoy its many expressions. 

But as we are entertained, I believe we fail to fully appreciate the economic inputs and energy that are also created. 

And as our three-year capital budget debates begin over the next few months, I want to infuse some thoughts about arts infrastructure into our long-term thinking. 

Which is why I’ve now tasked a new arts visioning committee, co-chaired by Brian Webb and Dianne Kipnes, who are bringing together artists, arts administrators, and local business leaders in an open forum focused on how we can raise the profile of arts, and through it, our city. 

This effort builds on our arts plan – the Art of Living – which started to frame some bolder thinking about the arts. It asks how we can ensure our arts industry is more fundamental to our core. 

The vision is to establish Edmonton one of Canada’s clear cultural HUBs, supporting excellence across all mediums with arts as an economic driver for our region. 

And from the efforts of these community thinkers, we will consider how we can help our arts community thrive as part of our overall mosaic of business and creative industry.