Value in the Arts

With much talk of the Arts and Culture scene in Cranbrook and the great need for a permanent home for the Arts Council it is interesting to read this editorial from the Calgary Herald.

Editorial: There's value in the arts

Culture is an economic driver, not just a frill
Calgary Herald November 21, 2011

With snow removal, seniors' bus passes and police services all facing the chopping block, the case for arts funding might not seem like a priority during the city's budget deliberations. In tough economic times, the so-called frills are often the first to go.

City council should resist any temptation to seriously cut arts funding. Reducing its investment in the arts, even in times of economic difficulty, is bad business.

Calgary's arts sector contributes more than $100 million to the local economy, with an attendance of three million at 8,400 event nights per year in cultural activities.

These are just the things that can be quantified. As Terry Rock of the not-for-profit Calgary Arts Development Authority recently told the Herald's editorial board, it is much more difficult to put a price on intangible benefits such as downtown public safety, which happens when a vibrant arts scene puts people on the street at night.

Rock and representatives of Calgary major arts organizations made a forceful case for a vibrant arts scene as an economic engine and a quality-of-life draw for attracting businesses to Calgary. They note that arts groups also make valuable anchor tenants for developers, spawning the coffee shops and restaurants that keep streets lively.

The Calgary Arts Development Authority, which provides funding to about 180 arts group, last year received $5.01 million in city funding. The city also contributed millions in investments into artistic spaces, including the construction of Canada's National Music Centre and initiatives to transform old or derelict buildings into new arts centres, performance venues or artist studios.

Despite this, Calgary has the lowest for-arts funding among big cities in Canada, investing $5.45 per capita toward non-profit arts and culture organizations, according to a meeting of local arts groups last spring.

Calgary has no contemporary arts gallery. This continues to be a major disappointment. Big, iconic artistic spaces are economic drivers. As Jeff Melanson, executive director of Canada's National Ballet School, told local arts organizations last spring, cities reap huge benefits when they invest in the arts. While Calgary has a strong history of philanthropic support for the arts, the public side cannot be ignored.

"Study after study shows (the benefits) to the hospitality industry, restaurants, hotels, tourism," said Melanson. "Government investment in the arts actually produces profound economic returns."

Mayor Naheed Nenshi is one of the biggest arts boosters on council, but even he knows that lean budgetary times demand efficiencies from which nobody is exempt.

"Will we be able to massively grow our spending in the arts over the next little while? Probably not," he told the CBC on his most recent trip to Toronto.

In September, the Calgary Arts Development Authority initiated an Arts Champions Congress - a gathering of Calgary artists, arts sector managers, volunteers and board members - to collectively advocate for the arts sector.

All Calgarians would be wise to listen to their message.