The Arts are on the election platform of many of the candidates and that is a healthy sign. By making the Arts an election issue though, the implication is that not enough is being done for the Arts. Is that valid?
Problem Statement
“The Arts” covers a wide spectrum of disciplines. Many individual artists and arts organizations are involved. In order to answer the question whether the City is doing enough, or whether a specific candidate can actually deliver on what he or she is promising to do for the Arts, one needs to look at wh0 is responsible for what.
Discussion
Let me state categorically that the City understands the value of the Arts and recognises the Arts as one of the pillars of a liveable city!
City Responsibility
I am often accused of being more of a sports person than an arts person. I guess that is partly true so I will indulge and use the sports as an analogy. Now let’s look at the function of a city. The responsibility of a city is to provide facilities and amenities on behalf of its citizens. The city provides sports fields but does not play sport – that is done by sports people. Sports organizations promote sport, it is not the city’s responsibility.
In a like manner, the City does not create or perform arts – that is up to the arts community. The City’s responsibility is to provide facilities and amenities for the Arts. The arts organizations promote the Arts, it is not a City responsibility.
I realize that this is a somewhat simplified description but it serves to bring out the main concepts.
What the City has done
So now, let’s take a look at what the City has done for the Arts.
We host the Arts and Culture Commission that is a vehicle for citizens to have a say in City decisions relating to the Arts.
We have, through a consultation process with the arts community, developed an Arts Strategy document and have started to implement the recommendations contained in it. We have appointed a manager dedicated to the arts to the implementation.
Public art is a City responsibility as the art will be on city-owned property. We are developing a public arts strategy in consultation with the arts community.
The Arts Council of New Westminster
Let’s address the arts centre question first. The importance of an arts centre to a community is well documented. Sometimes by serendipity a property becomes available to the City for public use. It is correct that the City has considered three potential options for an arts centre. These options were not refused as stated in the press, they were analysed extensively but were found not to be financially viable at the time.
Since the first arts centre study was done, there have been many changes in New Westminster and our demographic. For example, some of the arts services traditionally offered in an arts centre, will be included in the new Civic Centre. We still believe that the concept of an arts centre to be important but that the exact form of an arts centre for New Westminster needs to be discussed Maybe a distributed model is more affordable for a small city like New Westminster.
The Massey Theatre has come up repeatedly during the campaign. There are two schools of thought, restore and remodel, or demolish and rebuild. Neither option is a City responsibility as the theatre is a School District asset. The City certainly recognised the important role that the Massey Theatre has played in the life of our community and has participated in discussions with the School District. We have made several innovative proposals to assist the School District in finding a solution as I mentioned in my video clip.
New West as an Arts Hub
Would I like to see New Westminster as an Arts Hub as one candidate promises? For sure! But it is the responsibility of the arts organizations and individual artists, not the City. We think it is a good idea and we will collaborate with the arts community should they pursue this.
In the final analysis it is important to remember that the City does not have unlimited resources. We do support arts and festival groups financially and provide grants for arts events and projects on an ongoing basis.
Conclusion
If the Arts is an election issue, the implication is that the City, and I by extension, are not doing enough for the Arts. Many of the arts issues mentioned in the campaign are in fact not the City responsibilities and need to be addressed outside of the election.
Should the Arts be allocated a larger percentage of our budget? Possibly. However, just like I do for all other interest groups – I encourage the Arts Community to continue to participate in the City’s budget preparation process. The Arts are surely worth lobbying for.
