Artists must find a way to avoid being collateral damage of deficit budgets
Praxis Theatre's recent post concerning the insane funding cuts to BC's Arts Sector got me thinking about the newest fad in Canadian politics: the war on culture.Was it only last year that arts funding actually became an issue in a national election? And didn't the artists all rally together (under the lead of Québec) to make enough noise so that the Conservatives were once again hamstrung with another minority government? Did we not see the birth of the Department of Culture and the phoenix-like resurgence of The Wrecking Ball onto the national scene?
And yet, here we are again, not even a year later and arts funding has become a major casualty in a political marketing campaign.
Er... you mean "casualty due to a recession budget," don't you Aaron?
No, I don't. Look at the numbers. At the very worst (and there always are, and will continue to be, many different and contradictory numbers tossed around where arts funding is concerned), there will $17.25 million cut in core arts funding this year. In the face of $2.8 billion projected deficit, what's $17M?
It's nothing. It's a drop in the bucket. It doesn't make any financial sense. In other words, it's political.
Where other industries in BC are looking at an average of 7% cuts in funding, the arts sector is looking at reductions of 80-90%. And this is an industry that continually makes the most with the least in terms of dollars. Why are we always the punching bag?
Charles Campbell, of The Tyee, makes a compelling argument for fighting back. But, other than a couple of posts, all is quiet on the Western (blog) Front. Why are we content to continue to be the punching bag?
... Mind you, I don't follow a lot of BC based theatre blogs, so please point me in the right direction if you know of some hot-headed responses to BC's September Budget update. Thx.
The point is, however, until we can figure out why politicians find it more expedient to obliterate arts funding rather than defend it, we're going to continue to be casualties on this new war on culture.
UPDATE
Answering my own question, the Alliance for Arts and Culture seems pretty righteous to me.
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2 comments:
Yeah, the Alliance for Arts and Culture is our local arts advocacy group. They, along with the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance, are spearheading the protest against the government cuts over here.
I just think we can't let our guard down for a moment... in good times and in times of cuts. The arts are worth the investment!
Thanks Bex;
Keep up the good fight!
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