Arts new frontier for province's leaders
CALGARY -- This may come as a shock, but arts funding has actually made it onto the agenda of at least three candidates seeking to replace outgoing Alberta Premier Ralph Klein.
Can this be Alberta, where the determining factor for any enterprise -- profit or not-for-profit -- is whether it makes money?
Yup.
Whether it's because they've all had epiphanies on how the arts give meaning to society, have read Daniel Pink's book about the rise of the right brain in business, or simply that Alberta is in a dogfight for skilled labour and it's no longer enough to just offer a job and a paycheque, at last count Jim Dinning, Lyle Oberg and Mark Norris are talking about backing the arts in Alberta.
Their views are being echoed, coincidentally, by the Canada West Foundation, which recently issued a study addressing a wide range of issues facing Alberta and the West.
Among other things, the report highlighted the importance of creativity in the development of any economy because "economic development starts with someone saying, 'I have an idea.' " It also made the point that creativity doesn't come from cutting taxes, nor is it a commodity that can be bought. "Creativity and innovation grow out of the human spirit -- born out of education, fostered by the arts, manifest in research and nurtured by supportive public policy."
For anyone in the arts world, the rising chorus for supporting the arts is music to their collective ears: This is a province in which the government gave $45-million in the last budget to support horse racing, while the Alberta Foundation for the Arts got $20-million.
In fact, Alberta ranks 11th out of 13 provinces and territories when it comes to funding for the arts.
And then there's the disparity in terms of how much more money science-oriented faculties at the province's universities receive relative to fine arts and humanities.
But governments and businesses ignore the arts sector at their peril.
From a purely economic standpoint, arts organizations are responsible for generating $26-billion of Canada's GDP, with Alberta benefiting to the tune of $3.4-billion. And this is without robust public sector support.
As Mr. Dinning pointed out, arts groups are the classic loaves-and-fishes story because they do so much with so little in terms of government support. (I know this to be true from working over the years with both the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and the Calgary Opera.) Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, as well as economist Richard Florida and author Thomas Friedman, all contend that creativity drives economic growth -- especially in today's global economy, where success stems from ideas, research and innovation, not just from finding a cheaper manufacturing centre.
Thankfully, Calgary has its own version of Mr. Pink, et al., in the person of Lance Carlson, president and CEO of the Alberta College of Art and Design. Since taking up his post little more than two years ago, Mr. Carlson has set about challenging conventional thinking and challenging the linear types to step outside the proverbial box.
"It's just as important for the energy business to be innovative, and extend what it does better, as it is in a manufacturing enterprise," he says. "Incorporating a creative element is one way to do that, because it helps broaden the thinking." He adds that hiring of fine arts and humanities graduates is currently outpacing that of business types.
Mr. Carlson also talks about Calgary being at a crossroads and needing to think about what it means to be an Albertan in a broad sense. Why can't we, he asks, establish a fine arts institution in Calgary (or Edmonton!) that brings together dance, theatre, music and design under one umbrella and becomes a destination for students of these disciplines?
Mr. Carlson's ideas appear to be resonating with some leadership hopefuls -- at least when it comes to labour issues and the expectations of people moving to Alberta.
A couple of weeks ago, The Economist magazine's cover story was all about the global quest for talent. Alberta is in competition with the world when it comes to attracting people, because the demographic challenges are dramatically tightening skilled labour markets everywhere.
"We're in a fistfight to get and keep young people here," said Mr. Dinning, who held a press conference Friday announcing his plan for taking arts groups off what he called a starvation diet.
"The arts are part of the heart and soul of the province," he said. "It's not just about GDP, petro-dollars and job statistics. People come here for the quality of life."
And they are increasingly coming from more sophisticated parts of the world. Former economic development minister Mark Norris, who has been known to dabble in musical theatre, believes societies are not measured by money, but by their cultural amenities.
"Arts and culture define societies," he said prior to a candidates debate Monday night in Lethbridge. Those words and themes are music to the ears of Albertans who haven't heard them since the days of Peter Lougheed. And it's about time.
