| Municipal arts funding in Calgary is lower than any other major Canadian city and audience attendance at arts events isn’t keeping pace with the city’s rapid population increase.
Those are a couple of the findings of a new report by the Calgary Arts Development Authority (CADA). CADA was formed by the City of Calgary in 2005. The arm’s-length organization lobbies on behalf of arts groups and distributes arts grants.
The City of Calgary currently spends $2.56 per capita on arts funding compared to $5.20 in Winnipeg, $3.88 in Edmonton, $4.01 in Vancouver and $6.42 in Toronto. CADA has asked city council to increase arts funding by $502,500 over the short-term to begin to catch up with other jurisdictions. City council hasn’t voted on the budget increase yet.
CADA also says in its report that "expressed interest in the arts is not reflected in current attendance levels, nor do current attendance levels reflect the economic or population growth of the city."
Terry Rock, president of CADA, says the city needs to increase arts funding to ensure the stability of existing arts groups and to encourage the establishment of new arts organizations. As Fast Forward has reported in previous news stories, some arts groups are currently struggling to find or keep space in the city’s hot real estate market and some Calgary artists have moved away because they can’t afford to stay here.
Rock says the city also needs to focus more on marketing its arts scene so it has more support from Calgarians.
"What does it take to be a great city? To have great artists? You need the dollars, you need space, you need an engaged audience… a supportive community that values the arts," he says. "I think the biggest challenge is the youth of our city as a big city. We have so many people that are relatively new to Calgary. The arts and culture is something that takes time to ingrain. People aren’t as deep into the cool things about Calgary as we think they could be."
Rock says one positive sign is the increased level of attendance at local festivals, but it’s not translating into increased support everywhere.
"On an overall level we’re seeing a sort of static level of attendance. The movement isn’t where we want it to be. The depth of awareness of this very strong area of our community is not where we think it should be," he says.
Bob McPhee, general director of the Calgary Opera, agrees that increased funding and marketing is strongly needed.
"We’re slipping behind what’s happening in other cities. Certainly other cities have recognized the role the arts play in attracting and maintaining the population of a city and keeping a vibrant place for citizens to live in," he says. "You can’t buy quality necessarily, but it sure as hell doesn’t hurt to have money."
However, McPhee says it’s a positive sign that city council has created CADA to try and increase the profile and strength of the arts community.
CADA’s requested budget increase received unanimous approval from a standing policy committee comprised of some council members but it still has to be approved by the entire city council. |
Copyright ©2006 FFWD. All rights reserved.