Simon Brault, CEO of the National Theatre School of Canada and vice-chair of the Canada Council for the Arts.

What is art and culture worth? A few dollars? Millions? Inspiration? Happiness? What is the measure?

That’s a question Simon Brault deals with every day as the CEO of the National Theatre School of Canada and the vice-chair of the Canada Council for the Arts. Not surprisingly, his new book, No Culture, No Future, argues that arts and culture are vital for Canadian society. He also argues that it’s critical to get away from strictly economic arguments supporting the importance of culture and to engage the public in frank discussions about why artists produce work and what that means for the public at large.

“I’ve realized that over the last 10 years, the artistic community in Canada spent a lot of energy making the argument about the importance of its economic impact,” says Brault on a recent stop in Calgary. “I think today, there’s nothing less boring and useless than to try to convince your neighbour to attend an opera or contemporary dance show by saying that it’s good for the economy.”

No Culture, No Future was originally published in French last fall and its success and subsequent translation into English was a surprise for Brault. This may help to explain the Central Canadian bias of the book. It is heavy with references to Quebec, Ontario and Cirque du Soleil, with hardly any mention of Alberta. Still, this book remains an important read for those interested in Canada’s artistic communities, not only for its arguments, but also because of its author.

“I’m very aware that, because of what I do, running what is perceived to be one of the most elitist institutions in Canada — the National Theatre School — and the granting body of arts and culture, I realize that people from the artistic community may pay more attention to what I’m saying because they can imagine that it will have an impact in terms of cultural decisions, eventually,” says Brault.

While those cultural decisions are partly in the hands of political leaders and government bodies, Brault insists we must banish that way of thinking and realize that we all have a role to play in celebrating and sustaining the arts.

But it’s not just public bodies that culture must contend with in its never-ending search for funding. Corporate and private donations are soaring in Canada, whether for good or bad.

“I think a corporate-funding model is unavoidable. I think we need that. I think the biggest challenge will be to reach a common understanding — I mean common between the artistic community, the business community and civic society — about what are the values of culture,” says Brault.

“I see, in some instances, a dance company or opera company, who are making the argument that they should be supported by corporate sponsors because their audience is more likely to buy a Lexus or BMW car. I think it’s a very narrow argument, I think it’s very dangerous because corporations will have to make the choice between what is the most powerful way to advertise — is it culture or sports? They may choose sports and we don’t have any other arguments.”

Not everyone is keen on opening up the discussion around the arts and removing elitist barriers that Brault claims can only harm culture in Canada by keeping the larger public at arm’s length. Some are concerned about a race to the bottom in democratizing the discussion and diffusion of arts. Others, oddly, are just worried about increased exposure.

“In the artistic community, I would say there are a minority of people that are afraid to open the conversation, because they feel they are more protected if nobody really knows of their existence,” says Brault.