Building Bridges in Canada's Creative Society

We need to find a new way to talk to one another. I find it ironic that the purpose of the arts is to offer a universal form of expression, a way of communicating with one another when clearly there appears to be obstacles in the way that we communicate with one another. I think that before we move forward we need to internally create a common language between all of the art disciplines, varying cultures and geographical regions. We need to learn how to listen to all parts that make up Canada’s cultural puzzle. I believe it was Mark Twain who said: “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak”. I do believe that the “scattered shot approach” is a reflection of the cultural sector. Perhaps art disciplines need to separately work on their own and have a representative from each to create a common voice. Maybe then this common voice would be able to send a clear message to the government, no matter its political party that it represents. I feel that this is a proactive approach compared to the reactive approach that our cultural policy is currently growing out of.