The Friday Roundup

Team Estrogen and other cool fringes!

Our all-female blogger team was thrilled to fill up the first coffee cups this morning. We met our ever-eager conference organizers at 7 am after running into the Sheraton Hotel, and out of a typical Canadian cold – the kind that numbs, then bites, then burns your face and legs. We met Dave Hasbury, a man who has learned to draw how humans think. If you want to see what the brainstorming in conference members’ heads actually looked like, check out a photo of Dave Hasbury’s work in previous posts of this blog. We also met the slam poet Ritallin (Greg Frankson), who did a succinct job summarizing key developments in slam poetry style. After that, keynote speaker Paul Hoffert offered his overview of Canadian cultural policy, followed later by a presentation from the Canadian Council of Chief Executives.

What do we want to see in Canada’s cultural policy?

Our afternoon workshop group seemed to circulate the following ideas….

1) The internet is a good thing – treated the right way, the world wide web can help, not hinder, a creator’s career. As Mr. Hoffert explained, the net opens up a virtually unlimited store (book shops and music stores have four walls, a floor and limited space to sell merchandise… but the internet does not.) Without damaging the good relationships some of us share with our publishers/labels, we need to taste this freedom. Upcoming poets don’t need to wait for a publisher to say, “you work will sell, let’s publish,” or for a record label to approve your CD. The Internet truly lets the public decide what’s popular. The web, therefore, is great news for amateurs. But we still must think creatively to make the Internet profitable for artists. We also must design useful copyright laws. At any rate, our group seemed to agree that we shouldn’t demonize the Internet. It can, and should, be regulated, but it needs to be treated as a positive development and incorporated into the fabric of our cultural policy.

2) Appreciating ALL creators and applauding EVERYONE’S success will help the artistic community… and Canada as a whole. As we discussed during the Canadian Council of Chief Executives’ presentation, all creators are important to Canada’s social fabric: Inventors, scientists, not-for-profit sector workers, artists, entrepreneurs. Our group even suggested running synchronized campaigns or workshops with creative representatives from different sectors. Cooperation amongst these sectors will only strengthen our economy!

3) Put an emphasis on training in the cultural policy. Dance teachers, music teachers, etc. need to be armed with knowledge of Canadian artists’ political reality before they dive into careers. Also, deteriorating arts in public education needs to be pounced on. Standardized tests have squeezed some teachers into a situation where they only drill skills (particularly math). When theatre, for example, is cut from a public program, there’s a long-term loss. The arts teach discipline, focus, time-management, the ability to create ideas, responsibility, and the drive to rise to the occasion…. the list is huge. But most importantly, the arts teach students to think outside the box. This ability to think creatively is a crucial skill in the workforce. It may even be the determining factor between a leadership and lower-level position.

4)Canadian artists should stop seeing ourselves less as victims, and more as citizens. (“It’s not what the country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”)

5) Multiculturalism – deal with it, love it, and let it transform your nation! As Mr. Hoffart pointed out in the morning, Canada’s multiculturalism policy isn’t so crazy after all. Anyone who claims America has fulfilled its self-proclaimed “melting pot” ideal is delusional – or more likely, has never truly toured the States. Pockets of America, as Mr. Hoffart pointed out, are entirely Spanish – the restaurants, the signs, the people on the street, the newspapers. I feel the Canadian policy is the way of the future, and we’ve adopted an attitude that every country with significant immigration should consider. If nothing else, it makes economic sense. Canada is allowing for a diverse group of artists, creators, entrepreneurs and consumers to transform our country for the better. It’s high time the world realized that culture isn’t so easy to label anymore – it has little to do with skin colour, or a common religion. You shouldn’t drown out a voice that doesn’t fit a norm by taking away important symbolic value (for example, France banning Muslim girls from wearing headscarves to school). Canadian culture is about common values – peace, democracy, respect, free expression, kindness, a priority placed on health and education…. Regardless of race or religion, Canadian culture remains intact because of the common values we hold dear. Our Canadian culture may be hard to define for some, but only from an old-fashioned perspective.

My two cents’ worth…

Our workshop facilitator, Megan Williams, asked the bloggers if they had anything to add, and I did. I said I wanted to see accessibility addressed in the policy. Unless a music, dance, or art program is offered in the classroom, poorer families will miss out. For example, not every Canadian child could learn piano if they all wanted to. Not all families can have access to a piano, nor can they afford the lessons, books, and transportation. Ballet lessons are expensive; never mind the shoes and costumes. A middle-class family may chalk up these expenses to raising a well-rounded and cultured child. However, this isn’t a reality for all families. Arts should be for everyone, not just for people with parents who can afford it.