The Edmonton Forum

If it’s Monday, it must be Edmonton! A record fifty-five people have gathered in the beautifully bright foyer of the TransAlta Arts Barns to discuss how to take advantage of the unexpected place the arts have taken in the recent federal election. Can we keep the momentum? Can we better position the cultural sector in public debate? Has the Conservative government got the message that arts do matter to ordinary Canadians? And more fundamentally, how can we ensure that they actually do? These are all questions that dominated an animated debate.

One of the themes that took me somewhat by surprise was the insistence of many participants to the Forum that in its documentation, the CCA stop talking about “arts and culture” and refer instead only to the arts. I finally understood when told that the newly created Albertan Ministry of Culture and Community Spirit has recently published a cultural policy based on a very broad, almost anthropological definition of culture. This policy, the result of two consultations with the Albertan population, defines culture “in the broad sense, to include not only the arts, but also heritage, sport and recreation, and the natural environment. It also includes creativity and innovation, especially in business and the arts”. After a good look at the glossy government’s brochure where the new Alberta’s cultural policy is explained in details, I get the message!

This cleared out of the way (or was it?), the discussion moved on in more and less familiar territory. The importance of education in the repositioning of arts in our society was again highlighted, as was the need for a coordinated effort to define a new language to present artists and creators and the crucial role they play in our lives, whether we realize it or not. Education being a provincial issue, the CCA was asked whether it was in a position to work on this issue, given its national mandate and its limited means. The idea of creating a provincial link to the CCA was also evoked.

One of Edmonton’s favourite sons, Senator Tommy Banks, had taken the time to join the discussion. To considerable applause, he made an impassioned intervention on the importance to hit decision-makers over and over again with the message that arts matter to our lives in a variety of ways. Senator Banks also insisted on the fact that we were embarking on a long process. Here again, the CCA was identified as a natural player in this endeavour and asked to provide the tools and, if possible, the training to help turn as many people as possible into efficient advocates for the arts within their communities and with decision-makers at all levels.

The meeting concluded on an upbeat note and after a very nice Vietnamese meal with a small number of participants, I hit the sack for a few hours of welcome and much needed sleep before heading tomorrow to the rival city of Calgary.