Expect Support for the Arts

For a so-called 'arts-friendly' agenda, Calgary's leadership certainly talks the talk. But do they walk the walk?

Calgary is ranked last out of all major Canadian cities when it comes to funding for the arts on a per-capita basis. But more than just funding is needed.

A conversation with anyone who has lived in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Winnipeg or even Edmonton can soon tell you that culture is an over-arching part of everyday living, and it is with culture that a community can build character.

Take a look around Calgary. Construction is everywhere. People are building new roads, new interchanges, new suburbs, new high-rise development. Everything is new, new, new.

And that's good, to a point. We need more homes and office buildings and infrastructure, as these are vital to creating growth and well-being now and into the future. What is being missed, however, is the ability for the city to develop its own character.

Character cannot be mandated by bureaucrats, nor can it be funded by city council. The character of a community should and must be sprung from its populace, but especially from its artists.

Because of the generally low profit margins, many artists need support from the government and private sector in order to earn a living. This, Sandy Jenkins supports. However, Sandy also knows simply by funding artists it does not necessarily give them a place to work.

The downtown core is currently being gutted for residential and commercial buildings, a necessary fact of life in a boom town. However, many artists are being forced from their work spaces because of escalating rents and taxes, and have to move further from the heart of the city in order to do their work.

Consider New York City. City Hall did not mandate Tin Pan Alley. It did not build the Broadway theatres. Soho, Harlem, the East Village - these all came into being simply because they were left to their own devices, developing their own unique character along the way.

Our potential culture centres have always gotten razed in place of new development for development's sake. Our own East Village is one good example. While many believe that developing this area will remove its "blight", many artists are being forced out of their present work spaces so that we can continue to carry on with our ways.

Sandy Jenkins supports municipal funding towards the arts and artists, and will ensure that there is clear and open accountability for these programs.

Sandy Jenkins will also stand with artists to prevent the encroaching developments on their work spaces and allow communities to foster their own character, character which will enrich the lives of all Calgarians.

Calgarians should expect their culture be drawn from within, not mandated by City Council. Sandy Jenkins will ensure that the rapid development of Calgary does not adversely affect the community of artists who will be able to define our community at large.

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