Clear-cutting the arts
I thought clear-cutting was simply not done any more. I guess I was wrong.
The BC Government has drastically cut funding to the arts. They have wielded a large axe. What baffles me is just how economically unwise their actions are. Every dollar of investment in the Arts pays back far more than what goes in and, the payback is throughout the province.
A friend of mine who is passionate about the role of arts in our society said to me today “What’s missed in these discussions is the perspective that over many decades governments have fostered the creation of the non-profit volunteer sector to do the grass roots work of creating a healthy, civil society, work that is crucial to its sustainability” and that “the non-profit sector is a partner with government not a petitioner looking for a handout.” What’s happened to this partnership?
Though funding to the arts has edged up over the years it has certainly not been a situation where we’ve experienced a boom because of “irrational exuberance” by the provincial government, but we certainly are seeing a “bust” coming. The current cuts will be deep and wide. I’ve been involved in the arts community in BC for 25 years and these are the most brutal cuts I’ve seen.
Clear-cutting is back in BC and the arts community are the trees. Growth will happen again, but in the meantime, look out!
It is really sad. What I thought was ironic was on the news they were talking about the Cultural Olympiad, and someone was saying that the artists might not even be able to fulfill THOSE obligations.
I cannot find words to adequately express my shock at this no-sighted policy. Feels like a regression – although I sometimes think that the arts were more valued one hundred years ago.
It appears that some of the pressure of the arts community may have made a small difference because this afternoon it was announced that roughly $20 million that had been stripped from Direct Access to Gaming money may be restored.