Extending the conversation on creativity and the city
I want to thank Peter Hemminger for writing (“ No artists are people ” June 20) about my article and video “Artists are Dangerous” which you can find here: artsplan.ca/content/artists-are-dangerous . I’ve read Mr. Hemminger’s articles in the past and I enjoy his work. It is clear from his piece that he wants to extend the discussion about art in our city. I am grateful to Fast Forward Weekly for allowing me to continue the conversation.
My piece was an attempt at a humorous send-up of the “warm and fuzzy” view of the arts I felt was beginning to dominate the discussions surrounding Calgary’s Arts Plan. Mr. Hemminger takes us into more serious terrain and I welcome the opportunity to deepen the exploration.
For me art is essential for our future. If I speak boldly it is because I believe so passionately in this topic. An engagement with art should be part of the core curriculum in our schools alongside math and languages. There are many reasons — here are three related to our conversation:
1) Cognition. It seems new studies come each week telling us about neuroplasticity and the making of dynamic brains. If we want fully developed brains we need art. We also need a lot more math and languages which facilitate creative exploration. We hear about STEM but I’m with Terry Rock the president and CEO of Calgary Arts Development (CADA) we need STEAM — Science Technology Engineering Arts and Math if we want to thrive;
2) Competition. A lot of people are working to find ways to deal with the changing economy. Globalization means we are now competing in ways we never imagined. If we want to survive this rapid change we need to have the best possible system of research and development. That involves creativity and creativity is the central concern and specialty of artists;
3) Computers. Many estimates put us less than two decades away from being able to replace everyone whose work involves repeatable tasks. That’s most of our current economy. Our machines can now build other machines. Not to worry though they can’t outdo us at creativity. That is where we should focus.
Before I go any further I should say that it is my understanding that corporate Calgary gets all of this and so do both the Calgary Board of Education and Calgary Catholic School District both of which have new strategies for arts education. My article was not written for them but for my fellow Calgarians looking for ways to support the Arts Plan being prepared for city council.
Next I want to use an analogy to demonstrate why I see full-time artists as heroes. CADA uses the phrase “Arts Champions.” The idea of a champion is something that Calgarians know well. We often call athletes champions for the same reasons artists should be. Allow me to explain.
We can all benefit from athletics but we are not all able to perform at the level of an Olympic athlete. Still we realize that by pursuing excellence we support discovery in the athletic realm which leads to innovation spinoffs and inspires citizens to participate in athletics.
The arts are similar. Yes we should all be adding creative components to our lives but in order to have a dynamic society we need to support excellence in the arts. Arts excellence requires full-time artists and highly skilled arts educators at all levels. We need champions.
Like athletes a lot of artists do other jobs in order to pay the bills so you cannot reliably identify them by profession. To live as a full-time artist is incredibly challenging. It means forgoing predictable income and job security. I think that those who commit to a life defined by the relentless pursuit of excellence in creative discovery are noble… champions if you will. I also believe that if we are clear about how hard these people work we will realize how much they have in common with those who embrace the frontier spirit of our region.
Perhaps the most important thing Mr. Hemminger wrote about is the need for community. He is absolutely right — artists do need communities that is who they serve. I was trying to disrupt the image of the starving-artist-as-beggar when I said artists do not need you. In truth we all need each other.
Finally it is important to point out that the reason I fight so hard for these issues in this city connects to the reason I choose to live here. Our world is undergoing unprecedented change and I believe this place could be one of the centres of a new Renaissance. The arts need to be a part of that and supporting the Arts Plan is one of the best things we can do to ensure an astonishingly bright future. Thanks again to Mr. Hemminger for extending this important discussion.
Patrick Finn is a professor in the department of drama at the University of Calgary.
