Elections

[Gary Chambers]

SNIP

>I am so often defensive about the marginalization
>of theatre and the arts, in fact the humanities
>in general, by the emphasis on science and
>technology, that I worried that my immediate
>response was another emanation of my bunkered
>mentality.

>I am wholly aware that the pressures being faced
>by ALL types of research and learning -- by that
>I mean that the sciences, medicine etc, are also
>underfunded...

>...it would be decidedly more constructive,
>and more conducive to the formation of a strong
>united voice, if the theatre, arts, humanities were
>not marginalized and treated as second-class
>citizens by those who should be allies.

>However, I have seen only a very very small
>number of replies to this Federation communique.
>Is this just because everyone is too damn busy to
>reply or is it that the danger some of us sense
>is not a threat or is it just apathy?

>Richard Plant
>President
>ACTR/ARTC


    Before offering an opinion on Richard Plant's
posting re lobbying for theatre funding, let me
explain that I am not an academic.  My wife is a
full time BFA student, and I am also a consumer of
education services from time to time.  Both of
us are mature students.

    My background is in journalism (about two
decades of it to be exact), and both my wife and
myself have appear in stage shows sometimes.  I've
also sold some fiction in my time, and lately
I've been experimenting with dramatic writing.

    I subscribe to CANDRAMA because I am interested
in theatre both personally and professionally,
and often catch useful snippets of news and
information here.  I don't post very often, however,
because interesting as they are, I have nothing to
offer to most of the academic discussion threads
found here.  When I do post, it is often because
something has raised my hackles.

    Now that you know exactly where I'm coming
from, here's what I wish to share with you
concerning lobbying for arts funding.

    Though I do not belong to your lobbying
federation, I am not in the least bit surprised
that it is having trouble keeping theatre funding
up to adequate levels.  As an outside observer
I see it as yet another piece of evidence, to
confirm my long standing argument that Canadians
overall do not care about their arts or artists.

    Oh, of course, they want art in their lives.
Life without art is empty, no matter where one
lives or which passport one carries.  In fact.
without art we cannot interpret the world around
us and our own place in that world.  In Canada,
however, the only people who really matter are
those who till the soil, punch the cows, mine
the minerals or harvest the rain forests.  No
use denying it.  We are still mainly a nation of:
"Hewers of wood and drawers of water."

    Some of these hewers and drawers are fine
folk, but they often have an uninformed and
dismissive attitude toward art.  Though they may
enjoy art, they rarely stop to consider why they
enjoy it, or the importance it plays in their
lives.  As a result, the pervasive mentality
in Canada follows the archaic and insulting logic
that no artist can be any good, unless they are
starving and sleeping on a park bench.  To the
average Canadian, art is a pleasant diversion,
but it has little or no monetary value.

    I have said on this list before, and I say
again now, that Canada wouldn't dream of treating
miners, lumberjacks and farmers, with the same
cruelty and disregard it offers artists.

    This mentality is so firmly entrenched, that
even the artists' closest allies fall under its
spell.  Organisations like ACTRA, Equity, the
Canadian Writer's Union and the Playwright's
Union operate mainly for the benefit of a few
lucky (and admittedly 'talented') individuals.
Their policies often seem designed to cast the bulk
of Canada's creative community into an economic
wasteland.  There are a few exceptions, but only
a very few.

    Even worse are the government agencies, such
as the federal and provincial grant bodies, Ms.
Copps ministry of heritage, the CRTC, the various
provincial art foundations and boards, etc.
I have been convinced for a long time, that most
or all of these big brother outfits ceased to
exist for the benefit of the arts years ago.
Their entire purpose these days, is to control
the arts through outright ownership.  After all,
artists and their work can be dangerous if you
are a bent politician or one of their friends.

    Since I'm not a member of this lobbying
federation, I can't say with any certainty whether
its apparent failure to garner arts funding is
a result of the "starving artist" mentality.
I can say from first hand observation, however,
that institutes of higher learning are one of
the few places in, where Canadian art and artists
are treated seriously, let alone with any
measure of respect or humanity.  As for freedom
of expression, without education institutions,
it would be almost non-existent from coast to
coast.

    The point I'm trying to make is, that if
theatrical academics in Canada have a federation
that they pay to raise funds, please don't
waffle for too long on whether to send that
federation a rocket.  You are not only defending
principles of education, and the economy of your
academic community.  You are also the front line
in the battle for integrity across the entire
spectrum of the Canadian arts.

    In other words, give'em an extra kick on
the buttocks for me, and tell them to get in
there and represent you adequately.  Personally,
I've had it with all the cutback arguments.  There
don't seem to be any cutbacks in Canada's subsidies
and protectionist policies for mining companies,
food producers and processors, logging companies
and so forth.  We are all expected to keep pouring
our tax dollars in to guarantee profits for those
sectors.

    Maybe it's time to show some teeth boys and
girls.

    Gary Chambers

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Gary Chambers            e-mail: GCHAMBERS at upanet.uleth.ca
Public Access Internet
The University of Lethbridge