CADA’s dialogue series, Cultural Space and the Arts kicked off on October 18th with an event at Cantos Music Foundation . 17 people from a wide range of sectors came to together to share experiences and opinions, but most importantly to generate ideas. The topic of course was cultural space – what does Calgary need to be an artistically vibrant city?

Well, there is certainly no shortage of ideas in Calgary. Here is just a sample of what participants shared with us:

Many people made the point that a culturally vibrant city is one where all citizens are bombarded by the arts on a daily basis. This would mean many different sites of artistic energy and activity spread across the whole city – including areas accessible by public transit, the suburbs, as well as corporate spaces and heritage buildings. Art should be accessible in every neighborhood.

It was noted that urban sprawl needs to be addressed because it is a hindrance to this process. Development needs to be planned so that arts spaces are built in, but there should also be more undefined public space for citizens to use.

A geographic centre for the arts community was also an idea shared by many in the group. Artists need a place where they can gather together and share ideas and resources. This place would also act as a magnet for all citizens to explore the arts.

Lack of affordable space means many artists have to leave Calgary. Participants had suggestions for civic policies that would help alleviate this situation: older buildings where artists are already established need to be preserved by the city; development permits should be reviewed to see if they displace artists; if developers do displace an artist, then they must supply an alternate space.

Some ideas for opening up new spaces for artists included: micro-credit grants; tax breaks for business models such Art Central and other shared studio/galleries; partnerships with developers to build spaces for the arts; building corporate awareness of the benefits of art support; artist-in-residence programs for corporations and government bodies and encouraging matchmaking between artists and corporations.

Growth of the cultural sector depends on sustainable resources, including space. Participants suggested some ways to foster this, for example: a central inventory of spaces for artists to use; a central, accessible directory for events; a way to share resources such as accounting, office equipment and advertising; and partnerships to form a lobby group that will advocate for funding and investment.

The bigger picture…

Participants were concerned that a vibrant cultural community can only be sustained if there is a change to percption of the arts in Calgary. It was felt that Calgary needs to celebrate the arts as one of its core values, and artists as some of its most valuable citizens. One specific suggestion was a publicity campaign – “The Arts: What’s in it for me?” Cultural activities need to be seen as efficient, rewarding and vital.

Civic leaders and funders need to be proud of our artistic accomplishments, appreciate their financial value to the city and provide sustainable funding to continue this work. It was also suggested that civic policy makers need to recognize that true creativity often takes place outside existing models and regulations – Calgary needs to be open to new ideas and make policies more “yes” oriented.

It was also noted that the arts community needs to reach out to all facets of the Calgary community, especially those not already connected to the arts, as well as people of all cultural backgrounds. Community support for the arts must be built in order for them to flourish. This includes affordability and accessibility at all levels, including schools – permission to be creative must be built into the education system.

Calgary is an opportnity - we need to bridge the gap to action.