The Role of the Arts in Challenging Times
Eva Friesen is the president and CEO of Calgary Foundation, one of Canada’s largest community foundations with assets of over $1 billion. Heather Campbell is an engineer and energy professional, and a board director with the Werklund Centre (formerly Arts Commons), Calgary’s performing arts centre. Writer Marcello Di Cintio is the author of six books of creative nonfiction and an active member of Calgary’s literary scene.
Left to right: Marcello Di Cintio, Eva Friesen and Heather Campbell. Illustrations by Dane Thibeault, l
Marcello: Have the arts always been a part of your life?
Eva: I always acted in the play my elementary school put on every year — in a small Mennonite village in rural Manitoba. Then, in high school, I sang in the choir and in the musicals the school put on. Now, I go to the arts because it’s one of the things I’ll do for fun. Because I should. Because others invite me. Because it’s different. My granddaughters play in recitals. And my daughter is artistic, so she drags me to make art at mother-daughter events. I get to flex my own art muscles.
Heather: The arts have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. It’s what brought me out of my shyness. It’s what gave me some coordination. I’m actually quite tall. I’d literally just fall down stairs because I had no idea how to coordinate my arms and legs. And ballet gave me that coordination, posture, elegance. It also gave me musicality. Music is math. I’m an engineer, so for me, I don’t separate those two in my thinking.
I still sing. I can still play first clarinet if I have to. I danced ballet and tap. I still have tap shoes in my closet. You’re not getting me to do a shuffle ball change anytime soon, but I can do it if I’m asked.
Marcello: I’ll ask later. I don’t need to enumerate all that is going wrong with the world right now. Everything is literally or metaphorically on fire. Has your engagement with the arts, or your appreciation of them, changed at all with the anxiety of the times? Does art make a difference in fraught times like these?
Eva: Absolutely. The Calgary Foundation does an annual Quality of Life Report. Calgarians tell us that the arts are even more meaningful and critical during times of anxiety and stress in society. The arts and mental health are very intertwined. The feedback we get from the report confirms that.
Certainly, when we’re in a troubled time like now — with the relationship between us and the U.S., for example, and the backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion — the arts can tell the stories in a language that allows us all to come together, no matter if we vote left or right. That’s one of the beautiful things about the arts.
Heather: I think it’s like the Nina Simone quote: “An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.” You look to artists in times of crisis.
Marcello: Do those crises shift art’s meaning?
Heather: I don’t know if these tense times change the meaning of art, but they change the risks of being an artist. I grew up in Burlington, Ontario, and I was part of the Burlington Teen Tour Band. We travelled internationally. We would do four Independence Day parades in the States in one day. I don’t know that those kids can do that during an economic trade war, with the border and immigration concerns and all of that. That doesn’t happen.
But the situation also changes the opportunities for artists. The poets and the comedians and the musicians are going to be off the chain. As patrons and as arts leaders, we just have to sit back and be patient and wait for it to come because it’s going to be amazing.
Marcello: Are you saying the angst of our times is also fuel for the artists?
Eva: It feeds them. The best songs are written after a heartbreak.
Marcello: Very true. I wonder, though, what should be the chief responsibility of the artists in these times. When the world seems out of control, should the arts address that chaos or provide a refuge from it?
Eva: Both. Art can address the chaos through the stories it tells. Art can help people see points of view they wouldn’t otherwise look at. People are very good at being polarized and staying in their bubbles. The arts can open their minds. The arts can help people be open to different voices, thoughts, ideas and opinions that aren’t typically the ones they think they share.
At the same time, the arts can be a refuge that fills your cup with joy when otherwise it feels empty. When the world looks ugly, and people seem to be at their ugliest, the arts can show you there is beauty.
Heather: In times of crisis, we have the tendency as a population to turtle, to spend less and do safe things. The arts are always at risk for cuts, closures and budgetary constraints because they’re seen as frivolous or extra. They’re not extra. The arts are fundamental to our health as a society, as a community, and as Calgarians. You need art to be able to help in times of deep austerity.
Marcello: So if one of the reactions of society to times of crisis is to cut back on the arts, we’re also reducing our ability to address those crises through the arts. This seems wholly self-defeating.
Heather: Absolutely. This is controversial to say, but during an affordability crisis is when you absolutely need to invest heavily in the arts.
Eva: The attitude of the public is shifting and agreeing with that. There is an increasing number of Calgarians who agree that the arts are critical to mental health and well-being. According to our last report, 90 per cent of Calgarians agreed that access to arts and cultural experiences is essential to a high quality of life. Donors to the Calgary Foundation who make gifts to the arts know this. They don’t cut back when times are troubled.
Certainly, for families, when money is tight, food and rent come first. But there are organizations that provide musical instruments, for example, and provide opportunities at no cost. That’s part of the charitable sector, which is a beautiful thing because it is important. The world is understanding that the arts are not a cuttable thing. They’re not a luxury.
Heather: Art makes a city thrive. Art makes a city sing. Art is how we tell our story.
This article was originally published in the 2025 edition of Create Calgary, an annual magazine launched by Calgary Arts Development to celebrate the work of artists who call Mohkinsstsis/Calgary home.
You can pick up a free copy at public libraries, community recreation centres and other places where you find your favourite magazines. You can also read the digital version online here.
