Charles Campbell of The Tyee Makes a Very Good Point
Over on The Tyee, there is a great article about arts in this province and how the arts has been "handled" by the province. It is the very end of the article that I would like to point out:
It's time for the arts community in B.C. to stop blithely mouthing arts platitudes and make its points with focused artwork and incisive humour. Make people laugh at a government that makes claims of greatness for British Columbia and yet treats the arts as though this is an Arkansas backwater. With the Olympics looming, artists can do this on a stage that will give the government pause. Mock the bloviating architects of these arts funding cuts in a way that's seen by patrons of every Cultural Olympiad event. What does "$1 = $1.38" mean? Make sure everyone understands.
I think this is a great idea and we should come together (very soon because we're brewing something as I write this) and use our skills to speak to the masses. We are artists, after all, and we - collectively - should be able to come up with several brilliant ideas what it really means to be an artist in this province. I have often thought what I am sure many of you have been thinking: why should I justify myself as an artist? That is not what I am proposing. I am suggesting we pool our skills and come up with some ways to express our situation. If we can do this successfully, I am sure we will be able to win some hearts and minds of the "get a job" crowd. Thanks Charles for putting it down as clearly as you did. I think many of us have been searching for the words but hadn't quite got there yet.
Here is the video referred to in his article: