The arts are food for the city’s soul. As many of you may know, for more than thirty years I have been a volunteer advocate for all the arts disciplines, due to my passionate belief that the power of arts-based programs strengthen the mental health and well-being of a city and of individuals.
The arts help reduce crime, promote healing, and lower the cost of social intervention. It has been proven that cities spending money on the arts are more viable, attractive, and affluent than cities who spend less.
The arts generate income and create job opportunities, they improve employment and generate tourism.
Striking a good balance between social services, structure maintenance, health and safety and other city necessities is not an easy task. All are all important components, but when the arts are dismissed, the city is impoverished.
Making cities appealing to talented and creative people is essential to a city’s economic viability. Many people believe that art is a painting on the wall behind the chesterfield or over the mantlepiece, but it is so much more.
Imagine if we had no actors, architects, artists, authors, bakers and buskers, carpenters, carvers, choreographers, culinary artists, chefs and cooks, dancers, designers, gardeners, jewelers, landscapers, museums, music and musicians, painters, photographers, playwrights, poets and potters, sculptors, screen writers, and thespians.
We would be stripped of art galleries, bookstores, cinemas, clothing designers, hairdressers, tv series, all of which add to our pleasure. Our emotional well-being would suffer greatly because art serves as a form of therapy and healing for many individuals.
The arts offer solace and comfort when one is faced with life’s difficulties.
Art therapy is a major player to stimulate healing when dealing with traumatized patients who may be unable to express their feelings verbally.
To manage without these would take away hope as the arts influence and touch the soul. Cities would be stripped of colour and vibrancy. We would lose architectural gems, churches, public sculptures, iconic buildings. When you take a minute to think about it you realize art is so much more than just a picture on a wall.
Arts is a universal language all cultures, civilizations and countries share, for centuries the arts have survived and brought us a sense of our history, of the joy and pleasure of sharing of other cultures. Art transcends time, and borders and differences.
By continuing to share my thoughts, speak publicly to a diverse group, to city staff, arts groups and the general public about the importance of arts I hope to make a difference.
In Cambridge with the Bernice Adams Awards coming on May 23, with the excellent arts and culture plan scheduled to be heard by council on May 28 (we hope) and our Celebration of the Arts on June 14 in Civic Square; we have much to share.
Come and attend the celebrations of those involved in the Arts. I encourage those who wish to fully understand and appreciate the significant role the arts play to come to these events then express and openly share their thoughts with others.
We are fortunate that Cambridge is rich in the Arts but could be more so were the funds allocated/ In Ontario the arts bring in more than $27. billion annually.
Let’s enhance all the arts disciplines and bring our local arts facilities together in a collaborative way for the benefit of us all.
