It is ordinary to be an artist, Stephen Harper.

In light of our Prime Minister's comments about rich artists attending galas and whining about their grants, I would like to share the following thoughts:

1) In my previous post I mentioned that I'll be going to the SOM gala. Just to be clear, I almost never go to galas, and this one I feel is well-deserved as I wasn't paid to be on the Maria show. Most artists do a lot for very little (and sometimes nothing at all). I may not enjoy that one free glass of cheap white wine, but by God I will drink it.

2) Who are these rich artists that Stephen Harper is talking about? I'm not one of them, nor are my hundreds of artistic friends.

3) The $45M that Harper is cutting from the arts budget isn't as scary to me as his comments that indicate he finds no value in the arts at all. What will this mean for the future of the arts in our country?

I've joined this group on Facebook. It is a fast-growing hub of "ordinary people" (some of them artists - imagine!) where you can find informative articles and letters to Stephen Harper, like this one written by Wajdi Mouawad, Artistic Director of the French Theatre at the NAC. Some people in the group argue for the economic value of the arts, which is likely the only way the Republicans...I mean the Conservatives... will understand their relevance.

A Fun Craft
Get out your $20 bills and highlight the Gabrielle Roy quote on the back that says, "How could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?"