Where Calgary Magazine September / October 2018 | Page 24

Why We Need
ARTS FUNDING
BY SILVIA PIKAL
Art isn’t just what we see on the walls in museums and galleries. You see, hear or
feel it when walking across the Peace Bridge, or taking a selfie in front of the giant
head called Wonderland, or putting your child in piano lessons, or when you spread
blankets on the ground at Prince’s Island Park and listen to the artists at Calgary
Folk Music Festival.
Art is part of our daily life and its benefits to our city are numerous, including
contributing to the economy, adding to the vibrancy of the city that draws business,
talent and visitors to Calgary, provoking discussion and critical thinking, as well as
connecting Calgarians to each other, according to Calgarians who are proposing
increased municipal arts funding.
STARTING OVER
When actor, writer and drama therapist Raffi
Minas came to Calgary in October 2017 from
Lebanon, the 28-year-old had more than a
decade of experience in writing and acting but
found he had to start from scratch in Calgary.
“It’s hard to act here because you need to
know the language, accent, networking, and the
most important side in my opinion, you need to
understand the culture,” Minas says.
When a friend sent Minas a poster advertising
the Theatre Community Connections for
Newcomers Program, which pairs newcomers
with past theatre experience to mentors, he was
eager to sign up.
The pilot project is a partnership between
Downstage (page 29), a theatre company that
produces Canadian work with a focus on social
issues, and the Centre for Newcomers, which
provides settlement and integration services to
immigrants and refugees. Four participants were
paired with mentors to create a five to 10 minute
showcase performance.
Minas has written a script with his mentor
for a 10-minute performance called Suitcase,
the story of a man displaced by war, inspired
by his own experiences of fleeing Syria for
Lebanon before coming to Canada.
The show features a refugee who comes
to Canada with nothing but a suitcase. He is
stopped for a bag check by a customs officer
at the airport, and as he pulls items out of his
luggage, he recounts the stories behind them
— some funny, some tragic. Minas hopes the
audience will have a new perspective about
the civil war in Syria.
“We discovered it’s very difficult for
newcomers to Canada who have professional
experience in theatre to start working in their
field,” says Ellen Close, the artistic director of
Downstage.
Close says there are many theatre jobs
that are never listed, since companies often
reach into their pool of established actors,
designers or playwrights, or find talent
through training programs that provide
professional connections.
“We’re poorer as a theatre community
156 ORGANIZATIONS CALGARY ARTS DEVELOPMENT
INVESTS IN PRODUCE
24
Calgary’s artists, arts
organizations and
citizens rally together
to request an increase
in municipal funding
for the arts
by not having pathways for newcomers to
start working,” Close says. “Our work should
reflect the greater diversity of Calgary.
The people we’ve connected with will be a
tremendous asset to the theatre community
and their work will be wonderful for
Calgarian audiences to experience.”
While more than 20 newcomers wanted to
sign up for the pilot project, they could only
accommodate four people. Close is applying
for project-based funding to continue the
work, which means she doesn’t know what
it will look like in the future.
“If we had increased operating funding
that would go a long way to make those
commitments, and allow us to be more
responsive to opportunities with
partners as they arise,” Close says.
STRENGTHENING THE
ARTS SECTOR
Patti Pon, president and CEO
of Calgary Arts Development,
says the Theatre Community
Connections for
Newcomers Program is
a prime example of art
providing meaning on
an artistic level, public
impact level and
business level.
Calgary Arts
IN 2017, THERE WERE
$134 MILLION 3,385,616 ATTENDEES
IN VALUE-ADDED GDP TO CANADA,
WITH THE LARGE MAJORITY IN ALBERTA1 TO ARTS ACTIVITIES IN CALGARY 2
where.ca
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018