Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography

The Canadian Federal Government has announced that the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography building at 1 Rideau Canal in Ottawa will be taken over by Parliament for office space and meeting rooms. The CMCP is the only museum in Canada devoted to the photographic image. It was created in 1985 after intense lobbying by the photographic community and opened its $16M state-of-the-art facility in 1992. We are firmly opposed to this arbitrary decision, delivered by the Government and National Gallery without warning or consultation. This is not just a photographic community concern. The loss of this public art space concerns us all.

To join the fight to save the CMCP, please take a moment to sign the petition:

www.ipetitions.com/petition/CMCP/

For background information on this announcement, please visit:

www.savecmcp.ca/ Please circulate this petition through your network with apologies for cross-posting.

Michel Campeau: "It is imperative that the CMCP be returned to its former status among international institutions dedicated to photography. The building that was designed for the CMCP when it was founded must house it once again. To accomplish its mission, it is urgent that a francophone curator be hired to fill a vacant post. An increase in the budget is also needed for the CMCP to maintain its operations, acquisitions, and influence."

Donigan Cumming: "The loss of the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography has sparked a national effort to stop this government's systematic erasure of Canada's cultural heritage. As established Canadian creators, we need to send a strong message to Ottawa. The CMCP was created by artists coming together and making their views known. We can do this again. We owe it to the next generation."

Vera Frenkel: "The Harper government's appropriation of CMCP premises for routine office use follows on its grab for party receptions of a beautifully renovated building designated for the Portrait Gallery of Canada. Colonizing cherished and hard-earned cultural resources for bureaucratic bumph on the one hand and private parties on the other signals that the fog is rolling in. What is it that these jokers don't understand about this sentence: 'Canada's most powerful ambassadors are its artists.' Or this: 'Every citizen is entitled to experience Canada's visual history.' The collections of the CMCP and the Portrait Gallery are being hidden from view; a criminal deprivation, in my opinion, of a citizen's right to know who we are through the inspiring work of our great artists, many of whom are internationally admired photographers. This extraordinary double blunder is already embarrassing Canada elsewhere and together with other foolishly destructive decisions will cost this government the next election."

Sauvons le Musée canadien de la photographie contemporaine !

Le gouvernement a annoncé que l'immeuble du MCPC du 1, canal Rideau à Ottawa serait repris par le Parlement pour servir de bureaux et de salles de réunions. Le MCPC est le seul musée du Canada consacré à l'image photographique. Il a été créé en 1985 à la suite d'immenses pressions exercées par le milieu de la photo. Il a ouvert ses portes dans des installations ultramodernes de 16 millions de dollars en 1992. Nous nous opposons fermement à cette décision arbitraire, prise par le gouvernement et le Musée des beaux-arts du Canada, sans aucun préavis ni consultation. Ce n'est pas seulement le milieu de la photo qui est atteint par la perte de ce lieu public, c'est chacun d'entre nous. Pour exprimer votre désir de sauver le MCPC, prenez quelques secondes pour signer la pétition:

www.ipetitions.com/petition/CMCP/

Pour de plus amples renseignements sur ce message, visitez :

www.savecmcp.ca/ Nous vous encourageons de faire circuler la pétition dans votre entourage. Veuillez nous excuser pour les courriels se répétant.

Michel Campeau : « Il est impératif de remettre le MCPC au diapason des institutions internationales dédiées à la photographie, et que l'édifice qui a été aménagé pour l'accueillir à sa fondation l'abrite à nouveau. Pour parfaire sa mission, il est de toute urgence qu'un conservateur francophone soit nommé afin de combler un poste laissé vacant et que des budgets accrus soient alloués à son fonctionnement, ses acquisitions et son rayonnement. »

Donigan Cumming : « La fermeture du Musée canadien de la photographie contemporaine a donné lieu à la formation d'une coalition nationale pour mettre fin à la destruction systématique de l'héritage culturel canadien entreprise par le gouvernement en place. En tant que créateurs canadiens établis, nous devons envoyer un message clair à Ottawa. Le MCPC a été constitué par un regroupement d'artistes qui souhaitaient s'exprimer. Nous pouvons le faire encore. Nos héritiers ont besoin qu'on le fasse. »

Vera Frenkel : « En s'appropriant les locaux du MCPC pour les transformer en simples bureaux, le gouvernement Harper démontre encore une fois l'avidité qui lui a fait récupérer le bel édifice rénové du Musée du portrait du Canada pour y tenir ses réceptions. Déplacer des ressources culturelles prisées et durement acquises pour favoriser la bureaucratie d'une part et les réceptions privées d'autre part est un signe précurseur de noirceur. Comment est-il possible que les marionnettes qui nous dirigent ne comprennent pas que : « Les ambassadeurs du Canada les plus éloquents sont ses artistes. » ou encore que : « Chaque citoyen a le droit de connaître l'histoire visuelle de son pays. » Les collections du MCPC et du Musée du Portrait sont soustraites à notre regard; à mon avis, c'est une privation qui n'est pas acceptable; on n'a pas le droit d'empêcher le citoyen de se découvrir par le biais des travaux révélateurs de nos grands artistes, dont plusieurs sont des photographes de renomés international. Ce double impair incroyable ternit toute l'image du Canada et s'ajoute aux autres décisions dévastatrices qui vont entraîner la chute du gouvernement aux prochaines élections. »

the Art of Voting: Premier Portraits

the Premier Portrait Project

: call for entries

Mar. 7, 2009 - Apr. 20, 2009

As part of Studio 16 1/2's exhibition "the Art of Voting: election propaganda and other provincial themes" the Premier Portrait Project will put in context the 2009 BC provincial election, using artistic renditions of former leaders provided by members of the local electorate.

Studio 16 1/2 is currently seeking thirty-four artists willing to produce a portrait of a past (or in one case present) Premier of British Columbia.

Each participating artist will create a single 8x10 rendition of a premier of their choice (photographic reference material supplied by the studio. One premier per artist; first come, first serve). Completed pieces will be displayed in the gallery during our upcoming exhibition "Election Propoganda and other provincial themes", April 30 - May 31, 2009.

Please send us an email naming the premier of your choice, plus a few samples of work representative of your style. (see below for a list of premiers already claimed, and the artists who claimed them...)

We regret that not all applications will result in an assignment, but please contact us anyway! See gallery of British Columbia's Past Premiers

Confirmation Deadline: April 12, 2009 Art Submission deadline: April 24, 2009

Premier / Artists:

• "Amor de Cosmos" - Kirsten Wright • "George Anthony Walkem" - brent bouchard • "Robert Beaven" - Amy Rubin • "Andrew Charles Elliott" - Gary Pearson • "William Smithe" - shaw smith • "Alexander Edmund Batson Davie" - Nel Kwiatkowska • "John Robson" - Leif Parker • "John Herbert Turner" - Ben Westergreen • "Charles Augustus Semlin" - Clayton Hall • "James Dunsmuir" - Cat Thom • "Edward Gawler Prior" - Mike Macdonald • "Harlan Carey Brewster" - Keri Coles • "John Duncan MacLean" - Caleb Beyers • "Simon Fraser Tolmie" - Faro Sullivan • "John Oliver" - Miles Hastings Elderidge • "John Hart" - Judee Doyle Stevenson • "Byron Ingemar Johnson" - Alexis Celona • "WAC Bennett" - Ben van Netten • "David Barret" - Lon Granger • "Bill Vander Zalm" - Kim Sinclair • "Rita Johnston" - Sarah Amos • "Mike Harcourt" - Nicolas Robins • "Arthur Dan Miller" - Judy McLaren • "Ujjal Singh Dosanjh" - Robert Amos • "Gordon Campbell" - Gareth Gaudin • "Glen David Clark" - Ryan Thompson

Don't Panic - It's not in North America

The Don't Panic Pack is a unique free publication found in carefully selected independent shops, bars, universities and art spaces. Also distributed outside alternative music events and launch parties, it contains all sorts of arts and culture goodies and information for cities all around the world with the emphasis on design and the future of our planet. (Unfortunately there are no distributors in North America.) At the heart of the pack find the Don't Panic Poster where a rotation of established and unknown, up and coming artists design around an issue that affects culture across the world. On this site find an interactive online magazine to further explore the issue raised on the poster where you can contribute to the debate with text, graphic design, illustration, photography, animation, music and film for all to see.

Check out the previous issues posters or submit your design to the current competition.

There are some gems throughout the 186+ posters on the site. Some well know artists/designers such as Banksy, Pentagram, Jamie Reid and Jermyville have created posters.

Possible Jail Time and Fine for Mail Art

Is mailing something like this a crime? Does it make sense to face a sentence of three years jail time and fines over $100,000 USD? Why is the image of a naked woman a criminal offense? After viewing a couple images of Pissier's artwork I can see why his artwork would offend some. The limited images on the net that I've seen include bondage and could be considered violent. I understand the idea of mail art, but is it ok for an artist to force a delivery person to deliver something they don't agree with? Ask yourselves these questions, and keep them in mind when reading about the Philip Pissier.

Here are his words translated from French:

” As you probably know, I am currently enmeshed in a legal situation where I am at risk of three years of jail time and a fine of 75,000 euros for a misunderstood creative project.

To summarize, in May or June 2008 I sent four postcards intended for an exposure of Mail Art entitled “Erotic Moments” curated by Mr Mark Falkant (Sodener Str. 20 / 65779 Kelkheim / Allemagne). The artworks are collages made from postcards of the pastoral village of Castelnau-Montratier (in Southern France), and old photographs of a girlfriend, taken around 1991-92, with two to three clothespins on her nipples.

I sent them, without adding them in an envelope, as is the norm, for purists of “postal art”. After having participated and showing my erotic Mail Art for the past 25 years, I didn’t think that they could pose problem.

Of course, there was a problem. The Postal Director of my village informed me one day that the Director of the Sorting office of Cahors had been “extremely moved” by the postcard. I know well that I’m not a terrible erotic photographer, but it was seemingly good that the work moved him.

I paid little attention to this business, although from then on I had the telephone number of the Director. I do not have time to confer with him on the issue, I was working for nine months developing the First International Festival of Email-Art of my village: The famous «Rencontres de l’Art Postal» (blog : http://montratier.canalblog.com).

A few days before the inauguration of this festival, I received an notice insisting I present myself to the Gendarmerie of Castelnau-Montratier because of a “file related to me”. I go there, and they end up interviewing me, within the framework of a preliminary investigation, on the behalf of people who do not have the decency, to introduce themselves (I later learned I was summoned by the “Brigade of Search of the Gendarmerie of Cahors”.). First, they asked me questions about my professional life, they showed my postcards (under court seal) and tell me that someone filed a complaint against me using the article 227-24 of the New Penal code, which stipulates that - the simple act of making, traveling with or transporting, and promoting by any ways a message with a violent or pornographic content or with the intention of hurting human dignity can be punishable with 3 years in jail and 500 000 euros when the message can be seen by an underage person.”

I answered : “the mailbox is managed by an adult, the postman and the other employees are also - and the same goes for the recipient.”

And my interrogator countered with: “Yes, but imagine that the postman has your cards in his hand, that they happen to fall, and then suddenly a minor appears who happens upon them. This is likely to happen.”

I was genuinely speechless.

In the same context, imagine a flying saucer full of aliens flying above the mailbox to take the postcard and send it to a kindergarten. It seems just as likely.

They keep questioning me, over and over again. They want to know everything about my private life and my girlfriends. They ask me if I’m sane and they also asked me if I’m a freemason who has attained “perfect self-control”.

Then, they left me with a “democratic” choice between going to jail or a search warrant.

I choose the search warrant for two reasons. First: we are July 3rd. Our festival starts July 15th and I’m right in the middle of finishing the last important details. I don’t want to waste any time. Secondly, even though I appreciate BDSM, I don’t really want to spend the night with these good men.

What a mistake! After messing up my apartment, they took my computer, my loyal iMac, all my professional contacts - all ready to inflate their case against me.

Life goes on. I succeeded in organizing the festival, thanks to the unexpectedly kind assistance of the many villagers and their neighbors. My sincere thanks to those kind people, but the challenges have been driving me to take sedatives.

The Festival’s schedule, the list of arts, the guest list (among them guests from as far away as Belgrade), everything is in the seized computer.

On the morning of the 15, twenty minutes before the opening of the festival, two local police came to visit the show (without buying a ticket), to undoubtedly check the morality of this one.

Despite all these adventures, the event took place and had a degree of success. One could only imagine what could have been the real success without these obstacles and distractions. But my organization, the RGBD (“Rue des Graphismes et de la Bande Dessinée”), will not lose money.

The festival closed on July 20th, and after that I relaxed a little. On August 26th, I saw my laywer Maître Baduel of the Bar of Paris, We decided on a system of defense, and the counter-attack was launched.

It is clear that all the procedures of the local police were completely abusive and illegal. Everything in this business is ludicrous: abusive use of an article of the New Penal code (originally the article wasn’t created for this purpose), abusive procedure, and violations of my private life. Moreover, the state answered to journalists that “the investigation continues”. But an investigation on what? The complaint was deposited against me using the article 227-24, the authorities have the postcards, they know the context (german show) and the culprit (me). Or, there is an investigation on something else, the abuses I received, maybe?

Step by step, the story was broadcast, first in the local press (thanks to Florian Moutafian from the French newspaper “La dépêche du midi”), regionally (“L’echo”), nationally with the articles of L.L de Mars in “CQFD” and Agnes Giard (blog of the newspaper “Liberation”). The international press followed (“the New Yorker”, “El Universal” in Mexico, etc). “France Info” will interview us little later. A blog of artistic support, penned by various political cartoonists was also created (in French : http://soutienpissier.canalblog.com/).

That’s the present situation.

I don’t believe it’s necessary to give up, even if the situation seems incredible in a “so-called” democracy. And sometimes I wonder how they can even call our system democratic

A Committee of Support has been started for those interested :

Comité de Soutien à Philippe Pissier,

c/o Libraithèque

« Le Droit à la Paresse »

68 rue Saint-James, 46000 Cahors, France.

Phone. 05.65.22.01.51.

Contact : Michel Guillaumin,

06.79.89.13.18.

miguillaumin@wanadoo.fr

Presently, we need to bring the maximum amount of attention to this story in the sincere hope that with enough voices behind us, this case may be dismissed.

Thank you for support and for reading this lengthy story!

Philippe Pissier, october 2008. “

Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun

Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun's strategy is to document and promote change in contemporary Indigenous history through large scale acrylic on canvas pieces with brush and/or a palette knife. He makes use of vivid colours and his work presents a positive aesthetic impression as well as expression of content that is often bi-cultural. In his work Yuxweluptun uses Coast Salish cosmology, Northwest Coast formal design elements, and the Western landscape tradition. His painted works explore political, environmental, and cultural issues. His personal and socio-political experiences enhance this practice of documentation. Yuxweluptun's work has been included in numerous international group and solo exhibitions, such as INDIGENA: Contemporary Native Perspectives in 1992. He was the recipient of the Vancouver Institute for the Visual Arts (VIVA) award in 1998.

Much of the content of his work is derived from contemporary Native social and political issues. His father at one time was President of the North American Indian Brotherhood and his mother was Executive Director of the Indian Homemakers Association.

Banksy: The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill

Banksy (the only "superstar" artist that I know that has continued to live up to the hype) has recently designed a pet shop that includes fish sticks swimming in a fish tank, a chimpanzee watching chimp porn, sleeping leopard that turns out to be a fur coat, chicken McNuggets sipping barbeque sauce and hot dog hamsters. The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill is less than 300 square feet and can't hold more than 20 people at any one time. The inspiration for the show came when Banksy witnessed a chihuahua with a diamond collar being walked passed a homeless person. He wanted to bring forth the question why do we spoil some animals and murder others.

More images from Banksy's Village Petstore show.

Banksy recently put up three giant billboards in the Big Apple. All depicting the NYC mascot, one rat sports an "I heart New York" shirt at the corner of Grand and Wooster, another is found whitewashing the wall at Houston and Macdougal and the last rat at Howard and Broadway is holding a briefcase full of money accompanied with text that reads "Let them eat crack." In a statement Bansky comments, "I wanted to play the corporations at their own game, at the same scale and in the same locations. The advantage of billboard companies is that they'll let you write anything for money, even if what you write is questioning the ethics of letting someone write anything because they have money."

Another Sky Press : Neo-Patronage

I have a lot of respect for the publishing platform of Portland, Oregon's Another Sky Press. When purchasing a book online through their website you are given the option to buy the book at cost and if you wish, an extra contribution which is in turn what supports the artist and publisher. I tip my hat to Another Sky. I think they are on to something, I know it worked for Radiohead. Hopefully they get the support they deserve. We need a mass change in the way (at least online) commerce works.

Anteism has always been interested in financial systems like this. We have in the past had our books online for free, but now make our sold out publications available online . I hope to one day adopt a modified system such as Another Sky's.

Below is further information on Another Sky's publishing methods.

---

(introduction)

We want people to read our books, even if they read them for free. This isn’t anything revolutionary - unless your local librarian is a subversive of the highest order.To best accomplish this goal we release all of our books online for free. Because we know how good ‘real’ books feel in your hands, we also price our trade-paperbacks via a sliding scale system in which the base price is the cost for us to ship you a book (we don’t make a penny) and you set the final price by choosing what you’d like to contribute (if anything) to the creative team behind it (most of which goes to the author). You can’t ever be ripped off. We call this pro-artist, pro-audience system neo-patronage.

There are a whole bunch of reasons we are doing this. Some of them are idealistic (we trust people!). Some of them are economic (we want everyone to be able to afford our books!). Some of them are philosophical (we believe it is a better system!). Some of them are technological (flow with technology, don’t fight it!).

But really, it comes down to something very simple: I sat down and tried to figure out a system of commerce that was as ‘pure’ as possible. One free of greed. One that gave as many people as possible the ability to be a part of it, whether as artist or audience. One which allowed the artists who excelled to be compensated and thus continue to create art. And this system of neo-patronage is what I came up with. Is it perfect? Will it work? Questions, questions, and there’s no way to know the answers until it’s been tried. And so I am, with the help and dedication of others who want to see this system thrive.

(one - it makes sense)

Technology changes the world, whether people want it to or not. The printing press, the telephone and the car have all re-mapped the world. New technologies can bring down kings and churches, can restructure our lives right in front of our eyes. One thing is certain - we are no longer tied to traditional means of distribution (case in point, when was the last time a milkman delivered to your door?)

Rather than fight technology, we’ve decided to flow with it. Rather than ‘protect’ our ‘intellectual property’ with DRM and other consumer-unfriendly practices, we’re offering it all for free. Rather than fight against P2P and related technologies, we’ll embrace them.

Which, of course, leaves that one burning question: how does the artist get paid? We think the answer is something along the lines of neo-patronage, and we’re willing to put our money, time, and effort where our mouth is.

(two - the audience is the sole arbitrator of value)

We believe it would be better if individuals could decide the value of art after they experience it, not before. Few people, if any, would buy a painting sight unseen. Yet most of us often purchase music, films and books at a fixed price before we even know if the ‘product’ is actually any good. As a result we’ve created a market where we often support creativity based on the quality of the hype, not the quality of the actual creation. This in turn has lead to a downturn in quality because the bottom line doesn’t care whether or not you liked the movie/book/cd - you’ve already spent your money. There is little incentive to create better content when the industry knows they can simply hype the next half-assed thing that comes along.

Consider what people spend on music, films and books that they end up disliking. If this money weren’t wasted on inferior material, the collective audience would have more to spend on the artists that they love. The arts would flourish because money would be properly distributed to artists based on quality instead of filling the coffers of the already rich non-creators that control the hype industry.

(three - art for all)

Art should be for all, not for those who can afford it. Contribute when you can, if you can. Don’t feel guilty if you can’t contribute to every artist who you’ve enjoyed. Instead, be proud to contribute at a level that is comfortable to you both ethically and financially. If you have the means, by all means go above and beyond and generously support a few artists to ensure they can continue to create new work.

(four - support the artist)

There are some great, artist-friendly distributors around (CD Baby is a perfect example) but for the most part the culture industry is stacked against the artist. The perils of the music industry are well known, but the book publishing industry can be just as bad, if not worse.

We believe the money should go to the artist, not obsolete middle men hanging on to antiquated distribution paradigms. Period.

(five - dreams come true)

We believe this will work.

(in conclusion)

The corporations that currently have a strangle hold on our culture are not equipped for the impact of technology. They can not and will not adapt, for their profit lies in the realm of control and information consolidation, not freedom and information dissemination. We have the opportunity to reclaim our culture and we need to take it.

We believe a better system is for the audience to be under the honor system to contribute to those artists who have enriched their lives and to shun those who have wasted their time.

This is why we at Another Sky Press provide the entirety of our works online for free. We make no demands on our audience, we simply request that if you enjoy what we offer you that you show this via contributing to our authors or directly to us. We believe in you, and we can only hope you believe in us. Read more on neo-patronage.

Matthew Herbert - There's You and There's Me

I don't post music on Anteism very often but I could not help but share this gem. This album is not just music. It's more than the sum of the notes you can hear in the recording. Matthew Herbert's album "There's You and There's Me" is so powerful because of the amazing connections between the music, location of recordings and what's happening behind the sound curtain.

"Matthew Herbert's dazzling new album There's Me and There's You is the most seductive, sophisticated and subversive collection of protest songs ever recorded. Blending lush jazz instrumentation, soulful vocals, fascinating rhythms and a secret underground arsenal of outlandish samples, it marks Herbert's second collaboration with his big band. Effortlessly wrapping deluxe avant-jazz arrangements around polemical lyrics and artfully selected noises, the album's dominant theme is power and its abuses in the 21st century. The album's dense mix of audacious samples includes the sound of 70 condoms being scraped along the floor of the British Museum, a match being struck in the House of Parliament, one of 100 nails being hammered into a coffin, vocals recorded at a landfill and a McDonald's, and 100 credit cards being cut up, among other things. Recorded with a vast community of musicians and participants, There's Me and Then There's You has a declaration on the cover signed by all parties involved: "We, the undersigned, believe that musical can still be a political force of note and not just the soundtrack to over-consumption.

The overall theme of There's Me, and There's You is the use and abuse of power in the 21st century, whether that power resides in the church ("Pontificate"), the media ("The Story"), greed ("Rich Man's Prayer"), monarchy ("Regina") or the various power sources affecting concerns such as climate change and consumerism. But these individual critiques are slyly pitched to insinuate themselves imperceptibly through arrangements echoing musical theatre, cartoon music and brassy jazz, in contrast to the hectoring tone which turns so many away from the standard folk-protest mode of political music."

Robert Bateman - Not a Pretty Picture

I can't stand the not in my back yard attitude. Everyone consumes oil but no one wants the waste in their eyesight. I changed my mind when I realized that there has been a ban on oil tankers for the last 35 years why risk catastrophe now!

For over 35 years the coastal waters of BC have been protected from oil tanker traffic. This ban on tankers is now under threat. Plans to build pipelines and a supertanker port in Kitimat by Enbridge are moving forward with support from the BC and Canadian governments. But there is still time to save our coast.

Join the successive generations that have successfully kept oil tankers out of BC waters for over thirty years. The first step is signing the petition.

Canadian Renaissance Project

I recently stumbled across an interesting article about the identity of Canadians and the status of the arts here. It states that Canadians don't seem to have a proper identity?? Is this true? After living in Asia for a few years I did notice something strange from other foreign people living in Asia. When they asked me where I was from I said Canada. They continued by saying where are you really from? I think Canada is one of the very few places we have got past the identity of imaginary lines. There are plenty of problems here but Canada may be one of the first places where national identity may disappear. The cup is half full and empty.

The Canadian Renaissance Project aims to strengthen the art community in Canada and I believe it has some very valid points. Whether or not it's possible to implement is another subject. Visit the site Canadian Renaissance Project.

Read The Statement Below Then Click Here to Find Out How You Can Be Involved

It is almost a cliche to say that Canadians have an identity problem, no one, not even Canadians can seem to define exactly what it means to be a Canadian. In spite of this, the Canadian voice is unique in the world. Perhaps this is because, in a world where the environment is in crisis, it is a vast country where nearly everyone is close to nature almost all the time. Perhaps it is because of multiculturalism. In the rest of the world ethnic and religious tension are spiraling out of control. In Canada, the world's most multi-cultural country a wide variety of social, ethnic, and religious groups manage to live together relatively peacefully and cooperatively. Whatever it is, it is a voice that resonates the world over. Whatever else people know about Canada (it is sometimes very little, and often wrong) they know Canadian art, music, literature, actors, directors and other artists.

There is also no question that arts and culture are a vital part of the Canadian identity (whatever it is). The arts are both a part of industry and part of the daily quality of life of Canadians. According to the Canada Council for the Arts: 75 percent of Canadians believe that the arts are important in enhancing the quality of their lives and 85 percent aggree that governments should provide support for arts and culture. Further, according to Statitstics Canada, the 7.7 billion dollar government investment in culture generates 40 billion dollars in economic activity and creates 600,000 jobs. The importance of arts and culture for tourism, as an example, goes without saying.

With all of this said, the social and economic status of the artist in Canada in no way reflects the importance of their contributions to society. In 1995, Parliament implemented the 'Status of the Artist Act' which, through a heavily bureaucratized process, allowed certain tax deductions, under certain circumstances for certain artists. According to the Canadian Journal of Communication there were "670,000 people working in the arts and culture, representing six times as many employed in fisheries and three times greater than in the forestry industry." But, the article points out, "In 1991, self employed painters and artists earned an average of $11,947; artisans and craftspeople $10,020; musicians and singers, $14,473; dancers, 13,757; actors, $21,800; broadcast composers, and arragners $26.201."

So with nearly 10 years since the "Status of the Artist Act" have things improved substantially for Canadian artists? It wouldn't appear so. According to a study published in 2004 the number of Canadian artists had risen by 29%, but they were still making less than people in other professions. Another study in 2005 determined that a Canadian artist earns on average $23,500 and minority artists even less. This average is also inflated by highly successful Canadian actors, producers and recording artists as well as artists employed full time by arts and media companies. This would indicate that a large number of artists earn substantially less than that average.

It is little wonder that many of the most successful Canadian artists and performers have sought larger markets, and higher incomes, in the United States and Europe. The goal of the following proposals is to lessen this trend, not by making artists wealthy, but to offer them the ability to stay to stay in Canada, earn a stable income and enjoy a standard of living comparable to other highly skilled professionals; An income that is more reflective of their importance to Canadian society. Doctors and lawyers and business executives are undoubtedly vital to society, but they do not define that society in the way the arts do. Without definition; without understanding who we are, it is difficult to understand the past, make appropriate decisions for the present or plan the society we want to create for the future.

Part One of the plan draws it's inspiration from but does not copy the Irish system. In Ireland certain artists pay no taxes at all. This system though has two major drawbacks, the first is that those artists pay no taxes at all no matter how successful they become. Even in the case where they are making millions, they still pay no income taxes. The second problem is that the Irish put in place a government bureaucracy to decide what constitutes art. This is an area which I do not think Canadians want the government directly involved in.

What I propose as an alternative is a system where an artists profits (after expenses) which comes directly from their art, are tax exempt up to fifty thousand dollars. It should be pointed out here that the excemption would apply to artists in the broad sense, not only visual artists. This would ensure that highly successful artists payed taxes and it would enable and encourage many artists to quit their 'day jobs' and focus on their art. Since their non-art income is not tax exempt it would also provide incentives for them to focus more on earning income from their artistic pursuits.

Part Two is inspired by the new Children's Fitness Tax Credit which provides up to five-hundred dollars for health and fitness activities for children. While health and physical fitness are obviously important, the nurturing of the mind and the soul and ultimately of Canadian culture is of equal importance.

The second part of the plan would apply to both children and adults and provide a five-hundred dollar (per person) tax write off for arts and culture purchases and activities. This would include everything from music or art lessons to buying a musical instrument or art supplies. It would also include the purchase of concert or theatre tickets, and the purchase of books, music, films, and art by Canadian artists. It should be stressed here that in order to qualify for the deduction that it must fall within the guidelines of Canadian content. Purchases of non-Canadian music, books, etc., would not qualify.

This does several things at once. It encourages individuals and families to participate in more arts and culture related activities. It puts Canadian content at a premium over imported content. It provides an improved marketplace for Canadian artists to make a living in, the marketplace is not larger, but it is more lucrative. It encourages content producers to produce more Canadian content. It encourages venues to showcase more Canadian talent. It encourages retailers to carry more Canadian content. It encourages children, and adults to to an extent, to become more educated in the arts and to make arts and culture a more integrated part of their day to day lives. Finally, on a more timely and controversial note, the tax deduction would encourage Canadians to buy rather than download for free, Canadian music and movies.

The Canadian Government, like most Western governments, has many priorities to deal with. The military, business and industry, health care, infrastructure, the environment, education, culture, the arts and more all contend for precious tax dollars. All of these things are obviously, to varying degrees, important. Many of them are essential to the quality of life enjoyed by Canadians.

It is important to consider though that great societies are remembered as great not by their industry or military power, or even by the daily quality of life of their citizens. Even where these societies were particularly violent, or committed great attrocieties, they are remembered most by their art and cultural achievements. If we look back though history: The Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, the ancient Muslim world, ancient China and Japan, the British, Spanish, French, Germans in their glory days, and the Aboriginal cultures of North America they are remembered because of their art, architecture, literature, music, theatre and other cultural achievements. Even the great United States of America, when thought of fondly, conjures up images of Hollywood, Motown, Woodstock, Elvis, Sinatra, and Marilyn Monroe. There are some societies who achieved historical infamy without widely recognized artistic achievements. Cultures such as the Huns, Mongols, Vandals and Vikings are remembered almost purely for their brutality.

Combined these two initiatives will make being a full time artist in Canada a more realistic proposition. It is hoped that it will encourage more Canadian artists to stay in Canada, and that it might even lure some Canadian artists home from other parts of the world. In any event, it would allow more artists to give up their 'day jobs' and devote themselves full time to their art. It would enhance Canada's image abroad as a hotbed of arts, culture and creativity. It would promote and encourage tourism within Canada and from abroad and boost the travel and hospitality sectors on the whole. It would help to finally define the Canadian identity in the minds of Canadians and others and, given the amount of talent and creativity we have in this country, it would fuel an arts movement of historic proportions.

What You Can Do

Take action by signing the petition http://www.gopetition.com/online/13374.html Contacting your Member of Parliament http://crp.publicbroadcasting.ca/mp.html and adding a promotional graphic to your website (see right hand column.) Stay involved by adding the Canadian Renaissance Project MySpace http://www.myspace.com/canren and/or joining the facebook group http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=676355194

The Poster Design of Chaz Maviyane-Davies

Chaz Maviyane-Davies is a Zimbabwe national, presently Professor of Design at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. For more than two decades his work has taken on issues of consumerism, health, nutrition, social responsibility, the environment and human rights. "Over the years I have tried to use images and ideas to cut through complacency and apathy while trying to raise consciousness about an array of social issues from discrimination and human rights, to health and the environment. Creating an alternate vision as my expression in a pervading regressive body politic has never been easy, but design is my weapon and therein lies the challenge I call "Creative Defiance."