Living in the nation’s capital, there seems to be art and culture everywhere you look.
So why is it that local artists can barely make a living?
The city of Ottawa is confronted with the difficult situation of being the national capital as well as a city in its own right, and it always seems to be the little guy that suffers.
The city has repeatedly ranked last in arts and culture funding among Canada’s seven largest cities.
In 2008, Ottawa spent $3.41 per capita on arts funding, compared to an average of $5.25 spent in other major Canadian municipalities.
This is a city where the local arts, heritage and festival scene is often overpowered by the national cultural sector. But obviously, the national sector has better resources, and a larger reign.
Not only do local arts compete just to be noticed alongside the extravagant national art and festivals, they also have to compete for funding, venues, audiences, volunteers, media attention, sponsors, and fundraising.
And the competition is nothing to laugh at.
Ottawa is home to the National Gallery of Canada, which develops, maintains and displays Canadian art while promoting national art throughout the world.
It is also home to the National Arts Centre, which develops and promotes Canada’s performing arts and supports artists and organizations across the country.
Library and Archives Canada, also found right here, makes Canada’s documentary heritage available for all Canadians.
Ottawa residents and Canadians alike can be proud to say that the National Capital Commission has built the capital region to really represent our nation, with festivals, museums, theatres and parks.
But what is getting lost in all of these national accomplishments is the fact that Ottawa has its own accomplishments to trumpet.
Ottawa has its own neighbourhoods and history, its own artists to support, its own stories to tell.
Beneath all of the national art, there is still the city’s own culture and heritage to preserve.
Ottawa is home to the Mayfair Theatre, Canada’s oldest surviving independent movie theatre. It is known for its unique architecture and its cultural heritage value.
We have the Shenkman Arts Centre, an eastend arts facility that finally opened last spring. The centre boasts a 500-seat theatre for the performing arts, a 100-seat black-box theatre, a municipal visual arts gallery, an exhibition space, rehearsal halls for dance, music and new media, as well as instructional studios for pottery, visual arts, drama and theatre.
We have the Ottawa Art Gallery, which has grown and expanded so much that it no longer fits in its space at Arts Court. And the city is now working to find a new home for our local arts to be displayed.
With all these shining examples of local art, our own artists are still struggling to survive in Ottawa and often have to leave the city in order to pursue their art careers.
A study by Hill Strategies revealed that Ottawa artists earned an average of $15,800 in 2006. This is 54 per cent less than median earnings of Ottawa’s overall labour force, even though 55 per cent of Ottawa artists have a bachelor degree or higher.
This past April, city council presented its five-year progress report for the Art and Heritage Plan.
Although some progress has been made, with funding increases and a greater emphasis on local arts, the report states “average competitiveness with Canada’s six other largest single cities in the area of per-capita cultural funding has not yet been achieved.”
Yes, Ottawa may be our nation’s capital, but it is also our city, with our own schools, our own parks and most importantly our own artists, who are fighting to survive.
It’s time for the city of Ottawa to start putting more emphasis on our local talent. It’s time for the little guy.