Calgary Country — Artists are selling out.
This can mean one of two things. It can mean the final act of desperation the artist commits after trying to survive in a climate of shamefully inadequate funding (the poet sells out and becomes a copywriter; the actor sells out and endorses American Express Cards in a commercial). It happens all too often, and it’s easy to see why.
In our province, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (the only provincial funding body for the arts) has had its funding frozen for the past 16 years (despite enormous increases in the government coffers during that time).
This is not tax money. We the artists are not in competition with education or health care or social services. Our frozen offerings come from lottery and gaming revenues. Every loonie that gets swallowed up by a VLT, casino table or lottery ticket is shoveled atop the dome of the Alberta Legislature. The arts (whether they be written, danced, acted, carved, painted, spoken, sung, composed, etc.) have been receiving a paltry one per cent of these revenues for the past 16 years. This means that every artist and arts organization in the province vie for a chunk of that icicle to hold onto. Many lose their grip and slip off.
Little wonder, then, that hundreds of artists turn to peddling their skills and talents for a non-artistic paycheque. Their day job bleeds into the night, consuming all their time and energy, leaving little room for creative endeavours. Not only is this another brain drain, but a heart and soul drain, the repercussions of which will be around much longer than the next four-year term of office.
The other kind of selling out -- the positive, refreshing, in-spite-of-the-icicle-on-the-dome variety -- is also happening, and it’s happening right here.
The Cochrane Valley Folk Club sold out its last two shows, bringing in close to 600 people to hear Celie Rain and J.P. Cormier; the Chinook Film Group finished off its inaugural fall series with a sold-out screening of “Being Julia,” as well as a jam-packed gala reception at Java Jamboree; the Nan Boothby library has been filled with poets, authors and appreciative audiences, and will be again with readings by Alistair MacLeod (Nov. 24) and Sheila Heti (Nov. 30); the Vision Players have sold out their last two shows, and will bring hundreds into the RanchHouse Theatre when they mount “A Bed Full of Foreigners” on the 25th of this month.
Keep in mind, though, that a sold-out show translates, at best, to a break-even venture.
Most often a capacity crowd does not come close to covering the cost of putting the event on. Hundreds of hours go into a single evening of the arts, but none of the organizations are making any money. Many of them rely on government support for their survival, regardless of how many tickets they sell.
The success stories I’ve mentioned here have everything to do with a flowing river of support by Cochranites, and little to do with the frozen icicle of support from our provincial government.
Artists selling out is no safeguard against artists selling out. Before we invite our MLAs back for another four years, why not call and remind them of the frozen icicle of funding hanging above their heads? Perhaps they’ll look up from their comfy, secure seats and thaw it out a little.



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