Ottawa's arts scene is sizzling; New report gives culture in capital 4-out-of-5 ranking

Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Page A1/Front

By Patrick Dare

Posted with permission from the Ottawa Citizen.

Ottawa has earned nearly top marks for its support of arts and culture in an annual report that measures quality of life in the city.

 

According to this year's Vital Signs report from the Community Foundation of Ottawa, released today, there are more Ottawans employed in cultural enterprises, spending on arts and culture is up, as is attendance at concerts, and there are a lot of cultural activities happening in the city.

 

The gains were enough to earn the city a score of four out of five for its arts and culture scene, an improvement over last year's score of three out five.

 

The assessment is based on the views of 150 community volunteers who did the grading and also draws on the latest statistics available from a variety of sources, including Statistics Canada.

 

But arts community leaders say it's not yet time to pop the champagne, although the last year has been one of progress for a city that has been severely criticized for its weak support of artists, musicians and actors.

 

"It shows that we have a community that's engaged," said Peter Honeywell, executive director of the Council for the Arts in Ottawa. "People are spending more and going out."

 

But he cautioned that many of the cultural jobs in Ottawa are tied to the federal government through institutions such as the National Arts Centre, Library and Archives Canada, and national museums, as well as the Canada Council and the Department of Canadian Heritage.

 

Mr. Honeywell said it's great that the City of Ottawa committed $1.5 million in increased funding for festivals and the arts this year, with funding increasing to $2.5 million within four years.

 

Still, he noted, Ottawa has a long way to go. The city ranked last in arts and festival funding among Canada's seven largest cities in 2005, with support of $3.64 per capita for the year.

 

Julian Armour, a classical musician and former executive director of Ottawa's highly successful Chamber Music Festival, said Ottawa residents are accustomed to generous treatment by the cultural arms of the federal government, including free concerts.

 

They expect that if something is really good, the government will support it, he said.

 

But the reality for arts organizations is that the base of private business support is very narrow, he said.

 

"With Ottawa there's still a big, big challenge. There's still a long way to go," said Mr. Armour. "It's a constant struggle for financial support."

 

He welcomes the new funding from the city and said encouraging the arts scene in Ottawa will help "bring swagger to the city," one of Mayor Larry O'Brien's favourite themes.

 

"To have a great city, Ottawa has to have a great arts scene," said Mr. Armour.

 

The increased city funding, and developments such as the new Great Canadian Theatre Company and the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orléans, which is now being built, are viewed as signs that Ottawa is moving forward.

 

But Barbara McInnes, president of the Community Foundation of Ottawa, said Ottawa still has trouble supporting its own playwrights, actors and artists. She said they struggle here, then show up at places such as Stratford.

 

Ms. McInnes said it's important that Ottawa has a good arts scene if it wants to attract individuals and companies to help drive economic growth.

 

Ottawa turned an important leaf in 2003 when the city adopted a new arts plan that acknowledged the arts, not as a frill but as "an important underpinning" of a healthy city, said Nicole Zuger, program manager of arts development at the city.

 

She said the increased city funding will help arts organizations get money from the provincial and federal governments.

 

But even if that happens, Ottawa will still be only in the middle of the pack among Canada's big cities. A report by Hill Strategies found that in 2001, there were an estimated 4,395 artists, musicians and actors working in Ottawa. The average income that year among these artistic workers in Ottawa was $29,700.

 

"It's very hard for artists to make a living in Ottawa," said Ms. Zuger.

 

The Vital Signs report found that in 2006, 12,800 Ottawans were working in cultural jobs, compared with 7,100 in 1987. Today, cultural workers represent 2.65 per cent of the city's workforce, above the provincial average of 2.2 per cent.

 

In 2005, the average annual household spending on arts and culture in the city was $1,244. The Canadian average was $900.

 

Fifty per cent of Ottawa residents attended concerts in 2005, a figure that exceeded the concert attendance in Montreal (46 per cent), Toronto (45 per cent) and Calgary (43 per cent). Victoria had a slightly better concert-going record with 51 per cent. The national concert-attendance figure was 44 per cent.

 

The report also notes that the number of cultural activities listed in the Citizen on July 7 of this year reached 168. The count included literary events, art shows, museum exhibitions, dance, theatre and music performances. The count in the previous year was 131.

 

The full Vital Signs report is being released today and will look at other indicators of quality of life such as health care, the environment, housing and safety.