Jul. 05, 2011 - Issue #820: Bestest of Edmonton
Vuepoint
The value of the arts
It's hard to take a news piece seriously when it starts with the slang term "Deadmonton." But that is only the beginning of the offensive statements made in a recent Sun TV piece on Edmonton's investment in an artist's residence, comparing Edmonton's murder rate to funding for "free" artist housing, something the hosts of "Straight Talk" find appalling.
While "Straight Talk" is an editorial program and so is granted some—coincidentally—artistic license, there is generally an attempt to refer to fact in opinion-generated media. Facts such as this one: arts and culture contributed $85 billion (or 7.4 percent) of Canada's GDP in 2007. That's a fact.
Another interesting fact is that the housing isn't actually free. Artists can't just drop their banjos, leave their street corners, walk up into a loft and claim it as their own. Arts Habitat is subsidized housing. Artists have to prove their income is below $29 797 a year and qualify as a professional artist—someone with specialized training and who can articulate their long and short-term goals as an artist, among other defined qualifications. Then the artist pays $2000 in membership fees, similar to a co-op system of living, after which they will pay monthly rent at a rate of $775. That's a fact.
What's more interesting than the failure of "Straight Talk" to report facts is that in its fervour to say that the city is doing nothing about the increase in murder rate, the program failed completely to point out the things that Edmontonians are doing. The last five years have seen creative and grassroots solutions come out of the 118 Avenue neighbourhood, resulting in residents shedding feelings of insecurity and standing up against violence and decay.
The Alberta Avenue initiative has encouraged the development and investment in local businesses such as the Carrot and the grassroots community group CRUD, Community Response to Urban Disorder. In fact, the grassroots organization of Edmontonians along Alberta Avenue is being used as a model for redevelopment in neighbourhoods across the city—including encouraging the development of accessible artist spaces and hubs.
Of course, Edmonton has a long way to go in becoming inclusive, safe and the creative haven many of us hope that it will one day be, but it is a start on a long journey to creating the city we all deserve. And to get there, we'll need a little investment in the creative Edmontonians who make our city worth living in. We call them artists. V
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