Dear Minister Ritcey We met at Teichert Gallery in Halifax last September at the opening of the Open Water exhibition. I was Chair of the exhibition and introduced you when you offered your remarks. I am, by any definition, a successful Nova Scotia artist. I do not rely on grants in my personal painting practice but I do rely on arts groups such as the Annapolis Regional Arts Council, the Nova Scotia Art Bank, the Chester Art Society and Teichert Gallery at the AGNS to show my work. All of these groups have reported these proposed cuts will result in reduced public programming, less staffing or other significant changes that will reduce how they help the public engage in art. The arts community is a vibrant community of engaged individual who support each other. Something that affects one of us, does truly affect all of us. One small example, If artists have to take on outside work to survive because of the cuts, then they have less time to volunteer. Artists are often very active volunteers in the tourism and culture activities this province is so known for. As Minister for Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage, I am sure you are aware of the value that the Arts and Culture industry provides to our province. Let me share a quote from a recent report in the Globe and Mail supports the value of artistic engagement in society: “Canada's arts and culture sector contributed $65 billion in direct GDP to the Canadian economy in 2024, growing faster and supporting more jobs per dollar than other key sectors like oil and gas, manufacturing or agriculture. These findings come from Artworks: The Economic and Social Dividends from Canada's Arts and Culture Sector, a new report conducted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce's Business Data Lab.“ (1) (I encourage you to read the full article)
Tourism is a huge business in Nova Scotia as you well know. People come here for our ocean playground, sure, but they also come for our music, art and heritage. They leave with books about here, paintings from here, singing songs they learned here. It is the rare tourist who comes here to see a shale gas plant or a gold mine. Artists are not just people who make pretty pictures, dance, write books or make music. We are the people who give voice to the parts of us that make us human. It is hard to quantify the value of artists because so much of what we do is about creating positive emotions, raising spirits and forging connections between people. How do you put a price tag on that? One cannot, because it is priceless work. We need the province's support in our work. I urge you to abandon these cuts to arts, culture, and heritage. The solution to the province’s fiscal health is in realizing our home grown potential in this sector. The arts industry is not extractive, and does not rely on foreign corporations (oil and gas, gold mining, for example) Restoring the existing funding to the arts industry is an investment that will pay off over the long term. I recognize your government is the one proposing these cuts, but I am asking you to oppose to them and advocate for their reversal. Sincerely Poppy Balser Digby Nova Scotia https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/markets-news/Newsfile/35764058/arts-and-culture-sector-contributes-131-billion-to-canada-s-economy/
I hope this week break from the Legislature has given our PC MLA’s the chance to hear from their constituents and reflect upon the impact of the proposed budget cuts.
Here is the letter I sent to the Minister of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage
#nspoli
#fundthearts
