Good morning.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak about cultural hubs and cultural districts in Canada.
The Canadian Arts Coalition is a collaborative, non-partisan movement spearheaded by a group of national arts service and membership organizations. Collectively, we represent thousands of artists and hundreds of arts organizations across the country.
Today we'd like to highlight the need for affordable housing for artists in cultural districts, the need for greater coordination between the federal government and the provinces on cultural infrastructure, and the need for specific funding for the maintenance of cultural spaces both old and new.
Last year the Canadian Arts Coalition was reassured to see its Arts Day recommendation about the Canada cultural spaces fund included in budget 2017. As you know, the cultural spaces fund is an ideal mechanism for helping arts organizations renovate older infrastructure and initiate feasibility studies for new buildings. In addition, the coalition was pleased to see the allocation of $1.3 billion in dedicated funding to cultural and recreational infrastructure as part of the investing in Canada plan.
First, I would like to talk to you about the value of cultural districts in creative cities. Artists work in precarious conditions and are poorly remunerated, even at the peak of their careers. Canadian artists and cultural workers have much higher levels of formal education than the overall labour force, yet their average income is 32% lower than other workers. Artists are also much more likely to be self-employed and to hold multiple jobs. Economic challenges are particularly significant for retiring artists, most of whom have been unable to save any money for retirement.
In spite of these economic challenges, artists are broadly acknowledged as catalysts of revitalization and of place-making. The advocacy body Americans for the Arts argues that cultural districts help “strengthen local economies, create an enhanced sense of place, and deepen local cultural capacity”. Indeed, a three-year study conducted by the Knight Foundation and Gallup found that aesthetics and social offerings, which include vibrant nightlife, places to meet people, and arts and cultural opportunities, were among the strongest predictors of a feeling of attachment to one's community. Similarly, Canadian studies conducted by the Canadian Arts Presenting Association and Community Foundations of Canada found that cultural spaces and programming contribute to a sense of pride and a sense of belonging in the local community.
When artists establish in a neighbourhood, they contribute to its vibrancy and attractiveness, but this beautiful story is often short-lived. Soon local businesses start to flourish, new businesses come in, land value increases, and artists are then driven out of the area because of skyrocketing property value, municipal taxes, and rent. This gentrification story is all too common in urban centres, but well-planned, multi-function cultural districts could resist gentrification and sustain the pivotal role of artists in the creative city.
In response to these issues, a few affordable housing projects for active or for retired artists have been built in the last decade. Performing Arts Lodge in Vancouver, Performing Arts Lodge and Artscape Triangle Lofts in Toronto, the coopérative d'habitation Lezarts and the coopérative d'habitation Cercle Carré in Montreal, and projet Sherpa in Quebec are among them.
These cities are recognizing the leading role that culture must continue to play in the development of downtown by supporting these housing projects. Affordable housing for artists, however, still only exists in large urban centres, and the number of available units remains insufficient compared to the demand. Certain projects combine housing as well as studio, rehearsal, and performance spaces, providing artists with affordable living and working conditions.
The Canadian Arts Coalition recommends the construction of more affordable housing, including mixed live-work infrastructure for Canadian artists in order to create more sustainable and vital cultural districts.
Next, I would like to ask Kate Cornell to speak on the importance of multiple levels of funding for cultural hub projects.