Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s time to take the next formal step in the development of our arts industry and culture through the creation of a professional fine arts school. As the Economic Opportunities Strategy report pointed out, people want increased government emphasis on the arts. The sector is broad-based, including literally thousands of producers in the NWT. It gives back huge multipliers in spending and employment, far higher than, for example, the oil and gas industry. People, and especially youth, prosper more fully in all realms of life when they receive arts training. It makes better citizens.
Despite realization of the need to support the arts industry, our efforts to date have been piecemeal and unfocused. A fine arts school would establish the locus of artist excellence in the NWT. With major reductions in federal support for the arts, there is both a need and an opportunity to step in to fill this gap.
I’m talking about the creation of a formal, independent fine arts school, professionally run and affiliated with one of the major southern fine arts institutions such as Emily Carr School of Fine Arts or the Ontario College of Art and Design. It would need a residential capacity for students from communities attending courses and to house instructors from elsewhere. It could start as a summer school, progressively building programming and faculty.
We currently have a surge of vacant space coming forward in Yellowknife now with the Bellanca Building and the Department of Transportation and other government offices being vacated as they move to their new building downtown. Much of this space is in Weledeh, an ideal location for an institution.
We have an opportunity now to take action. Our first step would be carrying out a feasibility and marketing study. I’ll be pushing for that in our next round of business planning. We need to look at this not as a new cost to pay but as a new revenue to reap.
An arts school, no less than a trades school or college, is a factory for economic production and an incubator for new taxpayers. By pulling together and focusing our efforts, untapped artists across the territory would have access to professional development support, a place of excellence and inspiration.
Our artists are ready, willing and waiting. Mr. Speaker, I’ll be looking for Members’ support in carrying this board and getting this done. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
