Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Public Works and Services today. I’d like to address a question of how we can support our arts community across the Northwest Territories and in particular through a display of art in our GNWT infrastructure. In every community this government has buildings that are frequented by our public and by visitors. It’s a real opportunity to display art and add some benefits both to the economic side and to the identification of the Northwest Territories. I’d like to start by asking the Minister whether or not we have a policy that promotes the display of our NWT artisans’ work in GNWT buildings across the NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister responsible for Public Works and Services, Mr. Glen Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t actually know if we have a specific policy about local artists’ art on walls in public spaces within our government buildings, but I will check with the department to find out if we have anything.
I appreciate the Minister’s commitment there. To some degree I think, I don’t know, the Minister doesn’t know. I don’t know that anybody in the House knows. That’s a reflection of the situation. I think we owe it to our people, our artists, to be on top of that and get a policy in place. Would this Minister commit to, if we don’t have a policy that he can share with us, if he would commit to looking into this and getting a policy in place?
It’s an intriguing idea and it might be a great opportunity for Public Works and Services and ECE and ITI to get together to figure out how we can get local artists’ products on walls. As long as we’re not talking about consuming floor space, obviously, which is incredibly expensive, but as long as it’s walls in public parts of buildings, it’s certainly something that we should be pursuing and I’m happy to take that forward and discuss it with my ministerial colleagues to figure out exactly how we can try to make something like that happen.
Again, thanks to the Minister for that commitment. I assure him I am not asking to put big holes in walls or anything like that or take up valuable government space. To a large degree we do have artwork here and there on our walls but not necessarily NWT artwork. Hopefully the majority is. To actually display local artists would be a real service and in line with government philosophy. I like the idea of the Minister working with other ministers appropriately. I wonder if he could also maybe work with artisans across the NWT and get some input there. I’m not suggesting he travel to every community or anything like that, but I think our artists typically have some really good and creative ideas. Would he be willing to expand that consultation a little bit, putting this policy together should we need it?
I think what we’re talking about is utilizing existing wall space in the public areas of buildings where we might have an opportunity to hang product from northern artists. I will work with my colleagues and we will have conversations with some of the local artist organizations in the Northwest Territories to get their input on how to best facilitate the placement of their art, artists from the Northwest Territories, in public areas of our government buildings.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, thanks to the Minister. I’m already getting suggestions from my colleagues here and one suggestion is airports. I know some municipalities take advantage of that. I know the GNWT does here and there. That might be a place to also include. When it does come down to it, without putting holes in the wall or anything, where there happens to be vacant space I see nothing wrong with making space available to artists for the display of performances and so on. Perhaps the Minister could include that in his consideration.
Agreed.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Item 9, written questions. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 6 on the Order Paper.
---Unanimous consent granted
You may proceed, Ms. Bisaro.
