Comments on: We are not a creative city! (Part 3)

By: Tony Martins

Tony Martins — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 17:05:47 +0000

Ryan begins and concludes this debate with the question: “how do we move from theory to action?”

The answer: by acting.

Producing, creating, collaborating, making stuff happens. It’s the ONLY WAY to affect change.

If Ottawa is not a creative city, it’s only because there are not enough people being creative.

Personally I think there are a lot more people being creative now than there was 10 years ago when I moved here, but if you could measure artistic/cultural action per day per capita, I bet we’d still be on the low end of the scale versus other cities.

The only way to make any place more of a cultural place is for the people concerned with culture to work like crazy and produce eye-popping content. When governing and administering continues to be the occupation/predilection of a huge number of people in Ottawa … the challenge is considerable!

By: Luc Lalande

Luc Lalande — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 15:15:38 +0000

Hi Ryan, thank you for introducing the role of the “cultural practitioner” to this debate. It is a role that I myself can identify with. From the perspective of the “system” of local cultural organizations, I am definitely an “outsider” in that I am not directly employed in this sector nor am I professional artist or other “occupation” considered to be core to the arts/culture sector in our community. I believe that the idea of cultural practitioner is a compelling one. It opens up the potential for those “outside of the system” to participate in the very things you describe in your post about civic engagement and the the value of the arts. In my case, the opportunity to support the Pecha Kucha Ottawa events is a tangible expression of what a cultural practitioner can do. It is not something that comes out of planning documents or committees from within the system but rather it is borne out by individual passion to make a difference. It’s messy as you say, but I do believe that the (unexpected) cultural practitioners do play a vital role in connecting arts and community outside of the “system”.

By: Remco Volmer

Remco Volmer — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 17:20:43 +0000

A very thoughtful and important discussion so far, with many offshoots to explore further. Plans and policies rarely breed passion. What they can do is fertilize the soil, create favourable conditions for growth. But ultimately, the most vital expressions in the city originate from a sense of urgency from the makers: Kitchen Party, TimeKode, House of Paint, Arboretum, Petite Mort Gallery are all driven by the conviction that this needs to happen. It’s the “exceptions, exclusions, incongruities and contradictions” that provide character to a city.