Lessons learned from Culture Montréal’s Colloquium on The Arts in a time of Economic Crisis

…enroute back to Ontario from Culture Montréal’s Colloquium on The Arts in a time of Economic Crisis: A joint initiative with HEC Montreal, this was an impressive gathering that drew together people like Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore, the Toronto Arts Council’s Claire Hopkinson, Antoni Cimolino from the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, UK based John Nicholls and a host of Quebec’s cultural leadership including Francois Colbert and Laurent Lapierre, all discussing the health of the cultural sector in today’s economy, and the implications for the future.

Centered around a study by HEC’s André Courchesne and Johanne Turbide about the effects of the economic crisis on earned income of cultural organizations in Quebec, the findings provide sector-wide validation of what most arts organizations have been observing for the past year: “a sizeable drop in private-sector revenues”, most pronounced for the largest organizations who count on larger corporate and foundation contributions.

Claire Hopkinson brought the Ontario perspective to the table. Based largely on anecdotal evidence, she spoke to the reality that earned and contributed revenues are fragile, particularly in the area of corporate and foundation giving and the box office. Most notable from the Ontario perspective was the nimbleness of cultural organizations to respond and adapt quickly, adjusting cost structures to avoid the prospect of difficult financial situations in the future. Much of this she attributed to the resilience developed in the difficult years of the late 1990s. Equally important, she noted, is the healthy balance of public, contributed and earned revenue -- in essence a call to maintain arts and culture funding at all levels of government.

It was heartening to see the level of Ontario engagement in the conversation at the Colloquium. Recognizing Ontario Culture Minister Aileen Carroll’s interest in the bilateral relationship with Quebec, The Arts Advocate Report, and others, mused about the possibility of seeing an Ontario-Quebec (perhaps multi-provincial) Colloquium next year, exploring how the cultural sector is faring one year hence . Perhaps more importantly though, the question might be focused on how the cultural sector is contributing to the economic recovery economists predict for late next year, and into 2011.

…more on this and HEC’s study in the next issue of The Arts Advocate Report.