By Dan White – Special to the Sydenham Current
This week I interviewed CK Arts Council’s new Executive Director, Eva Marie Clarke.
What is the purpose of an arts council?
I suppose a classic definition of an arts council would be – Arts councils promote the arts to enrich people’s lives, build careers, and connect communities. They also support the arts as a vital part of cultural identity, social well-being, and economic prosperity.
That’s a very good encapsulation of what the Chatham-Kent Arts Council strives to do. CKAC is a connector, we’re here for everyone, which is an important thing to remember in a region as far-flung as Chatham-Kent. The Chatham-Kent Arts Council does not represent any single art discipline, community, or constituency. We exist to bring them together, to unify the voice of the arts community.
CKAC exists to amplify the voice of the community and to advocate for it. We are here to ensure that decision-makers know about the value the arts add to the region from the business side and also the community and place-making side. Arts and culture is an incredible mechanism for revitalization and community-building. Investing in local arts and culture has a three-fold return… for every dollar invested, you get three back in return through economic impact (tourism, spin-off business, etc.).
Enrichment of lives – participating in live arts and culture improves mental health. Whether it’s taking in Courtney Wells and the Mojo Wailers at Jazzbah, Theatre Kent’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar, or hearing the Wallaceburg Concert Band, your mental health will get a boost. Movies fall under that – for example, Deep Southwest – culinary arts and even more.
Even more – our creativity, our visual art, moving images, words, music, and food define us, and that is incredibly important right now as people across the country embrace our innate “Canadianness.”
Note: There is a bit of confusion over the term “artist.” People tend to automatically think it means “visual artist” with palette and brush when the term really refers to “arts practitioner.” Under that term fall many.
What is your vision for CK Arts Council?
In the short term, to build financial and professional stability where we build upon the marquee programs already offered within the community. The CK Artist Studio Tour provides much of what is already referenced in the answer to the question about the purpose of an arts council – it’s community-building, it convenes artists and the general public in conversation, it provides a professional and economic outlet for local arts practitioners, and it highlights the community in general. The same with the CK Arts and Culture Heroes event.
We need to also build more partnerships in the community to build and deliver more programs and to secure sustainable funding for project/program and operational needs.
Medium term, build sustainable programs that further enrich the professional capacity of artists working in C-K. That can be workshops, symposia, gatherings.
Long term, building the organization into a funding body that can support the local community through grants for individual projects including travel, creation, and collaboration.
What do you see as the most pressing concerns for arts and artists in CK… and beyond?
The most pressing concerns are access. Access to funding and access to opportunity. This affects everyone in different ways. For Chatham-Kent, as a rural-urban community, it’s the perception of being overshadowed by larger centres such as London, Windsor, Hamilton… Toronto (everyone in Canada has the Toronto bias to some extent)… and that’s true to some extent. We have lent our voice to supporting the request that the provincial government increase funding to the Ontario Arts Council to $40 million and to ensure equitable access to funding and programming for rural and remote communities.
Having said that, it is also true that remote communities have to resort to creating their own solutions and cultural identities. While this is challenging, it often has stunning results. Resourcefulness, tenacity, and creativity are the things that have given Canada a unique national character and regional flavour. It’s unavoidable to some extent in such a vast country but also exciting.
What are the strengths of CK arts and artists?
The depth of talent, the passion, the joyful but practical way people carry their art forward and create. Writers, potters, visual artists, musicians.
Like any arts community, its passion, tenacity, and resourcefulness. The history of the region. The sense of community surrounding the arts – the community is excited about Deep Southwest, the Mary Webb Centre sells out their concerts, and people are delighted to find a treasure made by a local artisan at a market.
What do arts and artists bring to a community? Especially in these very challenging times?
Art unites and inspires communities – the duct tape blossoms during COVID certainly spring to mind. They were the first CK “public art” that I encountered when I arrived here during Christmas 2020 as a bit of a COVID refugee. Simple but incredibly impactful. They struck a chord with people throughout the community, and you can still see their “ghosts” on some walls as a reminder. I know they provided hope, and Mark Reinhardt, the artist, worked with the community for the quotes and words that accompanied them. It was a powerful example of a transitory piece that also worked to build community.
In other challenging times, artists, often at great risk, warn, lead protest, and change movement. The arts can also bring comfort and escape. They also serve to remind us of what is important to us as people, communities, or a nation.
To be simplistic, it’s no coincidence that the Golden Age of Hollywood came along in parallel with the Great Depression and World War II in North America.
Where do you see this organization in five years?
In five years, I would like this organization to be:
– A grant-making organization offering direct support to artists in CK.
– Delivering programs that bring artists and community together.
– A trusted partner and subject expert in Southwestern Ontario advocating for arts and culture.
– Part of creative solutions to community issues affecting Chatham-Kent.
