Creative Calgary

The arts are important contributors to making a living and making a life in Calgary. Currently, Calgary’s grants to artists and arts organizations are the lowest among comparable cities in Canada. We lag behind Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. Arts organizations fuel Calgary’s creative sector and deliver returns for business. $1 invested in the arts returns $1.9 directly and $2.6 when you consider tourism benefits (Business for the Arts Report, McKinsey & Company, 2008). In Calgary, creative industries employ over 50,000 of our citizens and each year over 4,000 students graduate from the city’s four major schools with creative industries-related degrees and diplomas (Calgary Economic Development, 2016). In a recent interview, Todd Hirsch, ATB's Chief Economist, explained why it is important for our city to position Calgary arts organizations to lead nationally: "I would argue as an economist that Calgary is now vying for the best and brightest talent - to choose the city for their start-up. We have to give people a heartfelt reason to come or to stay." (Building a Creative City, Avenue Magazine, September 2017) The time is ripe for the City to make a game-changing investment in the arts. Calgary's corporate sector is under strain and can no longer be expected to make up for the municipal arts organization funding gap. 43% of non-profit organizations in Calgary saw a decrease in donations from corporations in 2016 (2016 Alberta Nonprofit Survey, Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations). A modest annual investment equivalent to 0.7% of the City's budget will allow Calgary to position itself as a leader nationally. We are asking candidates in the 2017 municipal election to pledge to work with their fellow City Councillors and community organizations such as Creative Calgary towards achieving this target. We need to act to ensure our arts organizations not only weather the downturn, but are positioned to lead nationally and generate the local jobs needed to retain and attract artistic talent. For more information about Creative Calgary visit http://www.creativecalgary.org or and to take the 2017 campaign pledge email contact@creativecalgary.org.