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Monday, March 18, 2024

Nova Scotia arts organizations put out a post-pandemic call for action

Artists, arts organizations, and arts supporters are encouraged to contact their MLA to ensure arts and culture in Nova Scotia are part of the government's upcoming budget priorities.

As pandemic restrictions continue to ease in Nova Scotia, it is good news for our province’s arts community. However, as one of the hardest-hit parts of the economy during COVID, the same organizations still have a difficult road ahead in their recovery.

Enter the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council (CNSLC) and Arts Nova Scotia, which have called for action in advance of the 2022/23 provincial budget announcement.

The campaign is designed to gather support from artists across disciplines and Nova Scotians who love the arts. – Dr. Cat MacKeigan

Home Is Where the Art Is is an awareness and advocacy campaign emphasizing positivity and the important contribution Nova Scotia’s arts sector provides to our region,” says ​Dr. Cat MacKeigan, executive director of Theatre Nova Scotia.

That contribution was estimated by the Canadian government’s Culture Satellite Account at $989 million to Nova Scotia’s GDP in 2020, accounting for more than 14,000 jobs and employing more people than farming, fishing and forestry combined.

MacKeigan says that the campaign is launching now to ensure arts and culture in Nova Scotia are part of those budget priorities. “The campaign is designed to gather support from artists across disciplines and Nova Scotians who love the arts,” she says.

The initiative builds on A Roadmap for Recovery, a Nova Scotia Live Performance Recovery Coalition report that outlines the needs and provides a recovery roadmap for the live performance sector.

“Many arts organizations will take a few years to deal with the fallout of the last 24 months,” says Allegra Swanson, executive director of Music Nova Scotia. “A Roadmap for Recovery builds on the CNSLC and ArtsNS report by identifying strategic public investments that will make the sector better and stronger for the future of Nova Scotia.”

Swanson says the focus is on helping with immediate needs, recovery and building back better, “which includes new and sustained investment to make the sector better able to serve and reflect the diversity of our province while building and retaining talent.”

We have so much talent here across the province, and we want to make it possible for people to stay and know that home is where the art is. – Kelly Jerrott

The call to action encourages artists, arts organizations, and arts supporters to contact their MLA before the upcoming provincial budget announcement.

“Making art, whether it is film, music, craft, theatre, painting, or anything else is an act of hope, and we want to bring people together to support the arts and cultural industries in Nova Scotia,” says Kelly Jerrott, executive director of Craft Nova Scotia. “We have so much talent here across the province, and we want to make it possible for people to stay and know that home is where the art is.”

More information on both campaigns and information on you can add your voice can be found at nsarts.ca and nslive.ca.

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