Thursday, January 27, 2011

Health of the Arts

The National Arts Index was released this week. And the news isn't good. The index for 2009 is the lowest in the 12 years of collecting this data. The declines in attendance of visual and performance arts continue, and equally troubling, is a marked decline in commercial arts including Broadway shows, movies and more. See the link for full details.

It's in this context that it's exciting to see the resilience and perseverance of artists. The newspaper headlines have recently been filled with traditional performing arts creating innovative work and collaborating in new and dynamic ways: the English National Opera hires film director Mike Figgis, Calgary Opera premieres The Inventor this week - a new Canadian work, Alberta Ballet creates works based on the music of Elton John and Sarah McLachlan, NAC English Theatre remounts a national Acting Company, England's National Theatre and Russia's Bolshoi Ballet partner with Cineplex to broadcast their productions in HD.

This is an exciting time to work in the arts - the level of creativity and collaboration have never been higher. Will attendance support this level of innovation and accessibility? I've got my tickets. I hope you do too.