Arts and Culture

Governments and businesses must be enthusiastic supporters and promoters of arts and culture in our community. But City Council must be responsible with financial support, providing sustainable infrastructure and funding while requiring solid and sustainable plans from arts and culture organizations asking for our support.

A thriving and prosperous community requires that we have a safe place to live and work that can pay the bills. But it also means that we have a community where there are always exciting and diverse things to do, from events that expand our experience and art that can change how we think about our world to those that let us relax and enjoy our time with our friends and family.

The Prosperity Council has highlighted how important it is to businesses in the community to have a vibrant arts and culture sector, as it is critical in attracting top talent into Waterloo Region. It is also critical to retaining some of the creative young minds that go through our universities each year, providing them a welcoming place where they can pursue their new ideas and create jobs here in our community.

For the diverse range of arts and culture organizations in the city and Region to thrive, governments and businesses must be enthusiastic supporters and promoters of all that is available in our community and the infrastructure that supports them. However, governments also must be practical and wise when it comes to how they spend our money.

I believe that City Hall should not hand over large amounts of money to arts and culture organizations without requiring that those organizations have a strong and sustainable plan for the future. I also believe that Council should encourage organizations to work together on day-to-day functions in ways that make each of them stronger, allowing artists to focus more of their time on their craft while spending our money more effectively.