Art, Culture and Climate Action

When the City of Cornwall sent out a call for public input into the Arts and Culture Survey, several people made comments on social media about solving more pressing problem before spending money on arts and culture. I get where they are coming from, especially if they happen to be struggling with housing and groceries.

Here’s how I see it. We are a town that is shifting from an industrial past of heavy, polluting industries to a new and different economy, one that is more service based, with lighter industry, supply chain management of goods and of tourism and creative endeavours. We are not alone. Ontario towns are all seeing that trend with many of the heavy industries having moved offshore.

To address that trend we are faced with preparing young people for a different economy as well as attracting new skills to the area.

When we look around us in our daily lives, whether we are aware of it or not, we see the skills and talent of creative people. That could be the design of a car, or a product, a building, food prep, a sign or a shop window. Creative people like artists, industrial and graphic designers, architects, landscape architects, writers or photographers have all had a hand in our daily life experience. In the past, beautiful churches, with murals and magnificent stained-glass windows, were created by artisans to raise our spirits and enrich our lives.

Many of those creative people grew up in towns like Cornwall but found that they had to move away to a large centre to find work and a creative outlet.

Now that we have shifted from being a factory town, our focus needs to change, to nurture and keep those creative people here as well as attract new ones that will play a role in our new economy. And to be clear, this is about the economy and our future.

We have the opportunity to present our town in a whole new way, with art and culture available in our community as a draw. Our role as citizens is to prepare a path for new people with new skills to be attracted to this city and we can do it because we are, in many ways, ahead of the curve in that transition to a new economy.

Our beautiful waterfront greenspaces and off-road bike paths are already attracting tourism. We can now provide opportunities for artists and creatives to build their careers by supporting the arts ecosystem that includes spaces like Cline House, the new Arts and Culture Centre and Aultsville Theatre. With strong policies we can create a beautiful, liveable community, free from traffic congestion and smog. At the same time, we can ensure our community is a role model for addressing climate goals and ensuring energy and food security. We can continue the pattern of building municipal infrastructure that is well designed, energy efficient and beautiful. Buildings in Cornwall such as the Aquatic Centre, the Benson Centre, the New Fire Hall, the Saunders Hydro Dam Visitor Centre and the Municipal Works buildings come to mind.

All these actions require creative and artistic people as well as support from the public. The Arts and Culture Survey and subsequent Strategy that will shine a light on our creative talent and potential, is now underway. This initiative represents a very small investment for the future of our overall economy, our community pride and our climate health, so let’s get behind this study to chart a new direction and bring our best game to the new future in Cornwall.

For more information, please respond to the Arts and Culture survey here: haveyoursaycornwall.ca and keep in touch