ArtsLink NB, the Association des artistes acadiennes professionnel.le.s du Nouveau-Brunswick, and the Mawi’Art: Wabanaki Artist Collective are asking the provincial government to invest $12.5 million into the recovery of the arts and culture sector.
“This sector is the second greatest economic contributor to (New Brunswick’s) GDP,” ArtsLink NB executive director Julie Whitenect said in an interview on Friday. “It contributes more than forestry, automotive, manufacturing industries, which I think New Brunswickers would be surprised to hear.”
She feels a significant investment is long overdue.
“This is a group of workers that already saw 38 per cent lower incomes than the average worker.”
The Capitol Theatre in Moncton recently made the decision to postpone its landmark annual spring musical, which usually grosses around $300,000, until 2023.
For show director Marshall Button, who is also the theatre’s artist in residence, it’s been disappointing seeing so many artists leaving the industry.
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He feels the arts sector is at a particular disadvantage amid the COVID-19 pandemic because a large part of the appeal for audiences is the live experience.
“People come to shows, they’re eating in restaurants, they’re going out for drinks afterwards, they are contributing not just by buying tickets for shows,” he said on Friday.
Angela Campbell, executive director of Saint John’s Imperial Theatre, says it’s not just artists leaving for other jobs.
“Our technicians are feeling that we’re losing a lot of expertise in the industry, so it will take time to build that work sector back up again to where it was in pre-COVID times.”
She explained that the extensive planning involved in putting together live shows and tours meant that it would take a longer time for the arts sector to see a return to normal even after the pandemic.
For Button, it’s about more than the money.
“It’s important not just for the economic factor, but also for the soul of our community,” he said, explaining that many of the Capitol’s patrons have kept tickets for shows that have been postponed several times.
Campbell echoed that sentiment.
“As we’ve witnessed during COVID times, it was really the creation of art that got us through as we were all alone in our homes.”
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