Feature ~ Blog

Picture the archetypal starving artist, standing with sign by the side of a road. Dealing out poems and paintings for a mere handout from passersby. Artists and prostitutes, we come from the same line of history, same neighborhoods: the fringes of society and economic underbellies.

This is an idea that is changing. I came through a last line of young artists, I believe, to crumble under the nag of societal pressures in choosing your profession. Or “hobby”, by some people’s standards. In my years of university the pressures of income were still very present, jokes about “real work” and drop-off rates quoted at you at every semester. There remained the ever-looming specter of poverty to look forward to as graduation came nearer and nearer.

Now I am not blindly idealistic. Stereotypes exist for a reason, and statistics sometimes equal fact (depending on how you read them). Many of my former classmates, myself included, struggle to maintain a sense of being an artist in the face of capital-driven frameworks and our own lack of gainful employment.

But I can testify that there is a changing voice among my peers, and it is one of empowerment and ownership. Increasingly I have heard questions on sustainability, economic value, and rightful compensation turn into affirmations. Return on investment. The role of Art in society. More and more these ideas have moved away from the philosophical, and onto tangible and measurable goals.

The next generation of arts administrators are those that know what they’re worth, and aren’t afraid to talk about it. I have met more feisty and capable young entrepreneurs in the last two years out of school then my four year career of academia. And by entrepreneurs, I mean artists. Artists with business sense. Amazing.

I feel this shift from helplessness to aggression grow in the conference halls, networking events and coffee-shop talks I circle in. We are angry. We are fed up. We are necessary, and we will no longer be told that ours is a life of sacrifice and despair. There is measurable worth in artist-driven projects, be they arts in education, community works, or exposure to outside cultural works. We are emerging artists, emerging onto a scene where infrastructures and investment ventures are adapting and listening to well-educated, articulate minds on the state of the Arts in Canada. And we can teach them a thing or two.

The next generation of arts administrators will be part of the discussion on economic interest in arts and culture. They recognize the importance of the Arts, and will defend its true market value.

Koby Rogers Hall is one of our newest EAP Committee members, representing Montreal. Koby is a young professional and artist. She is the founding Artistic Director of Mischief Theatre and currently works works as Assistant to the Programming Department at Place des Arts in Montreal.