In the last two “seasons” of this column, I have completed 35 interviews with artists and crafters, writers, musicians and performers as well as entrepreneurs and cultural leaders in the Carleton County NB area. It’s been fun and invigorating.
Artists are rarely without strong opinions and creative ideas. The viewpoints that have jumped out at me through these interviews are, first, the strong local support and enthusiasm for the arts, then, the promise of cultural tourism and, lastly, the importance of appropriate arts education opportunities at all levels in our public school system.
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| Some of the players and some of the work that are making the upper St. John River Valley a cultural hot spot: clockwise from top left, artist Judith Saunders, watercolourist RoyTibbits, quilting by Kookie Sewell, glass art (detail) by Alice Sahagian, carver and basket weaver James Buxton, Victoria Hutt of the Andrew & Laura McCain Art Gallery, Peter McLaughlin of the Second Wind Music Centre, unfinished acrylic painting (detail) by artist Ann Kittredge, pen and ink with watercolour (detail) by Jean Haywood, artist Suzan Carsley. |
“The art scene here in the valley
has exploded in just a few years.”
Gallery curator Victoria Hutt
Local audience support
The success of the last four Art in the Valley Studio Tours has been a direct result of a public that demonstratively appreciates art and craft ─ and is ready to support local artisans. On the music side, concerts at venues like the Celtic Fox Coffee House in Grafton attract sell-out audiences. The Carleton-Victoria Arts Council season has a large and established audience. There are many more examples.
Peter McLaughlin of Second Wind Music Centre explained that “We’re an area that’s had music and art programs in the schools for thirty years so an audience has developed and it’s less of an elitist thing. It’s all part of a cultural renaissance where we’re gaining value, gaining audience, and there’s tremendous potential here.”
One reason for the growth of audience has to be the Bugle-Observer newspaper (where this column first appeared) and its outstanding coverage and promotion of the arts generally as well as the way it highlights cultural events and activities in every issue.
Awareness builds audience.
Audience helps build the economy.
There are almost 30,000 residents in Carleton County. If each of us put just $100 a year towards the arts, let’s say $400 for a family of four spent on admissions or purchasing artwork or making tax-deductible donations, the impact on the local economy would amount to roughly $6 million. (There is a widely acknowledged multiplier effect for arts spending: it has a ripple effect that at least doubles its value.)
So even if you’re an opera buff maybe you should take in some rhythm and blues or if you’re an avid hockey fan, try going to a play some evening. If you’ve never set foot in one of the galleries in Bath, Hartland, Florenceville-Bristol or Grafton, please do so ─ and take the kids!. If you’re looking for a fine, reasonably-priced gift, show your support by purchasing something at McCain Gallery’s current Small Works Show or at the O’Toole Gallery. Most of these items are tax-free as well.
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| Map courtesy Google |
Cultural tourism
The Toronto-based Business for the Arts organization says that 1.25% of all tourism is attributable to the arts. Is that all? Well, six years ago in Canada that accounted for nearly $750 million in spending. But wait, “Induced benefits are estimated to be $7.2 billion based on the ‘multiplier effect’ of arts-related spending.” Now think about the millions of vehicles that speed through our region on the Trans-Canada Highway every year.
Speaking with Jaye Hargrove at the Bath Meeting House recently, she speculated that “a cultural heritage corridor stretching from Grand Falls to Woodstock is now possible ─ a 120-kilometer stretch along the river rich in heritage and cultural facilities.“ In the same session, Beth DeMerchant agreed that “there’s certainly potential for cultural tourism and we’ve got a gorgeous landscape for eco-tourism as well.”
The arts, heritage
and eco-tourism
marry very well.
Travelling along the east side of the St, John River on the Route 105 cultural corridor, we find numerous galleries, museums and other cultural facilities. There’s lots of interesting architecture along the way and Woodstock boasts two nationally-important heritage buildings as well as a rich heritage downtown with over 50 listings on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. Grand Falls is quite simply awesome and the various trails and by-ways along the 105 corridor offer nature lovers many wonders.
If I lived in Montreal or Québec City, by the time I got to Perth-Andover, let’s say, I would be tired and bored after 5 to 7 hours of travel. At that point, a scenic highway that ran right along the magnificent St. John River and promised heritage sites, culture, interesting small towns and unusual things to do would be attractive ─ and I might be induced to linger, maybe stay overnight. As artist Suzan Carsley, who used to live in Montreal, puts it: “There’s certainly potential for cultural tourism here but, of course, it needs promotion.” Maybe we should put up some signs!
Our region seems to be, against all odds, reawakening culturally and garnering attention as a arts oasis in a beautiful, quiet, often overlooked part of the Upper St. John River Valley. Newcomers are bringing their talent along with fresh perspectives and joining an established group of artisans, many of whom are being newly noticed not only by the local public but by people and organizations in other parts of the province as well.
The Saint John Telegraph-Journal columnist, Nancy Bauer, wrote glowingly of the area and her varied cultural experiences over one weekend last October. “I’ve waited 40 years to spend time in Carleton County and at last I have,” she wrote. “A close artistic community exists in the area.”
The New Brunswick Arts Board held its June board meeting at Connell House and hosted a grant writing workshop for local artists followed by a reception for “cultural stakeholders”. In a letter to the Woodstock town council, the organization’s executive director commented that “we were pleased to see so many strong advances in cultural infrastructure, festivals, events, etc” and concluded with a one-word summary: “Impressive!”
“Thirty million cars go by our town every year on the highway. Woodstock could capitalize on its historic downtown.”
“Thirty million cars go by our town every year on the highway. Woodstock could capitalize on its historic downtown.”
Amy Anderson, Deputy Mayor, Woodstock
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| Heritage properties, from left to right, Judge Carleton House (Lower Woodstock), Connell House Museum (Woodstock), Bath Meeting House and Gallery 262 (Bath). |
Arts education
Not too long ago, PBS online quoted Dr. Kerry Freedman, Head of Art and Design Education at Northern Illinois University, as saying that “children need to know more about the world than just what they can learn through text and numbers. Art education teaches students how to interpret, criticize and use visual information ─ and how to make choices based on it.”
Certainly the New Brunswick Department of Education does talk the talk. According to a 1995 document entitled “Visual Arts Curriculum Outcomes”, students in grades 3 to 5 are expected to "demonstrate self-confidence and eagerness toward their art
production, expression and discussion... identify art elements in the natural and manufactured world... describe how people may have different responses to an art work." That sounds good.
In the schools, “arts activities enable students to learn and express themselves in ways not possible in other subjects,” notes the Atlantic Canada Arts Education Curriculum to which the department also subscribes. Their document describing desired outcomes of a good arts education in elementary school suggests that “by the end of grade 3, students will be expected to
- suggest reasons for preferences in art works, apply simple criteria to identify main ideas in original art work of others…
- recognize that the elements of design can be organized according to the principles of design
- explain how they make decisions during the art-making process
- recognize that people can respond emotionally to what they see.”
Many elementary (and middle school) teachers say, sadly, that this is certainly not happening in their classrooms. That has left not-for-profit organizations like the McCain Gallery to expand their outreach programs to help fill the gaps in arts education in local schools. There is, of course, an expense involved for the organization.
We should expect more of our public schools.
Peter McLaughlin, recently retired, said, “When I started teaching [music], my first supervisor told me that he wanted a school band program and gave me carte blanche. Our middle school students practiced four times a week and we had great bands. But it was a different system then and that would never happen now.” Oh-oh.
Peter McLaughlin, recently retired, said, “When I started teaching [music], my first supervisor told me that he wanted a school band program and gave me carte blanche. Our middle school students practiced four times a week and we had great bands. But it was a different system then and that would never happen now.” Oh-oh.
With several new, larger K-8 comprehensive schools being opened in the area, there is an opportunity to hire art and music teachers who could, if necessary, do double duty at more than one school. This would ensure that the arts aren’t side-lined (offered only as an optional 20-minute session at lunchtime, for instance) or incorporated into other studies (often the current practice) where the arts again gets short shrift because it is rarely seen as a priority. It is up to parents to insist upon more opportunities for their children.
Nevertheless, there is a somewhat positive aspect to all this according to the afore-mentioned Business for the Arts: “With the decline of arts education in schools, there is a greater demand for cultural activities in the community.”
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| “The paint was flying,” says Art Club organizer Bryanne Thomas of the McCain Art Gallery, shown here at far left along with Centreville Community School teacher Shannon Pearson and visiting artist Jody Coughlin. |
Nevertheless, there is a somewhat positive aspect to all this according to the afore-mentioned Business for the Arts: “With the decline of arts education in schools, there is a greater demand for cultural activities in the community.”
Which leads us to what we might be seeing next year in our area. More theatre due to the expanded auditorium at Woodstock High School? A new downtown art gallery? A music festival in local churches? How about a film fest? The support is here and the audience is growing.
When the 2013 series of these interviews began, the O’Toole Gallery was being re-imagined as an artists’ cooperative, the Bath Meeting House had just opened, the McCain Gallery was 30 years strong and the Dooryard Arts Festival was on its way to becoming a major cultural force in this area.
Much has changed since then ─ and changed for the better ─ although in less than two years it may seem hard to believe. There’s new studio space for artists in Florenceville-Bristol, the Second Wind Music Centre is offering lessons and workshops, Paint the Heartland and Unicorn festival weekends get stronger, the Centre for Culture and Creativity has found a new home in Grafton and now Woodstock has its own publishing house dedicated to local authors. All good signals of a cultural renaissance.
This is the last column for this second season of Arts Q&A.
See you again next year!
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