Mark and I went to the live recording of Q here in Calgary last night. It was a bit of a gong show getting there. We decided Mark would wait in line to get a seat, and I would get marcel, make dinner and take marcel to mark's dads. It sounded fine till we realized there was a huge concert downtown so it took forever to get home, then I had to take the train to get back into town. With running and panicking I only just made it. On Mark's side, here he was the first in line, and then he finds out at the last minute the CBC was giving out tickets, so even though I called them yesterday, they weren't giving them yet, and told us just to wait in line. So tones of people on the list just started going in front of Mark, and he went in last....but in the end everything was fine and we got a good place to sit.
And what fun. The bands were great and its was so nice to see them so close up. There were funny moments where the CEO of the Epcore center pretty much came-on to Jian, and another guy was talking about burning his piano on a mountain. If you listen at 2:00 today you'll hear the whole show. It'll also be on a podcast.
After I got to thank Jian for his show and told him I told you all about it, and how great I think his show is. He was very gracious and kind considering he was probably pooped! I also got a pic!
OK, that was just too much fun! And this morning I wrote a letter to the CBC...maybe they'll read it on air. If not, here it is for posterity...any response to my thoughts on the Calgary arts scene - am I being too harsh???
Thanks so much for your live recording of the show last night in Calgary. My husband and I had a great time watching you all do your work and meeting you after. It looked like a fun, tense, and exciting hour and a half for everyone involved. Judging by the energy you all put out for the show, just be careful you all don't keel over from exhaustion.
My husband was the first in line at 5:30 and made lots of friends during the wait. I just made it in time after working, then making dinner and driving the kid to his Grandpa's. What an evening!
OK, so about the show. The local people you interviewed were talking about how great the Calgary arts scene is. I agree to an extent, but I think they were holding back. What they weren't saying is that the reason the Calgary Arts scene is so tight and supportive is because they have to be in opposition to the rest of the city. Funding is one issue, but I think there is more to it. There is a good group of people in Calgary doing all they can to "support" the arts, by buying season tickets to the CPO, or theater calgary. But even full houses at every concert is not a rich arts and culture scene. I live in a suburb of Calgary called Rundle that has a large population of immigrants. Where are the drums on the street? Where are the latin dances in the community halls? Where are the swing dances? the live music? the art shows? the jazz festivals in the community parks? We have the people, the skill, and definitely the money....sadly, we don't seem to have the spirit. Calgary has a long way to go to rival other major arts centers in Canada. I hope that the challenge is taken up, and we really make the sacrifices and effort needed to make Arts not just a season ticket, but a way of life.
2 comments:
I agree with your point-of-view on the Calgary arts scene: Once you get out of the downtown core (and a few other isolated districts towards the centre of the city) the arts/culture virtually disappear from the public sphere and all you find is bland suburbia (with the exception of the Arbour Lake Sghool.) In that sense the arts are 'ghetto-ized' in Calgary. There are talented, creative people here but it's tough when you feel so isolated and that people don't care about the arts (with little funding) - hence why alot of creative people leave Calgary. Speaking of visual arts; it doesn't help when Calgary lacks a major art museum that could hold a prestigeous of collection of historical art and host major international, contemporary exhibtions. The small galleries in the city are good, but they really can't attract the high-profile shows (and the Glenbow primarily holds historical artifacts.)
I just had to comment ... :)
Angie, thanks for a fun story and a great letter! Bringing the arts into the open and making them part of our daily lives would be so incredibly enriching.
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