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Annual Mayors Luncheon For The Arts

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Good afternoon Mayor Bowman, ladies and gentlemen, fellow artists, and arts supporters. It 's a pleasure to be here with you this afternoon at the annual Mayors Luncheon for the Arts - chance for us to celebrate the accomplishments of the arts community over the past year, and while we have the mayors attention talk about the importance of arts and culture to the well-being of the community.

In a city that 's rich in ethnic diversity, has deep ties to it’s past and its roots, that embraces a wide range of artistic practice, and is looking for ways to support and nurture young and emerging artists in the community, who better to speak you today than me - a past-middle-aged white guy from Vancouver who 's working in an art form which hasn 't fundamentally changed in the last 2500 years.

Mayor Bowman, You’ve had quite the first year. There are must be a lot of interests competing for your support, so we all appreciate that you’re here, and we appreciate your stance on funding the Winnipeg Arts Council; moving to raise funding levels up from $5 per capita to seven dollars per capita. It 's a good start. And while it doesn’t get us close to the 19 dollars per capita of Toronto, or $42 in Calgary or 55 in Montreal, the 30 in Saskatoon or even the 47 in Vancouver, that city that I left, if you add another two dollars and 44 cents to that 7, we will be on par with that other Canadian city well known for it’s arts scene, Missassuaga. But, we are moving forward.

… I’m just
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