Nuit Blanche 2018 picks

by Phil RickabyCulture, nuit blanche, wordsPosted on No Comments

As I write this, tonight is Nuit Blanche. Normally, I have posted my picks for what I think might be the must see installations at least a week before, but this week got away from me. 

A couple of things before I begin. First: I really miss the paper program. I used to go and pick up the paper program as soon as it was released a few weeks before the event, and I would read it, and then read it again. I took my time with it. While I agree that we need to reduce paper, the website just isn’t the same for me. I don’t spend as much time with it, and and so I find it a little difficult to get as detailed as I used to with it. Second: let’s face it, I’m not going to Scarborough on my Nuit Blanche adventure, so I’m not really going to be looking at those installations. While I understand why Nuit Blanche was split in this way, I don’t think it was a good idea. Splitting up the event into sections so far apart that there’s no way to walk between them is a terrible idea. So I won’t be including any of the Scarborough installations in my picks. 

Some things that you probably won’t find on my list: video installations and photo installations. I’m usually very disappointed by these. Too often, the “installation” is just photos on a wall, or a projector showing a video on a wall. I like installations that transform space and make me see a familiar location in a new light. Going to a building and just seeing a projection on a wall just doesn’t do that for me.

As always, there’s no way to know, until the night of, what any of these will be like, which will be stunning and which will disappoint. These are some that I think might be interesting. What are you looking forward to?

International Dumpling Festival, 2018

If you know me at all, you know I love me some dumplings, so you have to know that this installation speaks to me (and my tastebuds) on a profound level. I don’t know how this one will look, or if it will be visually stunning. But, really, if I get to eat some dumplings, I think I’m going to be happy with this one.

Radical Histories, 2012–2018

Radical Histories sounds like it could be interesting. A shroud covering the roof edge of city hall.  If it is anything like the picture on the NBTO page, then it could be visually stunning. But there’s also the chance that this might be one of those ones that leaves me saying “that’s all?” when I finally see it. Only tonight will tell.

Make Your Mark, 2018

Can we talk about this one for a second? Using glue, the artist has taken a little cast of a number of the tips of people’s fingers. You know, like we used to do in grade school, but on a massive scale. Is it just me, or does this sound a little gross? I’ll go see it for sure, but there’s something about it that isn’t speaking to me.

Continuum: Pushing Towards the Light, 2018

This one is definitely on my list. The new bridge between The Bay and The Eaton Centre has been a favourite on instagram and for photographers since it was installed, and I cant wait to see it transformed by dancers, and circus and light.

Do Angels Exist, 2018

This one has a heart-rending origin story, but sounds like it will be both moving and visually stunning. As a kinetic sculpture of moving luminescent images, this one is likely to be memorable. And as it is inspired by the loss of the artists mother and and exploring grief and loss, this one could also be quite moving as well.

Passage

I have been impressed in the past with some of the installations at the Bata Shoe Museum, and this one sounds like it could be one of those transformative installations. This one transforms an alley into a passage full of light and motion. Sounds like one to see.

Why on earth would you decline your ballot?

by Phil RickabyCommunity, CulturePosted on No Comments

Lately, I’ve been seeing lots of posts on Facebook and Twitter giving instructions on how Ontario voters can decline their ballot on election day. There are articles, and even a website extolling the virtues of declining your ballot on election day.

Perhaps I’m overly skeptical, but I’ve been wondering who is benefitting from this campaign? While it is your right to decline your ballot, I wonder about who is behind this push. Why? Because I think its worth thinking about. Who benefits if you decline your vote? How will politicians react to an increase in the number of declined votes? They won’t. They will, in the end, do what politicians do, and play to those who voted for them. They will make choices based on the demographic that votes for them, or that votes at all. And declining your ballot is not voting.

So I wonder to myself, who benefits if people decline their ballot? My skeptical brain thinks its the Tim Hudak and his conservatives. But it doesn’t matter. I tried to do some digging and find out who the website declineyourvote.ca was registered to. But that information isn’t available. Even the about section on the website doesn’t state who is behind it. So that makes me suspect that one of the parties is behind it. Since I don’t like Tim and his cronies, my brain makes me think its him. But let’s be honest, it could also be the Ontario Liberals or even the NDP. I can think of reasons why they would all benefit.

Think of it like this: Declining your vote will not prevent that politician you hate from being elected. Since it takes your vote out of the equation, it may in fact make it more likely that this politician will find themselves in power. Because you didn’t vote. Because declining your vote isn’t the same as voting.

So, do your civic duty. Take part in the election. And choose a candidate. Because that’s what voting is.

Building An Arts Community

by Phil RickabyCommunity, Culture, The Biz, TheatrePosted on One Comment

At the beginning of the year, I talked about wanting to start a creative support group. I said:

“I’d like to propose a regular get-together of creative people. Coffee (or beer, for those who drink it) at some place where we can sit and talk about theatre, or writing (or whatever), in the hopes that I can keep the creative juices flowing — and hopefully so can the other folks participating.”

A few people got in touch, so we created a Facebook group and started meeting up. We’ve had a couple of gatherings so far. Essentially, it’s a group of creatively inclined people getting together to talk about what they’re working on, share encouragement, and connect with others who make things.

Last night, we happened to discuss yesterday’s blog post, and the conversation turned toward the gaps between different artistic disciplines. Most of us around the table were from theatre backgrounds, and we found ourselves talking about how fragmented the “theatre community” really is. Often, the sense of community only exists during the run of a show — we come together for a production, then drift apart. One person described theatre as less a community and more like an underground brother- (or sister-)hood.

When you start thinking beyond theatre — about connecting with dancers, painters, sculptors, musicians — the separation becomes even more pronounced. Very few of us are actively engaging with artists outside our own disciplines.

So why don’t we socialize more with artists from other fields? And if we don’t, how can we expect to become the kind of arts boosters I wrote about yesterday — the ones who advocate not just for their own work, but for the arts?

When I first envisioned this “creative support group,” I imagined it as a space for artists from all backgrounds. But since most of my social network is theatre-based, the group has so far drawn mainly theatre folks. I’d love to expand it — to include dancers, musicians, visual artists, and creators of all kinds.

Personally, I’ve found these regular gatherings creatively energizing. I’d encourage you to start your own. Bring together artists of all stripes. Talk about what you’re working on. Encourage each other. Learn about art forms you don’t “get.” Stay inspired through the simple act of connecting with fellow creatives.

And maybe — just maybe — if more of us do this, we can start to build a stronger, more unified artistic community. One that’s better positioned to support each other, draw in wider audiences, and truly: “Make the case for the relevancy and value of our art.”

The Importance of the Arts and Government Funding

by Phil Rickabyart, Culture, TheatrePosted on One Comment

Yesterday, Howard Sherman, the director of the American Theatre Wing, posted a blog entitled This is not a Political Blog. In it, he opens a discussion about why governments find it so easy to cut arts funding programs — like the National Endowment for the Arts in the U.S., or the various arts programs that have been cut (or threatened with cuts) in Canada (see the situation in B.C., for example).

The heart of the discussion begins with this statement:

“The reason the NEA (and the NEH and NPR and PBS) make for such easy targets is that their audiences and their artists fail to make a case for their intrinsic value.”

He has an excellent point. Those of us involved in the arts — those for whom the arts matter deeply — can talk about their importance all we like, but for the most part, we’re just preaching to the choir. How do we make this something that people outside the arts believe in?

In the blog post, Sherman talks about how, from time to time, there have been discussions about creating a “Got Milk?”-style ad campaign for the arts. After all, pork, cotton, and milk still need to remind people of their importance — so why not the arts?

But is an advertising campaign really the way to go? I’m not so sure. How would it be paid for? If even a few cents of public money were used, you know it would be immediately jumped on by the folks at The Sun and likely decried by conservative leaders (see Stephen Harper’s “average Canadians” comment from a few years ago). So what’s the solution?

The part of Sherman’s post that really got me thinking was this:

“A big part of the problem is that those of us who are profoundly dedicated to the arts hold them as a sacred belief; we are called to them as surely as religious leaders are called to the cloth. Yet to pursue the comparison, religious leaders spend one day every week making the case for the relevancy and value of their religion (these are called sermons), while we spend our time selling tickets to individual productions or exhibits.”

He’s absolutely right. We don’t spend a lot of time making the case for the value or relevancy of our craft. Instead, we spend most of our time shilling for people to buy tickets to individual shows.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t be trying to sell our work — of course we should. But why aren’t we also spending time encouraging people to go to other people’s shows? And not just within our own disciplines. Theatre folks should be promoting dance, visual art, music — everything. How else can we raise awareness of all the incredible work happening around us?

People who are passionate about the arts get that they’re important. But people who don’t care — who never attend shows or galleries — often see the arts as something elitist, something for the rich. Not for them. And in a way, we help feed that belief by only promoting our own work. If we’re not championing the arts in general, how can we expect someone who sees public arts funding as wasteful to view us as anything other than (as our Prime Minister put it) whiners complaining about our cushy, subsidized lifestyles?

I think we all need to do more to talk up other shows, other artists, other disciplines. We all need to work harder to raise general awareness of the arts, and bridge the gap between those who care about the arts and those who don’t yet care.

To that end: if you have something you want me to promote — let me know. I’ll promote the heck out of it, whether it’s theatre, dance, a gallery show — whatever. All I ask is that you do the same. Promote a show that’s not yours. Promote something outside your discipline. Boost the arts as a whole, not just the thing you’re directly involved with.

How else can we “make the case for the relevancy and value of our art”?