INTRO
LATHAM
Welcome to Artful Conversations, a podcast about arts and cultural management. I’m Annetta Latham.
INGRAM
And I'm Katrina Ingram. We interview leaders who help shape the world of arts and culture, sharing their stories, insights, and observations.
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LATHAM
Welcome to Artful Conversations, I’m your host Annetta Latham. I'm here today with Sanjay Shahani, executive director of the Edmonton Arts Council. Welcome Sanjay.
SHAHANI
Thank you so much.
LATHAM
Sanjay, you've had an interesting background that spans production - particularly theater and film - and roles in setting policy in funding at city, provincial, and federal levels. You've also served as an educator. Can you tell us more about how your past experience led you to Edmonton and into the role that you now hold as executive director at the EAC?
SHAHANI
That's a fairly long question, but I have been very fortunate, actually, because the journey has not only been interesting but also has opened up new worlds to me. I started off in India, really quite wedded to the idea of becoming a filmmaker. I was again quite lucky that I was able to get some real experience at a very young age. I had the opportunity of assisting a young film maker. I was promoted to assistant director without doing very much. But this was on a nationally televised series called A Journey Through the Universe, which was looking at creating a space for the broad population of India to understand scientific concepts. They were using Hindu mythology, particularly as it related to astrophysics, and concepts of the physical sciences to try and get people across the country to understand some of the more difficult and abstract ideas that one had to go to school for. This was in the 80s, and it was quite phenomenal for me to be there. It was shot on 35 millimeter film, very few people actually have the opportunity to do that.
Also I think it was interesting because it exposed me to the genre of docudrama, which is not a very common sort of genre. This led me to go to Czechoslovakia to study film, so I was in Prague in the 80s during the socialist times. It was a very interesting time to be there. Change was imminent, but it was not apparent. And so it was great to be at the film school and to actually learn the craft of filmmaking, but more importantly it was really fantastic to be immersed in an environment that valued artists, and valued the process of making art. They didn't treat them as a commercial medium at all. So it is very different, because most of the focus was on understanding film as a form that needed to be explored for aesthetic and for artistic reasons. I just imagined that I would go back home and I would start my career as a filmmaker. I did go back home, but it didn't result in a big sort of sort of lengthy career as a filmmaker.
I worked for a couple of years, then came to Canada to do some graduate work. Not in film, but in education. Queen's University in Kingston had a Masters of Education program that was a research degree, and allowed people to come in who had very little to do with education. Which was interesting, and gave me this opportunity to do some interdisciplinary work. I made a documentary film as my thesis which was the first of its kind.
LATHAM
That was quite an uncommon thing to do as a thesis, to create a film?
SHAHANI
It was uncommon barring the art history department which allowed for visuals and slides and so on. Film had never actually been considered as an alternative to a traditional thesis as a research document. So I made a film on sort of cultural attitudes to disability and people with disabilities. This connection came about because my parents were very involved in the rehab movement in India, and I've been associated on an international project, so that got me interested in justifying why film could be used as a research medium. It got me interested in anthropology, and I went and did an M.A. in anthropology at York, then that led to a Ph.D. and so on, and so my career trajectory into becoming the executive director of the Edmonton Arts Council is not the regular trajectory. In all of this work, in my studies, in everything I never actually gave up practicing art.
I never gave up the connection to art, and it was only after I came back to Canada - because I'd gone to the States to do my Ph.D. - when I came back, I got immersed in the actual production of art. That's where I did some theater, and did some more film. The opportunity of actually getting involved in policy just came about because the Ontario Arts Council hired me to look at their office that funded community-based art, and that led me to actually expand the mandate of that office and create some policy and some programs for artists who are doing nontraditional work outside of their own disciplines. Artists that were doing multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary work. That gave me a peek into what kinds of things could be made possible for artists who were working on the margins and working not in established disciplines. That kind of opportunity drew on my scholarly as well as my artistic practice. So becoming an arts administrator just happened by accident, it didn't happen by design.
LATHAM
I think that's fantastic. It really shows that for a lot of administrators, it becomes a journey, and one direction and another. I like the fact that you've mentioned the ability to embrace that journey as you’re going along. Let's talk more specifically about the Arts Council. Can you expand on the mission and the mandate for the Council in terms of the role that it plays in our artistic community here in Edmonton?
SHAHANI
The Edmonton Arts Council has quite a broad mandate, but the origin is very interesting. It came about because artists in Edmonton really were coming into their own, and were unhappy with the way decisions were being made at City Hall when it came to funding their projects. At the same time, I think there was all across the country, since the birth of the Canada Council in the late 50s and all the provincial arts councils including the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, there was a real development of the community at large. Edmonton as an urban centre had a sort of concentration of professional artists, had some really good training programs at the U of A and Grant MacEwan. I think artists felt that in order for that work to be supported, they needed to have the independence from political and other influences. So the Edmonton Arts Council came about because of that, and very early on in its evolution and mission, the focus was on freeing up funding from any kind of political interference and putting funding into the hands of artists through a peer-reviewed process. That practice of peer review, which is so fundamental to artistic creation, the idea of critique and creation. That method had become quite widely respected, not just in the academic circles but also in artistic circles itself. So the mandate, then, focuses on how we invest in our community. It focuses on how we develop our community. It focuses on how the artist connects to an audience, and obviously focuses on how the Arts Council could become the body that actually brokers this very delicate relationship between the community and the city.
That's the mandate. So in order to realize that mandate, it requires a sort of periodic reassessment. But it also requires a really open, transparent, and close relationship with the community that it serves. Over time the Arts Council has not only developed the community of artists in Edmonton but over time it's also had a hand to play in how art is received by Edmontonians. It's also having an influence on arts policy provincially and nationally, because we do have connections with other arts councils across the country.
LATHAM
Talking about the strategic planning that's currently occurring here in Edmonton, you inherited a ten-year strategic plan called The Art of Living, and it was developed in 2008. It's just coming to its natural evolution and end this year. Can you tell us a bit about the thinking and the direction of that plan, and more what your thinking is in relation to the highlights that have been part of that plan?
SHAHANI
The Art of Living was foundational, and it was fundamental to the development of artistic activity in Edmonton. I think about it that way because it actually established structures. It established companies, and galleries, and artistic activity in an organizational sense. But it also enabled a number of artists in different disciplines.
LATHAM
So was it the first ever plan like that in Edmonton?
SHAHANI
Edmonton has had other attempts at actually developing cultural policy but this was the first formally accepted plan. It's a plan which, over a period of 10 years, has achieved a lot. Whether you look at our festivals and how vibrant our festivals are from the smallest to the largest being the Fringe and Folk Festival and so on. Or you look at creation-based companies in the performing arts, or you look at galleries. I think there is no doubt now that when you come to Edmonton, you can see that the artistic ecology is not only fitting for an urban center, but it's very diverse. It's a very diverse ecology, and it reflects how the city has changed.
We have organizations with mandates that are driven by the art form, but also mandates that are specific to communities. We have a growing community of culturally diverse artists. We have many Indigenous artists who have made many contributions. At the same time, we have our large organizations and our medium-sized organizations that are constantly finding new ways of engaging artists from different disciplines and different backgrounds. As well as reaching new audiences, because the work of reaching new audiences is never over. You may be a very successful company or a very successful gallery, but if you stop looking at new audiences and how you can engage them, you're not going to be evolving in your own mission and mandate of how you develop the art form.
LATHAM
That’s fantastic, it's a great summary of the last 10-years’ journey. I think it's an exciting journey that Edmonton's gone on, and to put some shape around something. At times, the value of culture is a tricky thing to put in a concept of a strategic plan. I think it's an interesting journey you’ve gone on, and it's an exciting journey that they are embracing moving forward. In past interviews with the media, you've talked about the role of the Edmonton Arts Council being central to city building. Can you expand a bit on that, and talk about what you feel is EAC’s relationship with the city, and how the strategic plan is going to intersect with that as we evolve and grow as a city?
SHAHANI
That's a really good question. We are quite fortunate that we have a strong relationship with the city. Edmonton, I think, is probably the only city in the country that has quite self-consciously not had a cultural services department. So even though the EAC is an independent, not-for-profit organization, the City of Edmonton has devolved responsibility and given that to the EAC to shepherd.
LATHAM
For our organizational students, would you call that an arm’s length organization from the city?
SHAHANI
It's arm's length from the city, but it's not a body of the city. So there's a little bit of a difference. So it is arm's length. But it's sometimes referred to as an agent of the city. We have a service agreement with the City of Edmonton. Both politically as well as in terms of city administration, the Edmonton Arts Council and its role in the development of the city is something that is is looked at not as peripheral but as integral. With this new plan, we want to make that relationship stronger, because the City of Edmonton is also embarking on a 10-year strategic plan which will come into effect in 2019. We are also embarking on a 10-year plan.
I just need to make it clear that the 10-year plan that we're building for arts and heritage is not an EAC plan. It's a plan for the City of Edmonton. That’s the difference. We are going to take this opportunity to actually see how the plan overlaps and intersects with various goals of the city. We all know that the arts are not only important because they feed your soul and they give you a sense of individuality and a sense of creativity. But the arts are important because they give us a sense of who we are as a people, but also give us a sense of the place, and identity, and a sense of community. Within those spheres, I think that the 10-year arts and heritage plan will find it fairly easy to actually intersect with some of the broad goals of the city.
I want to also tell you that as we embarked on this 10-year plan, we wanted to ensure that certain principles were were foundational to the plan. Those principles will carry on and will continue into the end, even after the plan is built. They will actually inform whatever happens in the nine months. We have four core principles that underpin this plan. The first one is the principle of inclusion. It's really important that this principle of inclusion is well understood, and is well anchored and embedded. We want to make sure that the City of Edmonton is a place that welcomes, and enables, and allows people to come and participate in artistic expression.
LATHAM
How you would define inclusion?
SHAHANI
It's a definition that is actually in formation. We are going out into the community and consulting directly with the communities, which will happen next month. But it's a value, and a principle that ensures no one in this city will ever feel that they are not part of something. This is a big city kind of principle, but for the arts I want to make sure that you can be an artist from any background, in any discipline, with any practice. There will always be a place for you in our ecology. Same thing with heritage. That's one principle.
The other principle that's important for us is around leadership and excellence. Because we're starting the plan this year, but the people who will lead us are now in their 20s and 30s. So the plan has to be built for them not for people like us. We have to have the foresight to think about a plan which I think of sometimes as a policy document, as a more practical document that has recommendations. But it must be something that is more than the sum of its parts. Part of this work is to be able to project that foresight. So excellence, leadership, and innovation are our intertwined principles, which are also core to this plan.
The third principle, which I think is really important, is the principle around collective responsibility. So not only is the plan focused for the Arts and Heritage sectors, but we want to inculcate this value of collective responsibility because it is a City of Edmonton plan. Everyone in Edmonton needs to be collectively responsible for the arts and for heritage.
Then finally, the fourth principle is around economic security of the arts. So this principle really goes right to the heart of why the EAC exists. Which in some ways is to ensure that our artists and our arts professionals can make a living wage, and can contribute, and are treated and valued as professionals in any other field. We want to make sure that arts organizations, and festivals, and other kinds of structures that receive public support are able to value that the people who are making the art, who are actually producing the art, and who are presenting and connecting the art.
LATHAM
Fantastic. One of the things that is interesting as we move forward with the strategic planning process, is how do you feel the new plan sits alongside the Canada Council idea of creative cities and that concept of placemaking and things like that?
SHAHANI
I think that question is really important, because the Edmonton Arts Council - besides having a mission to work with artists and arts organizations - we also have responsibility over public art. Again, we are one of the few in the country that actually has this responsibility. We are presently in conversation with city administration as they review the public policies. I think what we are hoping for is that the Arts Council not only becomes an administrator of all the city policies, particularly the Percent for Art policy which enables us to commission new art for the City on behalf of the City. It’s tied to eligible construction costs of new capital projects. But we are hoping that the Edmonton Arts Council will also have more oversight and more responsibility around the artistic planning of public art. So not only would we be responsible for individual projects and public art projects and the installation of public art, but I think the curatorial as well as the conservation pieces that are that are currently in our responsibility. The interaction between that work and the artistic community and the public. I think if we have more, or more overall control, we will be able to connect the city and use placemaking in a really effective and innovative and creative way.
LATHAM
Interesting, you mentioned before the Percentage for Art policy. What are some major works that are being funded through this policy?
SHAHANI
At the moment, we have 232 works that are completed and installed, but we have many more coming in the pipeline. Some of them are major projects that have been done, and people in Edmonton often talk about it as a controversial project, but in fact it's now really become part of the psyche of anybody who lives in Edmonton. Obviously I'm referring to the Talis Dome. There was lots of controversy around it when it was first installed. But over time, as with all public art, it becomes a part of who you are, because it makes a space a place. The Talis Dome is on the Whitemud in a nondescript place, but now people are quite proud of it. In fact, now it's appearing in commercials. So that obviously is one of my favorites. More recently, with the opening of Rogers Place, there's a magnificent work by Alex Janvier. It's a mosaic in Ford Hall, it's an abstract but it actually is reflective of what Edmonton is from a physical standpoint. From the seasons, but also what Edmonton has become in terms of its diversity. So there is that sense of place in a sporting arena. But it's at the center of Edmonton, and it actually gives you a sense of what Edmonton is becoming.
Those are some of the big iconic pieces. There are other pieces like The Willow which is in Borden Park. It's much more interactive and playful, lots of children love going into it and climbing it. There's a more recent piece by Pierre Poussin called Esprit which is in Alex Decoteau Park on 105 Street. Again, a really important piece, not only because it's important in terms of its formal significance as a piece of art. But also important because it marks a part of downtown Edmonton with the name of Alex Decoteau, who not only represented Canada in the Olympics, but also was the first Indigenous officer in the RCMP. So there are those kinds of things we've also commissioned.
Those are some of the big pieces that resonate with me, and many of them are three dimensional. But we also have some really interesting murals, like the community murals just outside the arena, which is a representation of the people living in that neighborhood. It's at all levels, and each of these pieces in its own way has created and marked a really strong sense of place. Which I think is what public art really is. It's when you can actually enjoy, or be provoked by, or feel a range of emotions when you're going about your regular business. So you don't have to go to a gallery, or you don't have to go to a special place. The place that public art rests in becomes a special place, and connects you to your city and to your community in a way that happens on a daily basis without a self-conscious kind of intentional way of looking at it as a viewer.
LATHAM
Yeah they certainly have value in the cultural encounter that you have when you move around the space that you live in, and work, and breath in, I think it’s critical. I believe it's critical to us as human beings and essential to our lives really. So how do you balance the growth of new and existing arts organizations with ever-growing requests for funding against the budget realities? What does the process look like for EAC as they go through this?
SHAHANI
We have a fairly tried and trusted system of peer review. This process has given us the opportunity of going directly and speaking to Edmontonians, including artists. I think it's going to be really interesting to see how we can not only think about how we invest new funds - which we hope to gain through this process - but I think it's going to be interesting to see if there are new ways to partner and collaborate to ensure that we are able to leverage other resources. Because no public fund will ever have the funds to fund everyone. So it's I don't think it's ever not going to be a competitive process.
I think it's important that we we think about investment and funding as a really important piece, but not the only piece. We think about it in relationship to the work that the Arts Council can do around inclusion, around capacity building, around ensuring that artists are well-equipped not just to apply to us for funding but to be successful. Public art is a prime example. There is public art happening all over the world, and there's no reason why Edmonton artists should not be successful in Toronto, or Calgary, or Vancouver, Montreal, or even in Auckland. There's no reason why that can't happen. I think the Arts Council has a has a role to play in ensuring that our services to the community are impactful, are valuable, and are there to ensure that the professional careers of our artists and arts organizations are supported. So there is that aspect.
As I spoke about earlier, there's the aspect of actually developing and building partnerships to ensure that not only do we partner with other public funders, but we take opportunities and seek out new opportunities to partner with foundations and other non-traditional partners as well as organizations in the community.
LATHAM
So how do you as executive director, when you're talking to City Hall, navigate the budget stuff on behalf of artists and the ads as a priority against the other priorities for the city? How is that navigation process down for you?
SHAHANI
I think in some ways we see ourselves as partners with the city. We don't think of ourselves as being outside, having to go and bang on the door to get money. I think we are a priority, and the question then becomes: if we are a priority for the City of Edmonton, what can we do to help them understand why we are a priority? Why are artists and arts organizations, and the health of artists and arts organizations, why should they become a priority? What is the role of art in society? These are big questions, but these are questions that are our community of arts organizations, festivals, and individual artists are dealing with every single day.
I mentioned the values that inform the building of the plan. One of the values is economic security, and the other value that I mentioned was collective responsibility. Being able to actually demonstrate the impact of investments is a key factor. It's going to become more and more important as we move along. There is a lot of focus as governments prioritize. There's a lot of focus on the idea that investments need to be evidence-based, and the arts are not part of that analytical realm. Nobody creates art because it's a service. You create art because you are compelled to create art. You're an artist. You are compelled by something political, cultural, whatever it is, you're compelled by that. There's no explanation for inspiration and beauty. It's something that resides within us. How do we translate that into some outcomes that the city could actually see clearly as to what the arts are doing for our neighbourhoods? What the arts are doing for social cohesion? What the arts are doing for more intercultural understanding?
The role of artists in ensuring that people feel that they are living in a creative community is really key. One of the things that we are hoping will happen through this process that we are using to build the next 10-year plan is that we will have the best practices from around the world around innovative cultural policy, around innovative planning processes, new models of outcome-based investing. There's a bunch of different things that we have commissioned as part of this process that we hope we will get through. That's going to allow us to create a narrative that convinces city council and the people of Edmonton as to why the arts should not just be important to quality of life, but why the arts are fundamental to how we think of ourselves as Edmonton, and how we're going to become that Edmonton over the next 10 years. That is different, dynamic, entrepreneurial, creative. All of the things that the city wants to be, and wants to be known by.
LATHAM
How do you plan to reach populations that are traditionally under-serviced and underrepresented? For example, you've mentioned opportunities to reach newcomers and opportunities around Indigenous issues. What will the EAC be doing to engage these communities as we move forward?
SHAHANI
So there'll be multiple ways of engagement through this planning process. We are just about to roll out all the public-facing sessions. I think we should be able to put that onto our website, and there will be a sort of dedicated website, too. There'll be in person consultations with the people of Edmonton, there will probably be around 25 of these sessions. There will be 12 sessions in every ward of the city, these broad sort of public consultations. There will be specific sessions with the arts community and the heritage community.
But then we are also mindful that not everybody is comfortable coming to these things, so we're working very hard to ensure that we do have various engagement strategies that will allow for people to come out. We also have a significant digital component which will be interactive, so it's not just about sending in your thoughts, but there will be an interactive component. I'm not a very digital-savvy person so I can’t really explain that to you. But the people we've hired are experts in it, so they will do that. We also have a particular focus, and a particular interest in ensuring that Indigenous people who live within and around Edmonton in the region are included. Edmonton is an urban centre that has Indigenous artists who come and go. They may not live in Edmonton, but they do all of their work in Edmonton. We're just finalizing plans to engage various Indigenous groups, and First Nations, Metis, and Inuit in and around Edmonton. The idea again is to ensure that the relationships we build through this process are able to continue on, because building the plan is one thing, we know that has to happen. By December I have to appear before city council with the finished plan to get approval and so on, but the work of the EAC never ends. So the EAC is committed to ensuring that Indigenous artists in the city have all the opportunities.
We are also committed to principles of equity. Our board of directors has instituted an equity policy which came about after we did an audit of all our programs and services, so these are long term commitments which are based on building deep and enduring relationships. They are not one-off things, and we don't think of them as one-off things. The roads to achieving full equity - which some would say is equality - is not just what that the Arts Council is going to do. It has to happen on multiple levels. With government, and with business, and obviously it has to happen within the community.
As a member of the Edmonton community and the arts and heritage community, we are very mindful about the work around equity in the arts and equity in heritage. These are things that are going to require deep commitment, and they're going to require ongoing consultation and ongoing sustenance. We can't take anything for granted.
LATHAM
In relation to the new plan as we are moving forward, what are some of the new directions or issues that you're trying to advance with the new plan? We've talked about partnerships and public assets, and the value of culture, and those kinds of things. From EAC’s perspective, what kind of new directions and issues are you wanting to advance with the new plan that we as a city get to embrace, and will see when we're five years down the track? How will the plan look for us as a city around those ideas?
SHAHANI
For most arts organizations and festivals, one of the challenges they have is around audience development and connecting the art to new audiences. We want to make sure that what The Art of Living has achieved is the kind of diverse, interesting, and stable arts infrastructure. But now we need to make sure that it's resilient, strong, and also has the resources to find new ways to innovate in terms of disseminating the art. We need to make sure that artists have the right resources, and the tools to connect the art to their audience, or to find a new audience. Engagement is a really important piece and how we invest and fund engagement is going to be really important. We want to make sure that art is part of our daily lives, not just a special thing that you do once every week or once a month. That's important.
We also want to make sure that Edmonton artists are connected as a community to communities of artists outside of Edmonton. I talked a little bit about how artists could become more successful in public art commissions, but I think it's also important to be able to support artists who want to collaborate outside of their city and want to collaborate with artists abroad.
It's also important for us to be able to support artists who want to do other work, and who want to take the work outside the borders of Edmonton. Very often when you take the work to a new audience it changes you as an artist when you come back. We want to be able to support that, because we want to be able to support a community that is not isolated but is open, and able to do the work it needs to do, and is recognized nationally and internationally for the quality of the work they do. If we don't do that, we're never going to have a view of ourselves as being part of something greater than what we are. That's really important. The feeling of inclusion into a bigger world is really important.
These are some of the areas which the EAC has, over time, with the implementation of The Art of Living… It's becoming clear to us that these are some of the things about which our arts community is looking to us for some leadership and support. My hope is that with these consultations we will hear some of this, but we also hear new and innovative ways the Arts Council could intervene, and support, and create a space for some really interesting stuff to happen.
LATHAM
Fantastic. I guess one of the interesting questions is always that with such a fast-changing world and everything accelerating and changing at such a rapid pace, how do you create a long-term view and develop policies now, and ensure that they stay relevant over the lifespan of 10 years?
SHAHANI
The shortest answer to that is that we have to not just be reactive and responsive, but we have to anticipate. So the plan is a policy document, which is going to have some broad directions and some specific recommendations, for sure. But I think it's up to the Arts Council to ensure that we are never out of touch. Our city follows a four-year budget cycle that causes elections every four years, so we have two-and-a-half budget cycles over a ten-year period. It’s in between those budget cycles that we are going to be able to test our ideas, and test our systems, test our mechanisms of support and investment and partnership. But we can only do that if we listen. We have to be open to listening. We have to be open to doing some serious evaluation, and some serious introspection from time to time. But we also have to listen and take advice.
I am confident, because all of our funding decisions are made on a peer review system. I'm confident that we are used to listening. The question is that we can't become complacent. We have to act on what we hear. So far, we have been fairly nimble and flexible, and a fairly intrepid kind of organization. As we grow with the new plan, that always becomes a challenge.
As the executive director of the Arts Council, I have to ensure that we have the right people, and we have the right approach, and we are constantly questioning our own approach to how we connect with the community. If we don't, there is the danger of becoming too good at what you do. Just because you're efficient, and just because you do it for less money, doesn't mean that you are having the same impact. If you want to expand your impact, and if you want your community to develop and foster innovation, and all of those things, you have to be willing to do the same for yourself.
LATHAM
Fantastic. Thank you. Is there anything else you would like to add to our conversation before we wrap up?
SHAHANI
No, I just want to thank you for inviting me. I think I've gone on and on about lots of wonderful things.
LATHAM
Oh, it’s great. One of the other areas of interest that fascinates me is with the closeness of St. Albert and Sherwood Park. When EAC looks at that from supporting artists, who also then have a regional reach, how do you navigate that space between what are really two other cities that are pretty much in your back pocket? The EAC is funding for Edmonton, but some of our artists may come to EAC with a regional outreach concept.
SHAHANI
I think those are those are really interesting questions. I think the City of Edmonton is becoming much more focused on ensuring that the region prospers and develops. There are again opportunities for partnerships, where we could do a portion of our investment - not necessarily investing money in Sherwood Park - but there is so much of a back and forth between artists, as you've just explained, that maybe there are ways to find new solutions working with our colleagues in Sherwood Park, and in St. Albert, and in other places. There's also an interesting question because we are part of Treaty 6. These are artificial boundaries, and we know that Indigenous artists often have relationships outside of Edmonton within the Treaty 6 area. So we want to make sure that we are not losing opportunities of supporting the development of Indigenous art and Indigenous artists who have those relationships.
These are challenges from a policy standpoint, but I think more importantly these are good challenges to have. That means that there is a vibrancy, and there is a true exchange of people coming and going that are contributing directly to the health of our city and to the creative life of our city. So these are good questions, these are all questions that have been on our minds. And I'm confident that I have a team of people at the Edmonton Arts Council who not only are smart and capable, but I also know that I have yet to meet anybody in my team who is not willing to explore something new, and who's not willing to explore a new partnership or a new relationship.
These are challenges that we will have to take into account, but these definitely are things that are on the radar and that we will take very seriously. It's not something that we’ll ignore.
LATHAM
Sanjay thank you for your time. I really appreciate it. It's always wonderful hearing directly about the exciting things that are happening in this city, and all the best as you move forward with the plan and implement the outcomes.
SHAHANI
Thank you so much.
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INGRAM
It's Katrina here. Annetta, that was an amazing interview that you did with Sanjay. I'm really impressed.
LATHAM
Yeah, it's fantastic that he is here in Edmonton and leading our Arts Council. I think we have a lot to learn from him, and his engagement and focus in our community are absolutely incredible.
INGRAM
Absolutely. I think one of the highlights for me was the discussion around the strategic plan. He originally inherited a strategic plan, and now he's in the midst of creating a new one.
LATHAM
Interesting place for a new leader to be, also because the person he inherited that plan from had that role for a very long time. I like the way he explained that in the new one, they’re really trying to reach into the community, so that the community of Edmonton has a real say on how arts funding is going to be allocated, and what it looks like, and the shape of that. Consultation with the community in developing this plan is critical.
INGRAM
Absolutely. He even made the distinction that it's not an Edmonton Arts Council plan, it's a plan for the City of Edmonton. I think that was an important point.
LATHAM
Yeah, very important, and it will be exciting to see the outcomes of that plan once it becomes a practicing model for all of us.
INGRAM
As an Edmontonian, one of the things that I really loved was his description about the various pieces of public art in Edmonton. In particular, the Talis Dome, which was quite controversial at first. But now it's just a part of who we are. This idea of being connected to a place, to our city, while going about our everyday lives is really powerful. I really like your phrasing about the cultural encounter.
LATHAM
Cultural encounters are really important in our world. Public art is one way we do that. I think it's really exciting when we have things out there that are public art or cultural engagement, that we knock across in our daily lives. It enriches who we are as people. Cultural encounters are really important to how we connect with our community, how we connect with our space, and how we live our daily lives.
One of the other things that cultural encounters impact is the economy. When you start talking about money, which is what Sanjay talked about, and how you get more funding for things… like you said, the Dome was hotly debated in its time. But it's when people understand cultural encounters that they understand the importance of putting money behind things that enrich and improve lives.
INGRAM
Absolutely. It's something tangible, because I think in a lot of cases art can feel really ephemeral, and you don't really get that sense of experiencing it. Something like the Talis Dome, or other public art pieces, really give a sense of concreteness. When Sanjay is going to city council and arguing for money for the arts versus funding money for filling potholes, it really gives him a platform to stand on and express that point of view.
LATHAM
Yeah, very much so. I think one of the other things that he mentioned that I want to cover quickly was that the Edmonton Arts Council is a peer jury. Which is fantastic, because it means that the artists and arts organizations in this community are supporting each other, and are focused on the best outcome for the entire community in relation to the arts. I think that was incredibly important.
INGRAM
That's a great point, and it really gives the artist a voice in the process, which as you say is a very important aspect of what they do.
LATHAM
Yes, absolutely. Great learning for all of us.
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This show was created by:
Executive Producer - Annetta Latham
Producer - Katrina Ingram
Technical Producer - Paul Johnston
Research Assistant - Rael Lockwood
Theme Music - Emily Darfur
Cover Art - Constanza Pacher
Latham, A. (Executive Producer). Latham, A. (Host). (2018, May 14). Artful Conversations [Season 1: Episode 7]. Sanjay Shahani. Podcast retrieved from https://www.artfulconversations.com/transcriptions/2019/1/4/ep-7-sanjay-shahani
Artful Conversations is a production of Annetta Latham in partnership with MacEwan University. All rights reserved.