How many times have you heard someone say, “there must be something in the water” as they marvel over the sheer amount of artistic talent there is in this province? Whether it’s folks who are experiencing our vibrant arts scene for the first time or mainlanders giving Cape Bretoners their flowers I think it is safe to say that most people in Nova Scotia know that musicians, writers, visual artists and performers are overabundant here compared to other places. I also think that most Nova Scotians are proud of our unique culture and heritage- we certainly don’t want to be lumped in with Ontario, but we also don’t want to be mistaken for Newfoundland either (as much as that’s also a compliment). We have our own unique history, and I have never met a single real true Bluenoser who has ever disparaged a lighthouse, a local museum, or keeping our cultural stories alive in vivid and tangible ways for future generations.
As far as I know there is no magic in our water- the magic comes from our ancestors. In a harsh climate like the one we live in here in Nova Scotia the arts have always been essential for our communities. In a time and a place where folks worked so hard to survive the art they were able to create in their homes, in their churches and community halls were both the hard earned reward, and also the way they created their communal and cultural identities. The fishermen come home from a night out on the harsh seas and reach for their fiddle, the coalminers down in the depths of the mine are singing the old songs to keep their spirits up, the farmers’ sons and daughters are going to the dance because that is the crux of the way they socialize with their peers. Grandparents are telling stories around a campfire about extraordinary things that happened on this land long ago so that these stories will never be lost lest we lose a piece of ourselves with them. It is worth noting that the most privileged settlers attained a level of wealth and relative comfort and ease first- which allowed them to seek our their entertainment beyond just their own households and communities- they built buildings where artists from larger centres could come and perform for them. This is why talent and artistry so often seem to be overrepresented in historically marginalized communities. But, regardless, in both of these scenarios the ancestors of this land were continually seeking out art to make their lives fulfilling.
We know this. We all lived through the Covid lockdowns when we suddenly no longer had access to live music, theatre, and dance shows, when we could no longer go to the art gallery or the museum, when everyone all of a sudden started devouring every single thing they could find on Netflix because they were so hungry for the comfort, the connection, the distraction, the mental engagement, the joy, the catharsis, the learning, and laughter that art brings us.
It’s not just that it is nice to have a province that has a thriving arts and culture scene, it is also economically lucrative. Arts and Culture adds $989 million to Nova Scotia’s GDP and accounts for more than 14,000 jobs across the province. This makes sense when you think about how often Nova Scotians patronize music especially, but also how often they buy locally published books, go to the local theatre or community centre for entertainment and buy directly from artists at local markets and craft shows. It makes even more sense when you think in terms of what tourists are looking to experience when they come here- our culture and heritage, inseparable from our arts and culture sector, is as much what drives our thriving tourism industry as the natural beauty of the province- and Premier Tim Houston wants to destroy both. Here we are in a moment when we are strategically working in concert with our friends in all the other provinces to prioritize travelling within Canada, and Houston decides that destroying our tourism industry is a real top priority for him. It doesn’t make one bit of sense.
One thing that I will give the United States credit for is that they know that their arts and culture sector is absolutely one of their strongest forms of soft power. While we Canadians are all doing our damndest to stay out of their country and to read the labels carefully on everything from cereal to pet shampoo I have not heard one person even suggest that we also try to boycott American television, films or podcasts. Honestly, in theory this doesn’t make sense- we could make even more of an impact on their economy if we all ditched the American streamers and the American cable channels and focused our attention elsewhere. But, obviously, in practice that is actually quite difficult for us to do because we have so few accessible Canadian film and television options, and so few ways to easily access media from other countries (except Coronation Street). We also don’t want to feel culturally adrift. We have allowed American film and television to create and dictate the cultural zeitgeist and unplugging from it feels impossible and even scary. We have developed parasocial relationships with American stars over our whole lives and I speak for myself too when I say that it feels impossible to abandon these people we’ve loved and admired for most of our lives.
I’m not asking anyone to do this, but I am asking you to consider the fact that we have allowed ourselves to live under this kind of cultural hegemony from the country that is the biggest threat to our safety, security, and sovereignty. Representation matters and American culture isn’t inherently Canadian culture, American stories are not Canadian stories, and over-identifying with Americans can put us in a vulnerable position. What impact has raising five generations on predominately American film and television had on us as Nova Scotians and Canadians?
This is where the strength of our own local arts and culture sector here in Nova Scotia is, in my opinion, the most important- and, perhaps why someone like Tim Houston finds it so threatening. The place that I have learned the most about Canada’s residential school system, for example, is in theatres, at festivals like Prismatic. This has led to me reading books on the subject written by Indigenous authors, including Out of the Depths: The Experiences of Mi’kmaw Children at the Indian Residential School at Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia by Isabella Knockwood. Most recently I learned a lot of local history I didn’t know anything about just from the preview I saw of AQUAKULTURE’s new show with 2b Theatre last year. I have learned about Mi’kmaq history and culture, African Nova Scotian history and culture, Iranian history and culture, Syrian history and culture, Jewish Canadian history and culture, and about my own Scottish Gaelic and Acadian history and culture while engaging with the arts here. Each time I have built a connection and a deeper and deeper empathy and understanding toward my fellow Nova Scotians and these connections we forge become part of the fabric of our strongest neighbourhoods and communities. I have read so many locally published books that I feel have given me such a profound understanding of this place and who I am in its context.
I have been tempted to just start listing the names of all the incredible artists who live and work here- but I know that I would never be able to make a list that was exhaustive and inclusive enough. I have been thinking, though, in terms of how Nova Scotia also creates these entire family trees filled with talent: The Smiths, the Rankins, the Barra MacNeils, the MacIsaacs, the Beatons, the MacMasters… and that’s just to name a few in music. It’s truly incredible to live in a place that is so creatively and culturally fertile.
The Arts in Nova Scotia can be serious and educational, but, of course, they don’t have to be- they can also be fun for fun’s sake- or they can take you on deeply personal and emotional journeys- you can find yourself in a lyric of a Jenn Grant, Ben Caplan, or Christina Martin song, or you can dance around your kitchen to Jah’Mila or Classified, laugh at the antics of Bette MacDonald or Tracy and Martina, or you can top off your night out dancing like mad and screaming along with “You Feel the Same Way Too” at the Lower Deck, and you can feel that deep communal feeling of kinship and belonging to a place where pretty well everyone else knows the lyrics, and they can’t help but scream along either. This doesn’t happen the same way in other provinces. When Neptune Theatre used to do their Argyle Street Kitchen Party I encountered so many folks from other provinces and other countries who would sit and marvel over the fact that all the locals knew the words to all these Atlantic Canadian songs and that the show would always turn into a sing along. We are so lucky to have this experience that unites us like this; we can’t ever take it for granted or let it be disparaged by the few who can’t or won’t understand the power of it.
In the 1860s in Mabou and Lake Ainslie Father Kenneth MacDonald famously tried to round up and destroy all the fiddles belonging to his parishioners, claiming that they were “instruments of the devil.” Given the amount of world-class music that has flourished from this particular part of our province since then this seems absolutely preposterous and self destructive to the point of being absurd. Yet, I thought of Father MacDonald immediately when I heard about Tim Houston’s preposed budget cuts to the province’s arts and cultural sector because it is, metaphorically speaking, akin to going door to door and smashing all the fiddles.
We have been here before- artists being asked to write to their MLAs or their Councillors or their MPs to essentially justify their right to do the work that they love and are qualified to do- to justify being able to be employed in this city and this province and this country where they have clearly been contributing- economically and socially and culturally. It’s exhausting and, frankly, disrespectful, because all the data for why this is a disastrous mistake is there- and I don’t believe any government official advocating for this budget is doing so at all in good faith- although I do believe that some of the PC MLAs are listening to their constituents and may not support the budget after all- and to these folks– you are truly doing the work you were elected to do and I thank you.
I’m tired of this cycle. This is bigger than just one Premier and this PC Government. It’s systemic. We need to band together, all of us who care about Nova Scotia’s arts, culture, heritage and history, to make sure that we stop electing these friggin fiddle smashers altogether.
Please join us TOMORROW to support Arts, Culture & Heritage in Nova Scotia.
I copied this from Ben Caplan, I hope he doesn’t mind:
The Budget has NOT passed yet.
RALLY — Wednesday, March 4th.
Province House, Halifax — 12pm noon
Cultural Federations gather at 1113 Marginal Rd — 9:30am (signs + march)
NSCAD march from Granville Mall — 11am
Find satellite rallies around the province at nsarts.ca
Email your MLA in 60 seconds: halifamous.ca/speak-up
This isn’t just about the arts. Non-profits, museums, Mi’kmaw programs, recreation groups — 287 organizations hit. If you’re outside Nova Scotia, share this anyway. If it can happen here, it can happen in your province.
