Artistic Director
Message From The Artistic Director
Welcome to the other side of the world, or so we hope. Life since March, 2020 has been hard. We’ve missed being amongst friends, we’ve missed being amongst strangers, and we’ve spent way too much time with ourselves. Many have lost loved ones, others have lost work, lost careers, and lost their worlds and their identities. As you have probably heard, this has been particularly hard on the arts sector, driven as we are by the desire to create live intimate encounters.
And yet, I am more optimistic now about the relationship between art and society than I ever have been. Why? Because we needed to change, long before a pandemic hit the sector, the basic recipes of the non-profit arts company in Canada had grown stale. We had lost so much purchase on the public imagination that we were putting as much effort into audience development as we were into making our art. We needed a kick in the butt to get our digital mojo going, almost every sector in Canada was further ahead in its digital literacy than the arts sector. Beyond the digital, the arts sector in Canada has not kept up with the demographics of Canadian society. Drawing more meaningful connections to those who do not share a European heritage, finding common ground, common joys, and exciting differences is essential to Canada’s nation-building and the arts are vital to this challenge. Finally, climate change and the challenge to live more sustainably on planet earth is at a critical point. As much as we might harp on them, it is us who are leaving our children and grandchildren a horrible mess to clean up. Building a world beyond the planet-trashing indifference of current society is one of the most exciting, rejuvenating projects your life can take part in now. Don’t miss out on all the fun.
I have had the good fortune to work with the Metcalf Foundation on these and other issues facing Canada right now. If you want to learn more, check out the full report. We love to hear from you, so don’t hesitate to get in touch regarding any of these projects, we’re just an email away – info@gmsm.ca
Enjoy the shows,
David Maggs