The Creativity at Work Blog

Here is a great idea, and timely, especially now that Ballet BC has had to layoff all dancers and staff this season.

What is a Covenant?

Mary Stanley, coordinator of  Art Across Borders proposes the adoption of an Arts Covenant as a fresh way to look at the arts and development. She says the word “covenant” has some rich connotations. “A covenant is more than a contract, stronger than a pact. It’s a deep, profound commitment among people who see themselves as community. They’re promising what they’ll do in the name of something they value. We talk about “civic engagement” and I think it ties into that. Sometimes it’s had some religious dimensions, harking back to the old and new covenants of the Bible. So it expresses a profound relationship with something higher, a spiritual aspect of our humanity that’s more than the everyday. It ramps up our thinking about the importance of art to a good life. At the same time it helps us target where we each decide to spend our money.” 

What would an arts covenant look like? 

Stanley says, “For individuals it could go like this. In the next year I will purchase at least three gifts of original locally-made art. I’ll partake of at least one art form outside my comfort zone – that’s not my favorite, accustomed art. So if I’m a film person I’ll go to a dance performance, or if I’m a jazz person I’ll try the symphony or a stage play. I’ll try at least one art form from another culture. Art will take me at least once to a part of the city where I don’t usually go. I’ll do something – take a class, join a story circle, pick an arts project to support. Shops and galleries could visibly identify themselves as participating too.”  Continued here.

Are you willing to make an arts covenant this season?

Tags: arts, CREATIVE ECONOMY, culture