Successful downtown renewal efforts frequently use arts and culture to draw people to the area and create vitality. The arts can also create a sense of identity and a unified vision for Brandon, and for downtown.
Arts and heritage are key to downtown Brandon's health and well-being, its distinctive identity, and collective pride. Downtown has the unique ability to tap into our collective memory, an essential component for a strong sense of community and sense of place.
The arts have also played a strong role in developing a cohesive community. They are a pathway to further civic involvement in its most fundamental sense. Arts, culture, and heritage tell us who we are, where we have been, and where we are going. They bring people together, drawing newcomers into the community, and providing opportunities to further our understanding of each others uniqueness.
Brandon 2.0 is a very different city than the one my grandparents knew. Ethnic diversity has brought a richness and vitality to our community. Brandon's downtown could play an important role in shaping the identity of our diverse city, and offer a way to meaningfully evolve different traditions and identities into our collective future. Arts and culture gives us a way of finding and expressing shared hopes and values and help create the potential for generating a sense of belonging. Through the arts, we can find a commitment to work together to build a better future.
Brandon is rich with special events and festivals which bring a sense of celebration to our City. However, the arts doesn't have to be a spectator sport (pun fully intended). Nanaimo's annual Banner Festival brings the community into a process of creating public art that is a focal point of local identity and pride.
Concert halls, museums, and galleries have immense potential as testing grounds for new visions of how we live together, and provide new ways to establish shared values. The Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba's Hockey Town installation was a witty and unusual look at Canada's national obsession. The downtown Public Library is expanding its role to include a meeting place where immigrants can share their stories. The General Museum, when launched, could be a cornerstone of Western Manitoba's cultural foundation.
Brandon has always recognized the opportunities around signature sporting events, and now we should widen the scope to include the dynamic opportunities of cultural tourism. Whether its the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Stratford theatre, the Montreal Jazz Festival, or the Fargo Blues Festival, more and more of us are planning our leisure travel around these cultural events. ArtCity transforms Barrie Ontario into a giant sculpture park.
Older neighbourhoods in the core area could also benefit from arts initiatives, through new business and regenerated property values. This improves the tax base, decreases vandalism, and develops a new found pride in ownership. Granville Island in Vancouver is renowned for its integration of arts, culture, and heritage and the role these play in this one derelict and now dynamic neighbourhood.
Tying many of these blogs together is the idea that there is a direct and valuable connection between cultural development as it enhances the quality of life and place in Brandon, and the economic impact it could have on our city. Workers required for the knowledge-based economy will be critical for Brandon's future success. They look to settle in a place that stimulates their creative interests. A city that nurtures and celebrates artistic creation, creates fertile ground for inspiring innovation on the broader economic, industrial, and social spheres.
This is part of a series on revitalizing downtown Brandon. Coming next is a look at how to make our downtown more walkable, and why that's important. I appreciate your feedback and you can email me at shariformayor@gmail.com.
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