cktimes.ca Archives for Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
It's time to view arts, heritage and culture as an industry
Tuesday, October 1, 2002
One of the most unfortunate aspects of living in Chatham-Kent is that we never seem to appreciate, nor do we adequately support, all the really talented people from this area that are involved in the arts, heritage and culture scene. All too many of us would rather hop in our car and journey to Detroit, London, Windsor or even Toronto to see dramatic productions, art displays or historical events and exhibits rather than seeking them out in our own backyard.What is even worse is that some of us know about them but don't support them or worse yet, put them down, denigrate them or even make fun of them. There seems to be a tendency among some members of Chatham-Kent's population to feel that anything that comes from the area in which they live can't be that good or of that much value. We guess it's sort of a variation on Groucho Marx's oft-repeated statement that "he'd never belong to a club that allowed him to be a member"!
This view is extremely unfortunate and especially at this crucial time in our economic development when each day's newspaper headline screams out to us that those old economic approaches, beliefs and mainstays cannot be depended upon in the new world order. If we continue to operate and place all of our economic "eggs" in one basket (i.e. the automotive or industrial field) and a major employer leaves, does that mean we all give up and instruct the last person leaving Chatham-Kent to turn out the lights?
The answer, we feel, rests in developing a new view of ourselves and of our potential. No longer can we complacently sit in our warm, cosy, piece of South-western Ontario and wait for someone else from another place in Canada, or a company from the USA, to come into our area, start a business, build a factory or expand an enterprise and create jobs for us.
We need to change our views and attitudes about ourselves and the potential that exists here and start developing our human, historic, cultural and artistic potential. Let's closely examine what we have. Let us celebrate it, develop it and then start marketing it to all those thousands of people who speed directly through the heart of Chatham-Kent on their way to see historic sites, dramatic presentations, cultural events and artistic displays at all those OTHER places in Canada and the United States!
There is no question that we have the talent, the history, the creativity, the ability, as well as the potential to use all of these abundant resources and market them to the rest of the world but we must first sell them to ourselves. Let us start today to view ourselves in a more positive light. Let us revel in our cultural richness, let us celebrate our creative diversity, let us promote our local history, let us financially support our struggling artists and art galleries, and let us encourage our local theatres, actors and productions.
Who knows – we may even begin to see all the positive things about our area that outsiders, once given half a chance, see but we, ourselves, have trouble accepting and envisioning! After all – what have we got to lose?
Jim and Lisa Gilbert are local, national and international award winning educators and historians.
