ART SCHOOL DESERVES FUNDING

The Alberta College of Art and Design’s official designation as a university is most welcome and overdue. ACAD has been granting four-year bachelor degrees for several years, after all.

The problem is the provincial government seems half-hearted in acknowledging ACAD’s role in not only helping artists reach their own creative potential, but contribute to our culture and the economy through their talents.

“Alberta is made richer by the many exceptionally talented artists and creators that call our province home,” Advanced Education Minister Marlin Schmidt told a crowd of students and faculty last week.

Those are encouraging words, and it’s expected the school will get a new name and logo, but without a commensurate increase in funding, it’s a hollow gesture. In fact, Schmidt couldn’t resist a presumed attack on the former Progressive Conservative government when he delivered his announcement.

“Do we go back to the boom and bust policies of the past, the same policies that left regular people overexposed to oil price crashes? Or do we make sure this economic recovery is different? Do we make sure this recovery is built for regular people and it’s built to last?”

What prattle. Changing the name of ACAD does nothing to address the school’s financial struggles. The facility was constructed in the early 1970s and needs major upgrades, according to its president, Daniel Doz. “Our building is very outdated, it isn’t as functional as it could be, so we are working on how we can modernize it,” said Doz, who adds that efficient use of the space could allow more students.

David Swann, the ever-observant Liberal MLA for Calgary Mountain View, knows what’s up. “ACAD has been struggling for years,” said Swann, who attended the announcement. “Students here only receive 65 per cent in per capita funding that other students in Alberta receive.”

The NDP’s attention to ACAD is encouraging, but it’s an effort half done. The school is unquestionably an asset to Western Canada. The government should ensure it is properly funded. To do otherwise is a disservice to not only our artists, but to the NDP itself. Surely, it doesn’t deal in empty gestures.

It’s no secret the provincial government is in dire financial straits, but if Schmidt really does believe Alberta is enriched by the contributions of artists, he has an obligation to ACAD’s students to study his $5.9-billion budget and find the money to adequately fund the school.