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Visual Arts in the Overview
The visual arts community in Cape Breton is very active and there is a growing number of professional artists working full-time and earning an income from their work. Some derive supplementary incomes from their artwork.Although the Visual Arts include commercial artists, such as architecture , photography, printing, and design, the focus of our investigation is in the area of Fine Arts . This would include areas such as painting, sculpting, and related arts. Cape Breton has a full-time gallery, the UCCB Art Gallery which has moved to new, expanded facilities on campus. As well, Centre Bras D'Or proves to be a successful partnership between the Visual Arts and the Festival sector. Here, professional artists exhibit and sell their work to an audience of concert-goers. Visual artists derive income from the sale of their work, printmaking and commercial reproductions of their artwork. Art supplies, camera stores, developers and framers are among the businesses that support this segment. Employment in the fine arts-painting, sculpture, etc., is limited. There is a class of professional artists who are employed full-time in the creation of their work. Commercial art galleries employ personnel and buy or take artists work on consignment. Some artists supplement their income and others instruct full-time, either through private lessons or in the educational system. Many artists supplement their fine art activities with the creation of commercial art for the business sector, although local opportunities are not plentiful.
Professional fine artists derive and income from the sale of their artwork through commercial galleries. Frequently, work is placed in galleries on a consignment basis and the artist shares a portion with the gallery. Many derive an income by teaching , either privately or in the school system.
We estimate $170,000 is generated by the fine arts segment of the sector.
New opportunities for job creation in the visual arts are in the areas of technology such as multimedia, desktop publishing , and design. New and expanded art galleries are creating additional jobs and are stimulating private sector activity.
In the report by Weldon Bona,"Cape Breton Cultural Industry, Strategy for Growth", a strategy contracted by Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation and University College of Cape Breton", several problems were cited. Having completed interviews and research, it is our belief that these "problems" have been addressed. On the issue of UCCB and its operation at the time of the report, (1995) it was considered a major problem for the Visual Arts sector. Artists felt that there was not enough opportunity to exhibit. Improvements such as posted hours of operation, better promotion of shows, more exhibits by local artists and organization of special events would require only modest budget increases. Now with a new curator, Beryl Davis, and a new and expanded art gallery at UCCB, along with a permanent home for the arts at Center Bras D'Or, these are now considered strengths. Also with new program offerings at Marconi Campus the issue of not having advanced design and technique training has been addressed.
Professional artists living here continue to produce and sell their paintings locally as well as internationally with Cape Breton qualities being a strong attraction for visual artists.
Visual Artists should be targeted to visit , relocate and retire to Cape Breton. Our environment, natural beauty and lifestyle are great attractions for many visual artists. The expansion of the Art Gallery at UCCB is presenting new opportunities for local artists to exhibit. The visual arts are an important ingredient in multimedia technology . Visual artists should look to these developments for employment opportunities.
Direct impacts have been quoted from the report as "almost 1500 full-time and almost 2000 part-time jobs in the culture industry in Cape Breton." Indirect impacts involve many links with other sectors. The production of a painting or sculpture, for example, can involve expenditures at art supply stores, film shops, and framing galleries. This interaction with seemingly unrelated businesses are an integral part of our economy, but are seldom recognized or even considered.
In addition to the economic impact of the culture industry, there are the indirect contributions the sector makes to the community: quality of life , employment, education, volunteers and amateur involvement. |
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