If you’re anywhere near 515 West Hastings (SFU Harbour Centre) at 12:30 pm today, come on by. (Or anywhere in the city, for that matter; we’re a hundred steps from Waterfront Station). It’s the start of City Conversations – a new initiative of the SFU Centre for Dialogue, City Program and Urban Studies, with sponsorship by BTA Works – on the most current topics affecting Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.
No registration required. Just come on in to join in:
State of the Arts
When: April 19, 2012 Time: 12:30-1:30 pm Location: Harbour Centre, Room 1425
Vancouver is a vibrant city, but its cultural quantity and quality are not often compared to New York or Toronto, or even San Francisco – a city of similar size. What will it take to raise Vancouver’s (and the Lower Mainland’s) cultural star? Philanthropy? Government investment? Affordable artists spaces? Big arts institutions? Cross-cultural sharing with other West Coast cities?
Featuring PuSh Festival executive director Norman Armour, Georgia Straight editor Charlie Smith, and ION Magazine publisher and founder Vanessa Leigh, State of the Arts will explore these issues and more when the conversation begins on April 19.
There will be a City Conversation on the first and third Thursday of each month.
Pretty much all the artistic and entrepreneurial people I know have left Vancouver. The provincial out migration numbers suggest people are leaving in droves. I suspect that once the credit bubble pops, the city will then be left with a massive inventory of apartments. A good chunk of the economy is based on real estate/development. So when that ends, I think the city will come to resemble Montreal – a poorer city, but more enticing for art.