Simon Brault
Simon Brault, the outgoing head of the Canada Council for the Arts, says arts funders need to accelerate their transformation to address current realities on a struggling planet.
Noting the world has changed significantly since many arts funders, including the council, were created in the mid-1900s, he says they are at risk of "greater and greater irrelevance, if not their demise."
Brault, in an online post, emphasized the need for arts funders to support diversity and address the harms caused by colonialism
"Decolonization is an open-ended and evolving concept," he says. "It's a complex and irreversible process. There is no roadmap for how to decolonize arts funding."
He says the arts – along with other sectors – also have a role to play in helping to address pressing issues like the climate crisis, social isolation, mental health and international conflicts.
He urged funders to act as advocates on issues like better working conditions and remuneration in the arts, and to encourage partnerships to bring together disparate parts of society "who might not otherwise meet but who need to speak with one another to explore new and promising trajectories."
Michelle Chawla, who has worked at the council since 1995, takes over as director on June 26.
Source: Canada Council for the Arts
