Arts, Culture, and the Changing Face of. New Brunswick

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1 Arts, Culture, and the Changing Face of In its Strategic Plan, artsnb chose equity as one its priority areas in order to promote fair conditions for professional artists from emerging or minority cultural groups, the deaf and disabled, etc. to build capacity in artsnb programming. artsnb recognizes that while all people have the right to be treated equally, not all experience equal access to resources, opportunities or benefits and achieving equality does not necessarily mean treating individuals or groups in the same way, but may require the use of specific measures to ensure equity. artsnb feels that this focus on equity and inclusion will help create an expressive province that is more able to retain new immigrants and respond to an escalation in aging demographics that will affect the province over the next few years. artsnb: Statistics, trends, and the need for self-identification In artsnb s jury processes, there is every attempt made to create balance so that gender, regional, and linguistic representations are present. While there are regions that have been identified as being underserved, artsnb has historically undertaken efforts to address these disparities through special programs and targeted outreach to these regions. According to statistics available through artsnb s current database system, it has been doing very well serving both the Anglophone and Francophone populations in the province equitably. artsnb has also undertaken a number of approaches to reach out to First Nation communities in the province through programs and outreach officers but those efforts, up to now, have had mixed success in increasing the low application rates to artsnb s programs. It is hoped that the Aboriginal Outreach Officers hired in 203 with the help of the Joint Economic Development Initiative (JEDI) will be a crucial step in building the necessary capacity to increase application and success rates among the aboriginal population. Unfortunately, artsnb s current information collection processes are not granular enough to tease out the necessary statistics on how it is doing with other cultural groups, and it is hoped that a self-identification form can be developed that will allow for a more fulsome understanding of the impact on these groups. Generally, however, the feeling is that artsnb sees relatively few new immigrants accessing their programming and they hope to undertake a number of initiatives to begin addressing this disparity, including reaching out to multicultural associations, holding capacity-building workshops, and working with partners which have a vested interest in population growth and immigration to reach these groups.

2 Arts and Culture s importance to population growth and retention The Government of, in its Population Strategy , has noted that it is actively trying to address declining population trends through targeted immigration, settlement, multiculturalism, repatriation, and retention activities. There is a marked decline of the number of young people settling in the province and many young people are moving out of the province to pursue economic opportunities in other jurisdictions, a trend that will have profound impact on the province s economy, tax base and social support system. 2 This trend begs the question about what can be done to make the province a more attractive place to settle in and how retention can be improved, especially of new immigrants. is losing significantly more people to other provinces than it has the capacity to attract through immigration 3, so every effort must be made to retain the new immigrants who choose to call the province home. Right now, is falling far behind one in five Canadians is an immigrant where only one in thirty-three ers is an immigrant. 4 Recent immigrant arrivals to have disclosed that they face serious barriers to social acceptance and social integration. 5 One startling example of an immigrant s experience in is Bojan Furst, who wrote a blog post in response to the provincial government asking what New Brunswick can do to attract and retain immigrants. After detailing the challenges of living in that eventually lead to his family pulling up stakes and moving to Newfoundland, where they found a much more accepting environment, Furst writes: Immigrants are not some exotic species of a bird that you can attract by planting the right kind of a tree. You have to accept that we are no different than you. We are not less human than you or more entrepreneurial or smarter or dumber or better or worse educated. We want the same things you do: good neighbours, safe streets, jobs, decent housing, good schools that give our children an opportunity to be the best they can be. We may not speak perfect English or perfect French, but we might speak Croatian, or Urdu, or Farsi, or German, or Dutch, or Mandarin or any other of the hundreds of languages out there in the world. Make us feel like there is a place for us and we will share everything we have with you and be just as passionate about your province and your communities as you are even if we are not third generation Maritimers and even if our family did not come to shores on the first Loyalist ship or during the terrible tragedy that was the expulsion of Acadians. We will Population Growth Strategy , p. 2 Population Growth Strategy , p.2 3 Population Growth Strategy , p.6 4 s Perfect Demographic Storm, Constantine E. Passaris, Journal of Studies, Vol. 3, s Perfect Demographic Storm, Constantine E. Passaris, Journal of Studies, Vol. 3, 202 2

3 volunteer and contribute to our new communities if you give us a chance to build some stability in our lives without feeling like permanent outsiders because we have accents, darker skin, or sometimes wear funny clothes. Don t expect all of us to be entrepreneurs most of you are not. Some of us will be entrepreneurs, others will be teachers, and potters, and photographers, and chefs, and some of us will sell delicious samosas at the City Market. What you do need to understand, though, is that treating us like outsiders even when we spend years trying to make home will make us leave and we will never come back. 6 One important element for retention is to create the kind of flourishing, accepting, creative space that draws people in and makes them want to stay the province needs to become the go to province instead of the drive-through province. We need to promote an inclusive society and educate the current residents of the province of the richness new immigrants bring with them experiences, skills, histories, cultures that all serve to enrich and build a pluralistic province. One means of creating this space is to encourage more artistic work by new immigrants as this serves a doublefunction allowing the immigrant to express their cultural heritage while, at the same time, having a means to translate their cultural experiences to the province at large, serving as an education for the citizens of the province at the same time. What this requires is forward thinking on the part of all provincial agencies to find ways to integrate arts and culture into retention programs, orientation materials for new immigrants, and any other resources that support immigration and population growth. Arts and culture also needs to be more valued as an economic resource the province can draw on, as the culture and recreation sectors have shown a 25% employment growth rate since December Heritage languages and an intimate knowledge of customs, traditions, and religions can contribute to a more prosperous socioeconomic and geopolitical landscape for s purposeful engagement with the rest of the world. In this context, s multicultural profile provides us with a global mindset and empowers our province with the skills and competencies for economic success and competitive advantage on the contemporary international landscape. 8 Aside from economic factors, increased work in this area must be done in order to meet the four principles of the province s multicultural policy: equality, appreciation, preservation of cultural heritages, and participation. 9 The purpose of the policy is to promote the equal treatment for all citizens of all cultures. It represents the commitment 6 On Immigration Bojan s Blog. Accessed Oct. 30, Factors Influencing Labour Market Trends in the Province, Government of 8 s Perfect Demographic Storm, Constantine E. Passaris, Journal of Studies, Vol. 3, s Multiculturalism Policy, Government of 3

4 to equality in matters of human rights, in matters of cultural expression, and in access to and participation in society. 0 It is clear that arts and culture have a role to play if the multicultural policy wants to achieve its aims. Arts and Culture and the aging demographic Currently is tied with Nova Scotia as the second-oldest jurisdiction in North America among the sixty U.S. states and Canadian provinces as measured by median age. The province s slow economy has fuelled an outmigration of citizens, especially young people, who are leaving to find work elsewhere. While New Brunswick s population of those over 65 is projected to grow by 43%, impacting the province s economy, tax base and social support system 2, it is also of crucial importance that this aging population be seen as a resource to be respected and nurtured. The tone of many statistics reports frames this aging demographic as problematic, without touching on the potential and strengths of this population. Older adults want to remain productive and want a high quality of life in the last third of their life. Here, arts and culture has an important role to play. In 200, the National Endowment for the Arts developed a cooperative agreement with The George Washington University to conduct a multisite national study with the aim of measuring the impact of professionally conducted community based cultural programs on the general health, mental health, and social activities of older persons, age 65 and older. 3 The results from the study showed a marked decline in rates of depression, increased morale, increased social participation, an increase in overall health, a decline in doctor s visits, and a decline in medication usage. 4 What is remarkable in this study is that after just a year, the cultural groups, in contrast to the control groups, were showing areas of actual stabilization and improvement apart from decline despite an average age which is greater than life expectancy. This pattern then continued throughout year two of the study. These results point to powerful positive intervention effects of these community-based art programs run by professional artists. They point to true health promotion and disease prevention effects. In that they also show stabilization and actual increase in community-based activities in general among those in the cultural programs, they reveal a positive impact on maintaining independence and on reducing dependency. This latter point demonstrates that these 0 s Multiculturalism Policy, Government of s Perfect Demographic Storm, Constantine E. Passaris, Journal of Studies, Vol. 3, Population Strategy , p

5 community-based cultural programs for older adults appear to be reducing risk factors that drive the need for long-term care. 5 It is clear that Creative Aging programs will play a vital role in keeping s aging demographic as healthy and engaged as possible. With the emphasis on using professional artists as resources and teachers for these types of programs, artsnb will have a role to play in helping develop and champion programming for this demographic. Building Successful Retention Programs and Creative Aging Programs artsnb hopes that through its efforts and through strategic partnerships, it will be able to play an important role in helping create a rich, flourishing province that will both attract young people back to the province while also creating an educated, pluralistic society that welcomes and helps new immigrants build fruitful lives within the province. In addition, creative aging programming will be an important factor in tapping into the province s aging population, seeing this demographic as a strength contributing for the province. Implementing creative aging programming will help lower rates of depression, medical visits, and medication costs all factors that increase the burden on social systems. It is clear that arts and culture have an important role to play if New Brunswick wants to increase retention, build the province to be competitive internationally, and maximize the potential of those who call home. artsnb looks forward to playing a part in approaching partners to make this happen. 5 5