The following appeared in the Calgary Herald Editorial Section on March 23, 2007:

Has Calgary reached a 'crisis of aspiration'? For a number of reasons, I'm inclined to say "Yes, we have!" Our ambitions for the city we live in are leading us to change the way we do things. The ways we use land, get around the city, treat the environment, care for the disadvantaged, embrace diversity and support arts and culture are all currently being rethought in Calgary. In these booming times, all of our opportunities and challenges can be overwhelming. But what better cause to rally around than the future of this dynamic city?

The term 'crisis of aspiration' comes from Charles Landry's book The Art of City Making. Mr. Landry spoke in Calgary in 2006 as part of ACAD's Stirring Culture series, and in his book, he singles out Calgary as the kind of city that is likely to change only because of a crisis of aspiration. Every big city deals with the challenges Calgary's facing now, and we all know what follows a boom. But what's the rush? Let's enjoy it while we've got it, right? Wrong! Now is the perfect time to do the things that will make our city great, what author Stephen Covey calls "non-urgent, important" work.

In this context, The Herald's recent series on the state of arts funding is very interesting. The series reports on a Leger Marketing poll that shows a strong majority of Calgarians in favour of more provincial arts funding (astonishingly blasted in big, bold type across the front page of the paper last week). And, last fall, Calgary Arts Development conducted a survey that showed that Calgarians want our municipal support for the arts to be on par with the top three cities in Canada.

These studies give us a sense of Calgary's aspiration. Because surely this isn't just about money, is it? Calgarians may aspire to have the best funded arts sector in the country, but what they really crave is what those dollars mean for our city: more laughter, more tears, more shared wonder. More opportunities to get out of the house and come together to experience something enriching. More and higher quality educational experiences for our children. And simply the knowledge that we live in a city where artistic excellence and innovation are valued, celebrated and held up as a point of civic pride. These are all things that tell us about the kind of city we live in, and as Charles Landry's book tells us, these are questions that are fundamentally about the art of city making.

To focus our work, Calgary Arts Development looks at five pillars of a thriving arts and culture system. Financial resources is the first pillar, with strong and increasing investments in the arts from many sources. Next is spaces that support the arts in the form of iconic buildings, engaging public areas and artistically-infused neighborhoods. The third pillar is an engaged public that has easy access to and strong awareness of the arts, voting with their feet as the biggest champions of their arts scene. Fourth, a focus on human capital development is crucial. Here we look for a critical mass of emerging and accomplished artists and a high number of quality programs for educating and developing artists, cultural workers and the general public, including new Canadians, seniors and especially youth. Finally, strong partnerships allow the arts to contribute to the vitality of the whole community, and connect with other sectors such as tourism, economic development, social services and education.

The first pillar, strong financial resources, is the 'gas in the engine' for the arts and culture system. Whether it's through artwork and ticket sales, or funding from government, corporate or philanthropic sources, the system doesn't run without funding. In Alberta, and in Calgary, the verdict is clear: the tank is lower than we'd like!

But a focus solely or even primarily on funding is problematic. The amount of funding tells us little about what's actually happening in Calgary. And what is the right amount? Is there an upper limit? It doesn't matter what the source of funding is-provincial, municipal, federal, or private-we experience the arts where we make our lives. In Alberta, the arts are vitally important wherever we find ourselves. But a healthy system for arts and culture centres around cities, and nowhere is a thriving arts sector more important than in our province's largest urban centre. We are limited, therefore, only by how great we want our city to be.

So let's take up a challenge passed on by Mr. Landry after his talk in Calgary. He suggested that Calgarians, of anyone in the world, might be able to be the first to think of their city as a living work of art. Now that is a high aspiration! The great thing is that Calgary's artists are already leading the way.

Terry Rock, PhD, is the President & CEO of Calgary Arts Development