Please don’t assume that artists and arts activists don’t know how to be respectful when it’s required.
Toronto’s movers and shakers in the arts community – artists, administrators and supporters – all warmly acknowledged mayor Rob Ford when he took the stage at today’s Toronto Arts Awards luncheon today, and so did every award recipient. Muriel Sherrin Dance award nominee Carmen Romero even tipped her hand to the mayor while she was performing flamenco on stage – no easy feat.
The mayor voted in favour of a $17.5 million increase to arts funding over four years when city council passed the motion this month, something that endeared him to today’s celebrants. Before the awards were announced, Ford read his proclamation honouring the contribution artists make to the city and actually made it sound heartfelt.
And, to his credit, he kept his remarks mercifully short. When David Miller, a true culture enthusiast, held the post, he droned on at length about all the wonderful things he was doing for the city, turning the event into an opportunity for personal promotion. In a rare moment of self discipline, our current mayor confined his tub-thumping to the Mayor Rob Ford fridge magnets he had placed at every table setting – I guess it helps being in the label business.
Actor R.H. Thomson hosted the event, lending it just the right amount of fire and earnestness. I especially appreciated the advice he gave to corporations before the awarding of the Toronto Arts & Business Award to Sun Life Financial.
“Treat people like consumers and you create a market,” he said. “Treat people like citizens and you create a civilization.”
Other awards recipients included Denise Fujiwara, who won the Muriel Sherrin Award, playwright Daniel Karasik, who won the Emerging Artist Award, Arts for Youth winner Art Starts and Che Kothari and Robert Foster, who shared the Rita Davies and Margo Bindhardt Cultural Leadership Award.
Last year was the mayor’s first year attending the awards lunch. I like to think that the event, which demonstrates the power and passion of the arts community, played a role in influencing Ford to throw his support to the funding increases. Whatever his reasoning, he made the right choice.
