As I was reading the paper today, I saw an article stating that they were looking for artists to apply to paint some art in the downtown core.
They are inviting local artists to submit copies of their artwork, which will be used to decorate the utility boxes. That is great! But ‘then’ they say they are ‘encouraging youth under 30, and black, Indigenous and people of colour as well as 2SLGBTQI+ artists!‘
Why?
Why do we need to ‘encourage’ ‘special’ people? Why can we just not say “this is open to ALL artists” and leave it at that! Do NOT ask who the artist is at all, or their colour or their sexual identity (which is totally inappropriate) or their age!
Just choose what you think you like, and then AFTER the fact you can find out who actually did the art work! This type of art should have nothing to do with age, sex, or colour of the person’s skin! It should just be art that was loved and used!
Jenni Howse
Honeymoon Bay