Connecting Canadians and new technologies
Key message:
New technologies are helping Canadian artists reach wider audiences in Canada and around the world. These technologies have spawned new multimedia works, collections of Canadian works of art are now available on the internet and artists and arts organizations are using websites to promote their activities at home and abroad.
Canadians are increasingly becoming connected through communication technologies. In 1999, 42 per cent of Canadian households used the internet (29 per cent from home) and 53 per cent of private-sector enterprises were connected to the internet. (http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/060815/d060815b.htm)
Websites have become important tools in promoting and disseminating Canadian cultural products and services in Canada and around the world. For example, art collections have been digitized by many galleries and public institutions, including the Canada Council Art Bank and the National Gallery of Canada. Similarly, the National Library of Canada promotes Canadian authors, the National Film Board and Telefilm Canada promote Canadian filmmakers, the National Arts Centre promotes Canada’s performing arts companies and the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) was created in 1972 by the federal government to promote museums and heritage institutions. Links to these sites are provided below.
Web sites help tourists plan their visits in advance – and a community’s arts scene is often at the top of the list of what to see and what to do while visiting. In 1999, over $50 billion was spent in the country by Canadian and international travelers – and 60 per cent of these expenditures were on hotels, restaurants, tickets to events and travel agent services. Cultural tourism is being enhanced as more Canadian arts organizations and artists promote their offerings on the internet. (http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030709/d030709a.htm)
Canadian artists are also using new technologies in their artistic works – videos, lasers, holography and computers, for example. The Bell Canada Award in Video Art is presented by the Canada Council to recognize outstanding artistic achievement using new technologies, and the Canada Council has also established joint programs with the National Research Council and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council to promote research and collaborative projects between artists and scientists. These initiatives reflect the fast-growing trend among media artists and scientists to make creative and innovative adaptations of each other’s practices.
The federal government’s Multimedia Fund, launched in 1998, is an investment in the future of culture and new technology to ensure that more Canadian cultural content is available on the information highway in both official languages. Administered through Telefilm Canada, the Multimedia Fund supported 71 multimedia projects in its first year of operation – an investment of $6 million that resulted in productions totaling nearly $19 million in one year alone. (http://www.pch.gc.ca/pc-ch/pubs/report/htm/8.htm) (http://www.pch.gc.ca/pc-ch/mindep/misc/culture/htm/5.htm)
In concert with the Government-On-Line initiative, the Canada Council for the Arts is developing Grants On-Line. Over the next three years, it is anticipated that all granting programs will be true on-line applications. Eventually, artists will be able to submit their applications and support materials digitally, and keep track of their applications on-line.
Digitizing the Canada Council Art Bank collection of over 18,000 works has helped increase art rentals across Canada to both public and private sector clients. Over 7,000 works of art are now rented for public display, and the Art Bank has become as a model for other nations to follow, including: Australia, Norway, Singapore, India, Japan and South Africa.
Take a tour of Canadian works of art
The National Gallery of Canada (http://www.national.gallery.ca/english/default.htm)
The Canadian Museum of Civilization (http://www.civilization.ca/indexe.asp)
The National Arts Centre (http://www.nac-cna.ca/en/index.cfm)
The National Library & Archives of Canada (http://www.collectionscanada.ca/)
The Canada Council Art Bank (http://www.artbank.ca)
The National Film Board (http://www.nfb.ca/)
Telefilm Canada (http://www.telefilm.gc.ca)
Canadian Heritage Information Network (http://www.chin.gc.ca/English/)