Raise the Hammer

I think a public art project commemorating local musicians and designed by local artists would be a great asset to the city, the art community and the economy surrounding the arts. If the first project was selected for Ward 2 instead, would Jason Farr be getting this much push back too? What if it was selected for Gage Park? what if the Arkells were selected instead? Not everyone knows who every Hamilton musician or artist is, and I don't think this has anything to do with ethnicity. Art is big business in this city and forms a large part of the local economy. As citizens of this city we should appreciate this.

I think that this project is far from political, public art is a key component of urban planning and projects are often representative of a local community. Perhaps this could have been handled in a way that is more inclusive for everyone with the understanding that every art project resonates differently with different people. Not everyone is going to be happy about every project, but every project will benefit the community and public spaces.

In any event, attendance at a stag and doe and the assumption that art projects depend on ethnicity of a community do not belong in this discussion. It was great of Santo to bring this into the light and make more people of the community aware, because after all, how can people participate in thoughtful discussion if they are unaware. However, it is unfair to blame the SCC for people not knowing about the meeting considering that the SCC is made of a group of volunteers, most of whom work full time and/or have families to care for.

Santo, since you did such a good job informing the community about this project (regardless of anyone's view point), why don't you join the SCC and volunteer your time to spread the word about future meetings and future projects. More community participation is needed to maintain successful representation, and though this is an assumption, I believe that much of strathcona is still unaware of the SCC's existence, and most people are not engaged the way you are.