Some of Canada's top musicians have come together to release a song to try to encourage Canadians to vote against Stephen Harper. "You Have a Choice," which was produced by K-OS, Billy Talent, Sarah Harmer, and other musicians, will play on radio stations across the country, but it is also available for free online at avaaz.ca.
But this recent move by K-OS and friends is not the first time we've seen artists criticize Harper online. Just last week, I received an email from Alexander Galant with a link to a YouTube video that he produced as a satirical public service announcement in response to some of our PM's comments about the arts.
Check out the email interview with artist Alexander Galant.
What do you do?
I'm a writer and director. I've directed several award-winning stage productions and short films. I recently co-wrote the screenplay based on the soon-to-be published official sequel to Dracula which will be produced by Jan de Bont. (see this week's Publisher's Weekly)
Why did you create this YouTube video?
Well, I thought that it was absurd that PM Harper would assume to guess what "ordinary Canadians" might like or dislike in regards to TV programming. I imagined what it might be like if the government dictated completely what kinds of arts would be available, and went to the extreme. Reading some of the comments in support of Harper, there are a great number of people who see art as only something that hangs on the wall.
My point is that the arts are everywhere, in many facets of our lives: not only the painting on your wall, but the music on your MP3 player, the film you watched last weekend, the sweater you are wearing, the design of your couch. It's important to support those who need the leg-up to either promote themselves or produce a product. Creativity is all about new ideas, but they don't go very far unless artists have a means to make those ideas into a reality. I was fortunate to have had the training in theatre that has led me to be able to earn a living in the arts. However, the training that I received is no longer available due to cuts to the arts during the "Common Sense Revolution" in the '90s. It's very sad.
How do you think this video can help spread your message?
Visually speaking, it's very striking to see how much the arts surround our lives when it all disappears. I hope people are moved think a little bit more about the work that goes behind all the things they enjoy every day, and how much training, funding and skill was involved in making them.
What has been the reception to the video online?
We were in the top-50 viewed on the day it was posted. To date there are almost 3000 views since it was uploaded on Sept 28. The comments have been mostly pro-arts, anti-Harper, but it's also been interesting to see some opposing views too.
If the artist community could pick a leader next week, who would it be?
It's not up to me to dictate who artists should or should not vote for. I implore everyone to be informed and vote for what's best for their community and their country.
Leave your comments here. See you tomorrow.
