Big news. Have you heard? Craft accounts for 2.8 Billion in Canada’s Gross Domestic Product. That’s $2.8 billion,… billion with a B.

What a change from just a few years ago, when information about craft was buried in the manufacturing sector, rather than the visual arts sector at Statistics Canada. Thanks to the diligent work of the CCF/FCMA’s Craft Working Group, Statistics Canada re-defined craft, identifying it as a core sub-domain of visual arts. This allowed craft to be included in this new report: the Canadian Culture Satellite Account 2010. (Read in full here.) The biggest take-away from the report is: that culture represents $47.8 billion worth of GDP, and of that total, $2.8 billion is attributed to the Craft sector.

These statistics are exciting, and they change the way we can talk about Craft and its place in the cultural sector. Opportunities to use this information are far and wide, but three recent events in particular gave us the chance to share, inform, and advocate.

Over a two week period in October 2014, the CCF/FCMA participated in the Canadian Arts Coalition’s Day on the Hill, as well as the Canada Council for the Arts National Arts Service Organization (NASO) Annual Meeting and Visual Arts Sector Consultations.

The Day on the Hill resulted in 97 meetings with Members of Parliament, senators and senior officials, allowing cultural experts time to discuss, face to face, the key role arts investment plays in the economic and social health of Canada. The CCF/FCMA attended three of these meetings, all of whom were extremely supportive of the Canadian Arts Coalition’s three priorities. In a year with a federal surplus and an election on the horizon, it is more important than ever that the culture sector ensure our voices are heard, and that our contributions are recognized.

At the Research-themed NASO meeting, amongst two days of interesting content, the Canada Council’s Director and CEO, Simon Brault, gave a forward thinking speech toned with optimism as we move toward 2017 (the 200th anniversary of Canada). Rather than be satisfied with the status quo, he asked the question, “…how can we engage with this new world and find ways to support new and unpredictable quests for artistic excellence without sacrificing the artists and organizations that we have worked so hard to support in the past?” This is an important question, one that the Canada Council is currently debating at length.

Lastly, the CCF/FCMA’s Director, Maegen Black, was invited to participate in the Visual Arts Sector Consultations. 20 experts were invited to each of the 11 meetings across the country, including artists, arts administrators, educators, museum/gallery/artist run centre staff and arts funders. The consultation focused not on the Canada Council programming that exists, but the current realities of the visual arts sector as a whole, its goals, and the work required to achieve them. The consultation is intended to gain a greater understanding of the sector’s wants and needs, so that Council staff can evaluate their current programming with information from the community. It is one step in a lengthy review process which we were proud to be a part of. As results of these consultations are shared and the larger online consultation survey is released, we will be sure to keep you informed.

The CCF/FCMA knows the importance of the voice of craft in all the advocacy activities we undertake. Ensuring that voice is heard is the defining motivator behind all our advocacy activities, as we strive to represent the sector on behalf of all craftspeople in Canada.