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More by Stephanie Johns

Nyan Cat flies into Halifax on a pop tart rainbow

Or, Nyan Cat's dad. Which is close enough for me.
- by Stephanie Johns
- Jun 14, 2013
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Do HRM candidates care about the arts?

The Greater Halifax Arts and Culture Coalition find out

by Stephanie Johns @stephaniejohns

click to enlarge

Saddest photo I've seen since that mama duck looking for her lost ducklings one

Saddest photo I've seen since that mama duck looking for her lost ducklings one

On September 19, we reported on The Greater Halifax Arts and Culture Coalition's campaign to HRM candidates. The Coalition, made up of representatives from 19 professional arts and cultural organizations in the city, highlighted the shameful discrepancy between arts funding in Halifax compared to the rest of the country ($0.55 per capita, less than 10% the national average of $5.71 per citizen), and asked candidates for their thoughts, to share their backgrounds, their values and detail their commitment to the arts in HRM.

The Coalition heard back from over a third of the hopefuls (28 out of 65) and have released their statements on their website (greaterhalifaxarts.org) to coincide with Culture Days (Sept 28-30).

Unsurprisingly, all of the candidates were in favour of the arts and increased cooperation from the city. While some were less verbose or more anecdotal, there were many thoughtful and interesting responses that are well worth a read. Click here to read them and post your own comments.

The Coalition asks that voters keep these issues—and candidates statements—in mind when contacted or at the All Candidates Debate on October 15, hosted by Neptune Theatre. It's up to us to make sure the elected officials aren't just paying lip service.