SARAH JACKSON — OVER THE EDGE (UNBC)

One of Saskatoon’s many notable public art installations.

PRINCE GEORGE (CUP)  — Anyone who has ever seen Cirque du Soleil will agree that it is an awe-inspiring experience. I had the incredible experience of seeing it for free in a revamped airport hangar in Quebec City this summer.

I arrived an hour early, joining a line that stretched further than the eye could see along a dock beside the St. Lawrence River. The sun set over the crowd as we waited, bubbling with anticipation.

The woman standing next to me told me how much she enjoyed living in Quebec City. She had lived in Ontario and in Montreal for years, but Quebec City — which is classified as a United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization world heritage site — is the city she wants to live in.

Later that night, standing mere feet beneath swinging acrobats in the cool dark, I understood exactly what she meant.

What is the true value of art and architecture? A commonly held assumption in our society is that function is often more important than beauty. Yet, we have to wonder to what extent this is really true.

Think about your favorite city and about what it is that makes it that for you. For me, it is all about the impression I get from public spaces and the feeling those spaces create. Walking through the famous cities of the world, it is the architecture and art that makes an impression: the curve of the buildings, sculptures, street musicians and parks.

The first thing a city does when it is looking to revitalize the downtown is make it more aesthetically pleasing. After all, beautiful places attract investment. Take Vancouver, B.C. with its modern, shapely skyscrapers and gorgeous parks. Wherever you go in downtown Vancouver, the mountains seem to loom in the distance and the gorgeous blue ocean is within walking distance.

But public art is also controversial. Like anything else that involves people’s tax dollars, critics question its value and complain about the cost, especially if it is something they do not like. Cities are expressions of ourselves and we want them to reflect that.

According to David Staples of the Edmonton Journal, most major cities in Canada have a program that ensures one per cent of tax dollars goes to public art. This program demonstrates the importance of public art from a political perspective.

In April of this year, British Culture Secretary Maria Miller, argued that in periods of global economic austerity, policy-makers have to look at the economic value of public art and culture. Her shadowing culture secretary, Harriet Harman, added that “arts and culture are about much more than the economy: they’re about a sense of identity, of community, and the potential of each and every individual.”

Every person who has ever played at a piano recital with trembling hands or covered themselves in paint at a summer camp understands the value and thrill of creating and participating in art. It is an intrinsic and often under-looked part of our lives.

The longer I live, the more I learn to value art. It is something we can all contribute to, from supporting local artists to learning to become one. Everything can be art if it is seen from that perspective: a well-crafted sentence in an essay to the way we move about the world. It is just about becoming aware of the art that exists all around us and within us.

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Photo: Jordan Dumba/Photo Editor