Report on arts, culture and heritage in Nelson finds housing biggest hurdle for sector success
By Timothy Schafer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Endemic not pandemic continues to thwart the artistic aspirations of people wanting to live and create in one of the more arts-oriented cities in the province, a recently-released report found.
The Economic Conditions of the Nelson and Area’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Sector was recently released, revealing the highlights of a year-long arts, culture and heritage sector study for Nelson.
A partnership between Selkirk Innovates (Selkirk College), along with the Nelson District Arts Council (NDAC), Community Futures Central Kootenay and Nelson and Area Economic Development Partnership (NAEDP), the study looked at one of the hardest hit areas by the pandemic in the community.
But it wasn’t as much the pandemic created by the arrival of COVID-19 — and the subsequent closures and restrictions that crimped the style of Nelson artists — instead it was the rising costs of housing in the city that did it, said Sydney Black from NDAC, one of the report’s authors.
She felt the reason many artists were forced to leave the city had less to do with COVID-19 and more to do with rising living costs — an endemic condition found among artists in the Heritage city and across Canada. It was almost “impossible” to find a rental for less than $1,200 per month in Nelson, a price point that made it challenging for the average artist to achieve without working a non-art related full-time job, she noted.
“Definitely, in all of our conversations at the (Cultural Development Commission) and outside of it, housing has been a huge, huge barrier for artists who want to stay here and live and continue to exist but can’t afford to at this point,” Black said.
Co-author of the report, Selkirk College’s Sarah Breen, echoed that thought.
“Living space rather than working space was something that was talked about quite often and it came out that … cost of living and places to live were so far above the other issues,” she said.
The report’s executive summary was presented to city council — via an online meeting — on Feb. 22 as the first introduction of the findings. During that meeting Coun. Rik Logtenberg wondered if gentrification — the process whereby the character and cost of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in — in Nelson meant the artists were moving to the rural areas surrounding the city.
“And with Nelson being the tourist hub, this is where the sales would happen even with the artists being pushed further and further out,” he said. “Even if they aren’t residents they are our artists because this is where they sell their work, this is where they show their work and this is where they contribute to the culture of the community.”
He wondered how the city could retain its reputation as a cultural hub, even if the artists didn’t live here.
“Housing is the thing that it all comes back to: providing people with a secure place to live and then they can create,” said Black.
“But as we see things getting more and more expensive to live … the artists just become further and further removed then we see less diversity to what we are used to in our community because those people can’t continue to live here and market their wares here.”
Breen said she was researching solutions for sustainable local transportation when people live in one place but work in another.
“But, even with the best transit system in the world, it does not retain the same vibe in Nelson … people would move on if they cannot afford to stay here, so I think, for all of our sectors but in particular our arts sector, I think it is a critical issue.”
Coun. Keith Page said it was time to investigate purpose-built housing for artists in Nelson and develop a long-term strategy for “this very important sector,” and set some goals for what kind of purpose built units that should be seen in the city to support that sector.
“And we need to empower some sort of organization to address the need in our community … so the city is being built with intention for the next version of Nelson,” he said.
Twenty years ago people in Nelson could work part time, create their art and rent an affordable place to comfortably accomplish all of that, said Coun. Jesse Woodward.
“Those days are gone, of course,” he said. “It seems like the crux of the issue here is housing. Because if people can’t have affordable housing and have that spare time to actually make art, if you are having to work all of the time to afford it, it’s really challenging.”
Breen said housing and the cost of living is a key piece for artists and people employed in the cultural sector of the Nelson economy.
“I can’t get into any conversations about economic development without hitting housing within five minutes,” she said. “None of us will be able to solve the housing challenge overnight. It’s endemic, it’s national, it’s everywhere.”
She suggested people will have to begin to look at government support programs and grants to help solve the problem. In the study it was found that 40 per cent of individual respondents did not access any COVID-19 relief programs, with people reporting that some of the programs were inaccessible or they were ineligible.
“Basically it identified that there was the need for support but the existing supports were missing the mark in certain ways,” said Breen.
As well, 46 per cent of responding businesses and organizations did not access any COVID-19 relief programs.
Going viral
The arts, culture and heritage sector remains economically important to Nelson and area, Black explained, even when reduced by the impact of COVID-19.
But the impact of COVID‐19 on the arts, culture, and heritage sector has been inconsistent, highlighting the sector’s precarious nature and its resilience, she added.
The one theme that kept coming up while the study was being conducted was how little support there was for the sector in Nelson.
“Local sectoral connection with COVID‐19 support and funding programs was weak,” Black said. “This is a complex issue and warrants further investigation.”
Breen said the study objectives were to describe the size of the arts and culture sector and its contribution to the local economy, and then try to understand the impact of COVID-19 on it. As well, the study identified recommendations for how to best support sector recovery from COVID-19.
Using a “supply side” focus — not the patrons and audiences — the study highlighted individual workers, volunteers and businesses and organizations within the arts and culture sector.
Studying the study
In Nelson (and area) statistics to support the study were taken from the 2016 Census and it was found that art, culture, recreation and sport represented 5.8 per cent of the local workforce (335 people). This was much higher than the provincial estimate (3.8 per cent) and higher than estimates for other local sectors.
Of the 84 completed online and individual interview surveys, 64 per cent were working artists, while 35 per cent owned or operated a business or an organization. It included contractors, employees, managers and volunteers, along with 28 organizations (60 per cent for profits, 30 per cent non-profits and 10 per cent charities).
Within those surveyed, only one third (27 per cent) received all of their income from the sector.
The revenue of the sector was between $6.9 – $11.9 million, Breen stated, with total individual income estimated between $4.21 – $5.65 million.
That made the contribution of arts, culture and heritage to Nelson gross domestic product between $14.2 – $24.4 million.
The impact of COVID-19 on individuals was significant, Breen explained, with the projected average 2020 income between $30,000 and $40,000, but actual incomes were an average of up to 25 per cent less than projected.
“Those most likely to experience income shortfalls included the working artists and creators, as well as the contractors and those in the performing arts and film and media sub-sectors,” she said.
Less likely to be affected were business owners, employees, managers and administrators. The average revenue loss due to COVID-19 for businesses and organizations was around 20 per cent.
“The effects of COVID-19 were probably a little more complicated than folks were anticipating, and they might not be exactly what was expected,” Breen said. “The data suggests parts of Nelson and area faired quite well compared to other parts of the province, but the full story is a complicated one.”
Statistics Canada data
• Culture and sport is estimated to be 2.9 per cent of the national economy ($63.2 billion);
• Culture accounts for 90.4 per cent ($57.1 billion);
• There are an estimated 772,000 jobs across the country;
• Across Canada the gross domestic product (GDP) for culture and sport was estimated to be 2.6 per cent of the national GDP;
• In B.C. the gross domestic product (GDP) for culture and sport was estimated to be 2.7 per cent of the provincial GDP ($7.8 billion); and
• There are an estimated 98,050 jobs in culture and sport in the province.
Source: Statistics Canada
