13 Jan Putting culture back in culture

Citizen-artist and longtime culture critic Andrew Terris likes the realignment of culture portfolios in Tuesday’s cabinet shuffle. In addition to explicit cultural entities, the new Department of Communities, Culture, and Heritage will be responsible for the Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management, and the provincial library system. It will administer the offices of Acadian Affairs, Gaelic Affairs, and African Nova Scotian Affairs.

Over the years, culture has regularly been batted around within the bureaucracy, often ending up with dubious partners. First there was Culture, Recreation and Fitness (we used to call it Cult, Rec and Fit), then Tourism and Culture, then Education and Culture, then back to Tourism and Culture, with Heritage belatedly added. Mostly culture was an afterthought. Many in the sector longed for the day when government would recognize the overriding importance of culture and, like many other jurisdictions, create a standalone Department of Culture.

Well, guess what? By all indications, that’s exactly what the Dexter government has just done. Every single aspect of the new department – culture, heritage, archives, libraries, and the aforementioned “offices” – has a direct link to our sector. This is nothing short of revolutionary… a seismic shift in the way that the Nova Scotia government views culture.