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Originally Posted by TimeFadesAway
The same could be said of the Waverley underpass. Spending a large amount of money to trim 2 minutes off of some folks' commutes.
Ultimately, the arts is an important contributor to quality of life and support of the arts has been demonstrated to pay significant economic dividends, so there is a good argument for government support of the arts. Tourists don't come to see underpasses and pothole-free roads. While this addition to the gallery won't act as a draw on its own, it helps to create a critical mass of attractions to tourists that then makes a stop in Winnipeg worthwhile.
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Aggghhh now I'm diggin into my capitalist roots..... You have a good point, but I believe that this underpass plays an ansolutely massive role in the commercial and retail expansion immediately south of it... We may not have the OC (sorry lol) and everything else in the seasons of tuxedo without it. I can't remember if it came before or after IKEA, but surely IKEA knew of its plans.
What I'm saying is that while it's expensive, it has a possitive economic domino effect. On a different level, it's like a suburban metaphor taking the barriers down at P+M... who knows if we could have half these new developments or if the neighbourhoods would have succeeded if this traffic issue hadn't been alleviated. These are HUGE factors for tenants or retailers when entering markets, especially ours. Part of the narrative I always throw around here is that Winnipeg keeps getting in its own way and does not realize the negative effects, the things we miss out on... so the underpass may have been more helpful than we think.
However, that's how I lean. I'm all about getting barriers, physical or economic or even social OUT of the way, so that we can pursue growth and success ourselves. The WAG Inuit Art Centre is not that. It might draw some tourism, but unlikely anything that increases momentum.
But...
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Originally Posted by DirtWednesday
Exactly what I was thinking... Internationally First Nations art is highly revered and imitated. I couldn't believe how many dream catchers and headdresses I saw in Indonesia or Croatia. There will be people looking for the real thing, the original art. This brutalistly architected building will be another draw for tourism for travelers who dig this type of stuff. I couldn't give a crap what locals think, what I'm looking forward to is the new blood who appreciate First Nations.
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.....I could be very wrong about my perception of Inuit Art's international appeal. I'd love to be wrong about this, and I say that genuinely, not cynically.