Click HERE to read this news story - about the funding that the Ontario government is injecting into the arts - on cbc.ca.

It’s about how the ROM, the AGO and Lumintao Festival are getting millions to help alleviate deficits and cover costs.

But what caught our eye were the comments, reprinted here:

MT0000 says: “Where are we finding all this extra money for the arts? People are living on our pot-hole ridden streets!”

Fandlottawa1 responds: “How right you are MT0000…the next time you go to the movies, take a homeless person with you. Or buy him a ticket to a show, and volunteer at a homeless shelter instead.”

VoCA thinks this kind of attitude is typical of Canadians opinion of arts and culture. That it’s a waste of money that could be better spent, rather than as a viable revenue stream that will benefit our cities.

Why do people refuse to acknowledge the benefits of the arts? Why is there such lack of large-scale, out-of-the-box thinking?

The city of Chicago raised over $100 million for its Millenium Park! $23 million on Anish Kapoor’s sculpture Cloud Gate!

Would you say that was a waste of money??

Check it out: