August is, without doubt, the sleepiest month on the art calendar, when many galleries shut their doors and artists seem to vanish off the map until after Labour Day. Perhaps the Harper government was counting on that malaise to offset any furore over their plans to axe PromArt funding of Canadian arts abroad.

Stephen Harper: Feel free to insert your own caption here.

As reported two days ago at View on Canadian Art following on Simon Houpt’s article in the Globe and Mail, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) has chopped the $4.7 million PromArt fund quite decisively down to nothing, in addition to Heritage Canada’s Trade Routes program which also funded the activities of Canadian artists abroad. And while the Canadian Press article quotes Foreign Affairs spokesperson Anne Howland claiming that “We are still supporting arts funding, including international arts promotion,” the article continues: ‘though she was unable to provide specific examples.’ Which frankly, is not exactly glowing with hope or expectation.

The consequences of this dire action on Canada’s cultural reputation on the international stage are fairly self-evident, and have been passionately outlined by more prolific voices than my own - namely, by Andrea Carson over at VOCA, linked above - but it does bear pointing out that this is a two-fold effect, not only of the impact of that loss of funding on the ability of cultural institutions and individuals to promote Canadian culture in an international dialogue, but also on the perception of Canada as a whole.

That latter point is the one that concerns me on a somewhat more personal note at the moment, so I should probably elaborate. In the last month or so, I’ve been in correspondence with Leeds College of Art and Design regarding a solo exhibition I’ll be mounting there in 2010. The college’s decidedly English curator likes my drawings, certainly, but is more broadly concerned with showcasing contemporary Canadian art in the UK, with a series of talks and video screenings planned to complement my show in a context of Canadian identities. Foreign affairs should be wetting themselves with delight at the prospect, and early talks with PromArt last month were quite promising in terms of our receiving assistance for the cost of shipping the work overseas, that being the more significant financial hurdle on a venture such as this.

Given the goodwill and enthusiasm of this British curator and the investments, financial and otherwise, he and his institution are willing to make in promoting Canadian art in his own country, the thought of his reaction on learning that the Harper government has cut PromArt funding completely makes me cringe in embarrassment. The message that alone sends to the international cultural community is reprehensible.

The other point that I would want to make clear, however, is that this exhibition, as of our latest exchange of emails, is thankfully not dependent on PromArt funding to get off the ground. Regardless of this contemptuous outcome, the show will quite literally go on. Much like the kerfuffle around Bill C-10, this is a matter of principles as much as money, and one that will not stop Canadians from representing ourselves in an international context, not so long as that wider community can see the value in our works with an insight that our present government clearly lacks.

Quality Canadian culture will still have a voice, but it will be a diminished voice, and one that’s now going to have to work a hell of a lot harder to get its point across. Thanks a whole fucking lot, Stephen Harper.

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