Culture Collapse

Hot Docs, Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Just for Laughs, just the latest cultural institutions to join a long list of Canadian arts groups facing existential threats. Why is this all happening now?

Based on recent headlines, you might think that we are in the midst of a total cultural collapse in this country. Film festivals, comedy festivals, symphonies, cinemas, theater companies, arts magazines all closing down or telling us that they're about to. Corporate sponsors are pulling out. Leadership teams are crumbling. People are quitting en masse or getting laid off. There's been a lot of dirty laundry aired in public from within these organizations, open letters and accusations about mismanagement and workplace inequity within these arts organizations. It all sounds miserably dire. So just what is going on and why is it all happening now?

Host: Jesse Brown 

Credits: Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Featured guests: Jesse Wente, Amy Blackmore & Dan Seligman

For more information:

• Canadian Art magazine shuts down amid financial losses and internal conflict

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