Policy Brief

The Arts Mean Business:
A vision for a creative and competitive Calgary

Dear Calgary,

A city that creates is a city that competes.

As a kid in Dover, I rarely saw the arts up close. Creativity wasn’t missing—but the outlets for it were. 

We didn’t have galleries down the street or weekend theatre camps in the community hall. No one I knew had a piano in their house or took dance classes after school. I didn’t know what a dress rehearsal was, or that there were careers in the arts beyond being “famous.”

It wasn’t until later in life—thanks to groups like the National Access Arts Centre, the Burns Visual Arts Society, Loose Moose Theatre, and the Magyar Gala, where I perform the traditional Hungarian polotás and Viennese waltz dances each year—that I truly began to understand how essential the arts are to every part of life.

The arts are not only creative; they’re economic drivers that employ and empower.

I’ve grown to realize that behind every mural, concert, exhibit, or community celebration is a wide range of professionals—musicians, designers, technicians, choreographers, producers… the list is long!—whose work supports a thriving cultural economy. 

In the next decade, Calgary will grow to 3 million people. This may be the biggest challenge and opportunity we’ll ever face—and we won’t meet the moment without our city’s creators, storytellers, and placemakers. Every kid, and every Calgarian, deserves access to the arts—not just as entertainment, but as a path to belonging, confidence, and economic opportunity.

As mayor, this is my vision for a Calgary that creates and competes, by building our entire creative ecosystem—from downtown to Dover, from studio spaces to stages.

Jeromy Farkas
Mayoral Candidate, 2025 Calgary Municipal Election