Artists discuss the merits of leaving or staying in Prince George

As one local resident headed to Vancouver and ultimately to Toronto to pursue his career as dancer, actor, video editor, another took to the high seas to entertain on cruises and appears as part of a dance troupe on a popular television series.

Other local artists chose not to leave Prince George while yet another came from a large urban centre to find success here.

All of these perspectives were explored during a Zoom event called Following Creative Paths: Recentering Northern Artistic Life presented by ArtsUNITE from Ontario where panelists from Prince George discussed several topics including their decisions on what path they chose to achieve their own measure of success.

The panelists were Izaak Smith, who ultimately moved to Toronto to pursue his career, Tristan Ghostkeeper, who moved to Vancouver to pursue his career, local artists Elmer Gunderson and Clayton Gauthier, who both stayed in Prince George and Aidyl Jago who came to PG from an urban centre to open a music school.

Smith, a dancer, actor and now video editor, who appeared in the first season of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, movies and commercials said he carries his Prince George-ness around with him everywhere he goes.

His dance training was with Judy Russell at her Enchainement Dance Studio and he credits that opportunity with a lot of his success.

“I think people under rate the art scene in Prince George as maybe being too northern or reclusive or hokey and I experienced a really big culture shock when coming to the big city,” Smith said. “There’s a different interaction with art and story telling and I think what we have in northern BC is special and I think it’s something that more people want.”

Smith said Prince George offered him a great base to launch his career.

Tristan Ghostkeeper couldn’t say enough about Judy Russell and the training he received at her dance studio.

He takes all the knowledge he garnered from that experience and carries it into all his career opportunities, he said.

As part of the discussion, the topic of the life/art divide and how Prince George takes up space in their artwork was put forward.

“For me art has been something I have needed everyday and it’s medicine too,” Clayton Gauthier said. “Growing up in Prince George I wondered why there wasn’t any art around. Where’s the art? Because art changes the energy in the room. When you see art it’s so beautiful. It’s about people sharing their art with others and sharing their stories through art. It’s such a beautiful thing to feel so that was my motivation to keep doing this art and I want to see it all through the community and that’s a big part of growing up in a small community. When you don’t see that art around on a regular basis you have a motivation - OK, I can do this and be a part of it and share my art with the kids and pass it on. I feel it’s powerful. Art does such beautiful things.”

The event took place over two hours and explored many other aspects of the arts including grassroots versus institutional community development while bringing culture conversations away from larger metropolitan cities and toward more remote regions. This event explored the lived experience of the unique artistic community of Prince George, focusing on the challenges, concerns, differences, and future development.

The Prince George & District Community Arts Council (CAC) was instrumental in putting the event together and is the umbrella organization for the arts in Northern BC.

Sean Farrell, executive director for the CAC, said he’s seen a shift in the culture in Prince George in the last couple of years where there are a lot of plans for the city that include the arts and making space for it in the community.

“I think right now there is an incredible energy happening at our city hall that has finally recognized art and culture isn’t just a secondary recreational thing and could be a core piece of urban planning,” Farrell said.

During a recent city council meeting, an hour was spent talking about how to make arts and culture a more predominant part of the city’s landscape, he added.

“There was a consensus during the meeting that we’ve kicked this can too long down the road and we missed opportunities and we’re not going to miss those opportunities any more. We can see there is a recognition now that this needs to happen and I think there is a political will now for that to happen. I think timing is always really important and these issues that we’re talking about are actually being heard.”