The Compassionate Imagination
How the Arts Are Central to a Functioning Democracy
Published on 26. August 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
200 pages
978-1-77086-699-7 (ISBN)
Description
"The book is worth reading because it does something rather special: it celebrates Canadian arts and offers ideas to promote their continued cultivation. Wyman's ... enthusiasm for the variety and calibre of projects is infectious." - The Literary Review of Canada
A radical reimagining of the role of art and culture in contemporary democracy, The Compassionate Imagination proposes a new Canadian Cultural Contract that re-humanizes our way of living together by tapping into the instincts for generosity and compassion that find their expression in art.
Over the last forty years, the arts have been increasingly deemed unimportant to the creation of an educated workforce. Reflecting a broadly held political view that in a market-based economy the arts were "a frill," they were deemed "unnecessary" courses compared to sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
But what kind of Canada might we make if we were to place art and culture at the heart of our mutual decision-making, and return the arts to a central position in our education, shifting to steam rather than stem?
What might be possible if we integrate the creative imagination into our responses to the great social challenges we face? What impact would it have on the future shape of our democracy?
It's time to find where the Compassionate Imagination can take us.
A radical reimagining of the role of art and culture in contemporary democracy, The Compassionate Imagination proposes a new Canadian Cultural Contract that re-humanizes our way of living together by tapping into the instincts for generosity and compassion that find their expression in art.
Over the last forty years, the arts have been increasingly deemed unimportant to the creation of an educated workforce. Reflecting a broadly held political view that in a market-based economy the arts were "a frill," they were deemed "unnecessary" courses compared to sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
But what kind of Canada might we make if we were to place art and culture at the heart of our mutual decision-making, and return the arts to a central position in our education, shifting to steam rather than stem?
What might be possible if we integrate the creative imagination into our responses to the great social challenges we face? What impact would it have on the future shape of our democracy?
It's time to find where the Compassionate Imagination can take us.
Reviews / Votes
"The organization and synthesis of such a broad range of information provides us with perspectives and arguments that are both logical and emotionally accessible for a broad range of readers." -- Judith Marcuse, LL.D. (Hon.), Artistic Producer, Judith Marcuse Projects, Founder/Director, International Centre of Art for Social Change (ICASC), Senior Fellow, Ashoka International. "A monumental work both of daunting analysis and of impassioned argument. It is difficult to come away from this book without wondering whether there is anyone other than Max Wyman who could have written it. The sheer level of knowledge is jaw-dropping." * The BC Review * "... the book is worth reading because it does something rather special: it celebrates Canadian arts and offers ideas to promote their continued cultivation. Wyman's command of this country's dance scene, for one, is impressive, and his enthusiasm for the variety and calibre of projects is infectious." -- Marlo Alexandra Burks, The Literary Review of Canada "Highly recommended." -- Tom Sandborn * The Vancouver Sun * "Art is a comfort amid the challenges of life, and in The Compassionate Imagination Wyman shows how art might save us from ourselves." -- Carissa Halton * Alberta Views *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Canada
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 137 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-77086-699-7 (9781770866997)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Max Wyman is one of Canada's foremost cultural commentators. For more than three decades he wrote arts criticism and analysis for Vancouver newspapers and CBC radio. The Compassionate Imagination is his seventh book on the arts in Canada. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a former member of the board of the Canada Council for the Arts, and a former President of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. He lives in Lions Bay, near Vancouver, BC.