Writing from a life in art and ideas

Opinion

Every city needs spaces to talk about what matters most — not only politics or the economy, but the creative ideas, values, and forces that shape our lives. For me, those spaces have often been cultural ones: galleries, classrooms, concert halls, weekend hangouts, even the park across the street. Art and culture are not separate from daily life; they are daily life.

Over the past 15 years, I’ve had many conversations with Paul Samyn, the editor of this newspaper. In many ways, this column is both a response to and an extension of those exchanges — an opportunity to open them up more widely and share them with readers across Manitoba. Our chats have wandered across subjects from art history and public policy to gardens, cycling, and neighbourhood life. They often began with an artwork, a cultural idea, or a creative expression and then sparked a larger dialogue about community and the world around us.

That is why I’m delighted to begin this column for the Free Press. Every two weeks, I’ll share reflections and questions about the role of the arts in our civic life — not simply as decoration or entertainment, though both matter, but as a vital way we understand ourselves and one another.

My experiences have taught me something simple but profound: culture isn’t a side project. It’s how we see who we are, connect with one another, and build the foundation for who we might become.

Today I serve as president and CEO of Civic Muse, a Winnipeg-based consultancy that partners with museums, universities, governments, and businesses on strategy, leadership, and cultural innovation. I also teach art history and cultural management at the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg, and serve on community and national boards. But beyond titles and roles, I see myself as a lifelong student of art’s ability to transform lives and strengthen society.

When I think back on the most powerful moments in my own journey, they don’t come from budgets, planning sessions, or boardrooms. They come from standing in front of an artwork with someone who sees themselves reflected for the first time. From a classroom discussion that suddenly opens a new way of thinking. From a conversation with an elder who challenges me to see history differently. From planting trees or restoring a park bench with neighbours, and realizing that beauty and care are necessities, not luxuries.

“Culture isn’t a side project. It’s how we see who we are, connect with one another, and build the foundation for who we might become.”

These are the kinds of stories and insights I hope to share with you here. Sometimes I’ll write about leadership — what it means to lead by values, not reputation. I’ll also reflect on reconciliation, repatriation, or the social power of the arts. Sometimes I’ll look outward, drawing on lessons from museums and universities around the world. Other times I’ll look inward, at what it means to build community in Winnipeg with the currency of culture — one conversation, one classroom, one project at a time.

This won’t be an academic discourse. My aim is to write personally, sharing lessons I’ve learned in ways that feel relevant and useful. I hope to be surprised by questions that don’t have easy answers. What role should culture play in shaping our cities? How do we measure the value of beauty? How do we balance heritage with change? How do we prepare the next generation of leaders and philanthropists in the arts? And what better place for this dialogue than in a daily newspaper.

I believe the arts are among the best tools we have for both asking and answering those questions. They help us to remember and to imagine, to question and to hope. They ask us to slow down, to look more closely, and to connect more deeply. They are one of the most powerful universal languages we share. At a time when public discourse often feels fractured and overwhelming, the arts offer us common ground.

“At a time when public discourse often feels fractured and overwhelming, the arts offer us common ground.”

This column is meant to be part of that ground. I will write from the perspective of someone who has spent a lifetime in the arts and culture sector, but I hope the themes will resonate with readers from every walk of life. Because whether you visit a gallery, attend a concert, take a drawing class, or hang a painting over your sofa, the arts touch you. They are present in the design of our public spaces, in the stories and songs we share, in the symbols we gather around, and in the values we pass to our children.

So why am I writing to you? Because I believe art and culture belong at the centre of our civic conversations, not at the margins. Because Winnipeg has a cultural energy and creativity that deserve to be celebrated, challenged, and sustained. And because we can learn from one another — about how art grounds us, inspires us, and reminds us of what is possible.

I look forward to the journey ahead, and I invite you to join me every two weeks in exploring the ideas, stories, and questions that shape our cultural life together.

Stephen Borys is president and CEO of Civic Muse, and a former CEO of the Winnipeg Art Gallery.