Last week, the Parliament of Canada tabled the National Arts Centre’s 2011—2012 Annual Report. Called "Canadan Creativity," the Report documents an incredible year for the NAC, and for the performing arts in Canada.
Below you will find the opening essay. We invite you to read the full report, to indulge your senses in the gorgeous photography of the year’s great shows, and to stoke your pride in your National Arts Centre.
We are Canada’s National Arts Centre, and we support Canadian artists whose creativity fills our lives with deep beauty, meaning and joy.
From the east of this great country to the west, and into the far reaches of Canada’s North, it is our calling to help Canadian artists turn their vision from that first, mysterious stage of the creative process into the music, theatre and dance that feed our souls.
We know talent is but one part of the story.
Research — weeks, months or years of it — can form the bedrock of a creative journey. Workshops and rehearsals demand prolonged concentration, physical energy and emotional stamina.
There is often evolution, with false starts and major changes, as creative work adapts and refines itself in subtle and surprising ways.
Finally there is performance, that great “letting go” when the creativity of our artists breaks through to us, and we — the fortunate audience — can be forever changed.
