Inspiring

There’s been a lot of talk in the past couple of years about the intrinsic value of art, as opposed to its economic value. Here’s a really lovely statement about that, from Mary Pat Mombourquette, the Managing Director of Symphony Nova Scotia, from testimony before the Canadian parliament:

Also, we give people something to aspire to. There is more than what's down in the trenches. There is something to crawl out of the trenches for, and when you get out, you can see something. It sort of inspires people, it broadens them, and it allows them to dream. So much of it is intangible. It's very hard to comment in economic terms that this is our value, because it's all about inspiration and dreams.