{"id":673,"date":"2005-04-14T08:31:31","date_gmt":"2005-04-14T15:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/artfulmanager\/wp\/2005\/04\/when_you_say_it_with_money_you\/"},"modified":"2005-04-14T08:31:31","modified_gmt":"2005-04-14T15:31:31","slug":"when_you_say_it_with_money_you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/artfulmanager\/main\/when_you_say_it_with_money_you.php","title":{"rendered":"When you say it with money, you mean it"},"content":{"rendered":"

A reader comment<\/a> to a previous post let me know about the Canadian $20 note, and its specific emphasis on the arts. I already had a warm spot in my heart for my northern neighbors, after spending two days talking with them about ‘the healthy arts leader<\/a>‘ and the importance of a supported and engaged workforce in the nonprofit arts. Now I admire them even more.<\/p>\n

\"$20<\/a>The Canadian $20<\/a> has the queen on the front (God save her, by the way), and a themed series of images on the back, celebrating Canadian arts and culture. The quote on the bill comes from Canadian author Gabrielle Roy<\/a>, and speaks to the identity and expression that comes to a country and its people through the arts:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n”Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?”\n<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s a far cry from the Federalist practicality of U.S. currency, which says, instead:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nThis note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.<\/p>\n

and<\/p>\n

In God we trust.
\n(Note a really interesting history<\/a> of that phrase on our currency.)<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Currency is a shared fiction, a printed piece of parchment that is worth something because we all believe it to be. How cool to use this bit of symbolism to express the other<\/i> things a country believes to be important (and to include the arts among them).<\/p>\n

What else<\/i> do Canadians believe in? Here’s the breakdown of all the currency in the same series<\/a>:<\/p>\n