Everything is kind of, well, not great right now. You get it. Canadian artists are struggling to tour in the US perhaps more than ever, with the current administration's immigration policies not recognizing gender identities and tariff threats looming large. As Canada stares down its own federal election, many are campaigning to prevent the enactment of a similarly fascist regime under Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
In a timely new interview with Toronto Life, Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) CEO Mark Williams reflected on Donald Trump installing himself as board chair of the Kennedy Center upon reelection in February. Hailing from Cleveland, OH, Williams said he's "grateful to be working in a country that values the arts."
"I'm a six-foot-one Black gay man," the TSO head, who moved to Toronto in 2022 after nine years of working at the Cleveland Orchestra, told journalist Stéphanie Verge. "I have to be very mindful of how I set myself up for success, about putting myself in situations where I will have a fair shake.
Williams continued, "I'm not what most people picture when they think 'orchestra executive.' But I don't feel like I stick out in Toronto. What I see here is an incredibly progressive city with a diverse array of people who are flourishing in different fields. I felt like I could join that chorus."
While Trump's move to appoint himself Kennedy Center chair was unprecedented, prompting a lot of backlash and the end of many collaborative relationships, it wasn't exactly surprising, since he had been calling for the end of funding to both the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities since his first term as president.
"The current administration is weaponizing NEA grants against equity and inclusion and targeting the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Smithsonian," Williams said of the government in his home country. "When I look at the attacks on cultural institutions in the US, I'm even more grateful to be working in a country where governments of all political stripes acknowledge the value that the arts bring to a vibrant and thriving society."