Jean Baird's Annual report on Al Purdy A-frame writer-in-residence

 From Jean Baird's email report:

March 11, 2025 ANNUAL REPORT & FOUNDATION UPDATE Dear A-framers: What if Canadians started buying Canadian books with the same gusto that they are buying Canadian alcohol? This isn't my idea, but it sure is worth repeating and thinking about. We see the Arts under siege in the United States of America. In a recent Special to the Globe and Mail, Gil Garratt, artistic  director of the Blyth Festival writes: "Canadians are booing the American anthem at rinks; bars and restaurants are changing their taps and wine menus; stores are ripping American products from shelves; politicians are plotting the pinch points of import and export. “Buy Canadian!” we holler. And  in our stores, we see neat labels – “Made in Canada,” “Product of Canada,” “Canadian Made” – to make it easier to stand in the  aisle and make a sober choice. "But what about in our culture? I mean, you wanna talk about trade deficits? "In 2022, Hill Strategies pegged the U.S.-Canada cultural trade deficit at around $7.3-billion in favour of the United States, a gap that has existed for decades. As a culture worker for the past 30 years, I have watched a relentless flood of American culture spill into Canada. And make no mistake. Culture is one of America’s most lucrative exports." In difficult times we need the arts more than ever. The 2024 Annual Report is now up. You can read it at this link, and see what is happing with the Foundation project: https://www.alpurdy.ca/a-frame-annual-reports/           As well as providing the A-frame with a new foundation and basement, thereby doubling our space and our residency season, the project has resulted in a new driveway and we were also able to remove the remnants of the old garage that burnt down many years ago. Here's Al examining the remains For the basement to be usable it needs to be finished. We have a wonderful opportunity from a highly skilled contractor. He has offered to arrive in April to do the work in-kind, we only need to pay for materials. It would be so exciting to get the basement finished before the residency program opens in May. Please help us get that basement finished. https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/al-purdy-a-frame-association/

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