UNESCO holds creative cities meeting in Montreal
UNESCO is holding a meeting of creative cities in Montreal, although Helen Fotopulos’ statement that living in a UNESCO city of design gives its 25,000 designers an edge is dreaming in colour.
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William 15:22 on 2012/05/22 Permalink
I’m curious to know what makes you say that, Kate.
Kate 17:03 on 2012/05/22 Permalink
Cynicism. Living in a UNESCO city of design doesn’t buy me any double espresso shots for free.
Maggie_T 17:07 on 2012/05/22 Permalink
And why should it, Kate? Double espresso shots cost money. There’s the labour and capital required to pick them and that required to roast and ship them to market.
In your business development strategy, perhaps you should be treating your prospective clients to some free double espresso shots.
ant6n 17:32 on 2012/05/22 Permalink
@Maggie_T
Kate is treating you to some free news blog stories. Many of them, in fact. For many years.
(Still think that hardware donation box might not be a bad idea ;-)
Kate 17:53 on 2012/05/22 Permalink
Thanks, ant6n.
@Maggie_T, I was riffing on the old expression “that and fifty cents will get you a cup of coffee” used for things that are being inflated to sound grand but don’t actually offer any material advantage. Or as the Brits would say, fine words butter no parsnips – but maybe you’ll now tell me I should offer you some free parsnips.
William 19:14 on 2012/05/22 Permalink
My opinion is that the three (and a half) levels of government offer plenty of great programmes to support the creative industries in Montreal, from individuals through to corporations, and that Montrealers as individuals tend to place high value on culture.
Ian 19:17 on 2012/05/22 Permalink
That and the fact that Montreal employers are cheapskates compared to other “design cities” nearby, like NYC, Toronto, or Chicago. I’m a freelance designer, and I don’t even seek out local contract work as I know I can make better money working for outside-the-province clients even if it’s a bit harder to dig up the work. Montrealers balk at even standard rates in my experience – US and ROC tend to have deeper pockets. Maybe Montrealers are used to the glut of cheap student labour, maybe it’s the lower salaries chez nous- who knows? Being a Montrealer does have some cachet, however – we are perceived as “with it” and can score jobs a freelancer in Wichita or Saskatoon might not be able to bring in.
Kate 09:20 on 2012/05/23 Permalink
Tu l’as dit, bouffi (as one of my old bosses used to say).