A symbiotic relationship between artists and archives exists in the Canadian province of Manitoba, where for the sixth year the Association for Manitoba Archives awarded artists for using archives in their works and making the the local arts scene richer. Will the Manitoba Awards see a seventh year? It depends. After Library and Archives Canada recently cut both the National Archival Development Program and the Canadian Council on Archives, the fate of archives and archival programs all over Canada looks gloomy, and so do the ripple effects. But if efforts to restore the NADP and CCA work, then not only will hundreds of libraries and archives stay open and employ people, creative people like the 13 Manitoba Awards recipients will be able to continue to advance society by drawing inspiration from archives and applying history to their work.

On May 28 a national march will take place in Ottowa to protest the eliminations. It echoes a similar event in 1935 calling out government mismanagement during the Great Depression. Anyone in a position to attend the Archivists’ On to Ottowa Trek, should.