The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

T h e Proving Art Matters! here w a s a b u z z i n the J o h n B r a i t h w a i t e C e n t r e on the m o r n i n g of F e b r u a r y 3 r d . T h e A r t s a n d C u l t u r e C o m m i s s i o n of N o r t h V a n c o u v e r ' s S y m p o s i u m was just about to begin. A f t e r intros by M a y o r s of the City and D i s t r i c t ( D a r r e l l M u s s a t t o and R i c h a r d W a l t o n ) , keynote speaker and M a y o r of Lions Bay M a x W y m a n took the mike. "Does art make a difference?" was the question he posed. He went on to relate to the enthusiastic audience just how much art does make a difference in hospitals, schools and prisons, in the economy of our communities and nations, and in the very social fibre of the human race. A c c o r d i n g to B u f f y Ste. M a r i e , the Cree have no specific term for the artist. They just say that IT shines through the person. That sacred IT is creativity. " A r t puts one i n touch with the spiritual, intuitive and transcendental," W y m a n said, enlarging on the Cree notion. " A r t changes both the artist and the observer." W y m a n wrapped up his talk with encouragement to artists to believe that their art does matter and with that knowledge, to get out there and do it. Robert Kerr, Program Director of the C u l t u r a l O l y m p i a d of V A N O C , gave an i n f o r m a t i v e presentation about the arts and c u l t u r a l activities that w i l l precede, f o l l o w , a n d take place d u r i n g the 2010 O l y m p i c and Paralympic Games. H e highlighted the importance of the arts w i t h i n the O l y m p i c structure, making it clear that the events range far beyond the realm of winter sports. A f t e r the plenary session, participants dispersed to various w o r k s h o p s and presentations such as digital photography, self-promotion, printmaking, songwriting and more. The everpopular Marketplace had demonstrations, video presentation and b e a u t i f u l a r t w o r k by l o c a l a r t i s t s f o r sale. N o r t h Vancouver's Tour de Feast Cafe catered a delicious lunch for all participants. E n e r g y was h i g h in the C e n t r e t h r o u g h o u t the d a y - l o n g event. A l l around people were learning, sharing, connecting and finding meaning in their artistic pursuits. Feedback was positive and participants were already talking about next year as they said their goodbyes to the hard-working organizers. 10th Annual Arts Symposium: T fin · 1. A Flavour of Spain Workshops at the Marketplace. 2. Networking room area at the John Braithwaite Community Centre 3. MaxWyman, keynote speaker 4. Caterining by Tour de Feast 7 / u AT THE MARKETPLACE: 5. Canadian Indian Art Inc. 6. Rasmussen Bindery 7. Oianna David Productions 8. Richard and Maryann Thorne - First Nations sketches and jewellery 9. Avanti Pictures 10. Johanna Newman - JGN Designs 11. Opus Art Supplies 12. Claudia Segovia - Purple Orange Stamp Art 13. L-R: Kelpman Showroom Dura Plak/Angel Fabric Paint, Nancy Blanchard Paintings and Jessie Paul Jewellery 14. L-R: Laura Harrison Pottery and MyArtClub.com web services 20 March|April