Ottawa, Thursday, September 27, 2012

I am pleased to be here today to help launch this exhibition and to celebrate this wonderful milestone in Canadian art.

Québécois actor Marcel Sabourin once said: “Culture is like happiness: you only notice how important it is when you don’t have it,” and I think all supporters of the Canada Council Art Bank would agree.

The artworks in this remarkable collection have enlivened interiors right across this country, and I have no doubt they have helped to develop a lasting thirst for art among Canadians. The visual arts enrich our lives in so many ways, and, as the supporters of the Art Bank know: seeing truly is believing.

My wife, Sharon, and I know this from our own experience living and working at Rideau Hall and the Citadelle. In the two years we have spent in these remarkable buildings, we have developed an even greater appreciation for Canadian art, and in part this is simply the result of being surrounded every day by so many wonderful pieces.

For 40 years, the Canada Council Art Bank has been sharing Canadian art with those to whom it truly belongs: all Canadians.

The works in this collection speak to the diversity and creativity of this country. They remind us of our unique experience as Canadians—past and present—and together, they represent a lasting contribution to world culture.

As governor general, I am privileged each year to recognize Canada’s leading contemporary artists with the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts, and I am pleased to see the work of so many recipients available in the Art Bank.   

On behalf of all Canadians, I would like to thank the artists, curators and supporters who have made the Art Bank such a great success.

Have a wonderful evening.