The provincial government's announced it's making a review of culture and looking for a new funding model. Manitobans for the Arts chair Roberta Christianson says the last time a review like this was made was over 20 years ago.

"The arts is so different than what it was," says Christianson. "Users are different. Users use differently. So, the province is seeking to find input to help them find a new funding model for the arts. They are looking for submissions for people who are users of the arts to speak to the importance of it."

She says it's important for the general public to speak up and relate how much the arts is important to them, rather than only have those employed in the sector doing the speaking. Christianson adds users know how much money they spend on arts and its usership, but they don't always think to speak up.

"We're asking them to do what they do about health - and we all know how much people speak out about health concerns. We really want them to tell elected officials about how important the arts are. As in anything, when you only hear from those with vested interests you more easily dismiss the weight of their words. But people who use the arts, are engaged in it, and want it in the community for purposes of recruiting or retention of people in their employment... they also need to speak to the government. The arts really does contribute to the health of the community."

Christianson adds this would carry a lot of weight.

You can read the review at this link:http://www.gov.mb.ca/imaginecreative/

Here's an article from the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce: http://www.winnipeg-chamber.com/chamber-blog/creative-review-key-to-manitobas-growth-strategy

Christianson notes you don't have to actually answer all the questions, but can skip a lot of it and go straight to the comment section where you can express why the arts is important to you. It's more of a vision document, so you need to think about what you want things to look like in five or ten years, and not just about today.