[Table 5]

Are our students not capable or producing something of similar quality to the half million dollar blue ring?

ACAD grads and Calgarians are free to enter just like anyone else. If they haven't been winning the competitions...than perhaps the answer to that question is No.

Also, I'm not sure why you expect a Calgarian to product half-million dollar art for less than half-million dollars.

I just have a hard time believing we need to send this kind of money so far away to produce similar results.

I do know that even with the blue ring, 80% of the funding actually stayed inside Calgary as most of the budget went to fabrication. A 500k project doesn't mean the artist gets to draw a sketch on a napkin and then he pockets 500k.

I like the newest piece but I'd like to see more of what our local artists could produce as well. Maybe I'm wrong and we really don't have this kind of talent locally.

We have good talent in Calgary. However often times the best creative talent in Calgary leaves for Toronto, New York, Europe etc just because the market here just isn't that receptive to art. We as a city are not known as a great incubator for creative ideas, so often times people move way. I think that is changing...if slowly.

Still that's only one part of the equation. Local talent has to step up their game if they aren't getting the competition wins, and being exposed to good art helps them do that. You either step up your game or go out of business.