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Ontario Arts Council - Newsflash
It is time to revitalize the Ontario Arts Council’s (OAC) vision through a new strategic plan.

Consultations with Ontario’s arts community and others


Throughout October and into early November, the Ontario Arts Council is holding consultations with members of the arts community as well as with people working in new immigrant communities, social services, education and health.

These 25 sessions in communities around the province will include approximately 20 invited participants at each session. Some of the sessions will be exclusively with the Aboriginal arts community and others specifically for francophone arts professionals. In addition to the list that follows, there will be several one-on-one consultations.

In March 2007, the government announced a $15 million addition to our base funding over three years, which means by 2009-10 our annual budget will be $55 million. These new resources will factor into our strategic planning conversations.

Who is involved?



We are asking arts professionals about the current and future realities they face, and about the OAC’s goals. We know that the arts are an important part of a community’s well being. This is why we are reaching out to other non-profit sectors to explore how these potential partnerships benefit everyone. We are working with several consultants in this process.

Equinox will facilitate our French-language sessions. Nanibush Innovations is conducting the Aboriginal consultations and one in Thunder Bay. D-Code will facilitate all other sessions. Two OAC representatives will attend each session as observers.

Steps leading to the strategic plan



At the end of this initial process, each of the consultants will prepare a draft report. OAC will post a synthesized version of the consultation report on the OAC Web site and invite response to it. These elements will form the basis of the final strategic plan to be released in the spring of 2008.

If you have questions, please contact Kirsten Gunter, Director of Communications at kgunter@arts.on.ca or at 416-969-7403 / 1-800-387-0058 ext. 7403 (toll-free in Ontario)

Consultation Schedule:

Friday, October 5, 2007   Six Nations (Aboriginal arts)
Tuesday, October 9, 2007   Toronto (arts and culturally-diverse arts)
Wednesday, October 10, 2007   Sioux Lookout (Aboriginal arts)
Thursday, October 11, 2007   Thunder Bay (arts and Aboriginal arts)
Thursday, October 11, 2007   Toronto (arts and culturally-diverse arts)
Monday, October 15, 2007   Sudbury (other sectors)
Monday, October 15, 2007   Sudbury (Francophone arts)
Tuesday, October 16, 2007   Mississauga (arts and culturally-diverse arts)
Wednesday, October 17, 2007   Ottawa, (Francophone arts)
Thursday, October 18, 2007   Markham (arts and other sectors)
Thursday, October 18, 2007   Ottawa (Francophone arts service organizations)
Friday, October 19, 2007   London (arts community)
Tuesday, October 23, 2007   Ottawa (arts community)
Wednesday, October 24, 2007   Toronto (other sectors)
Thursday, October 25, 2007   Toronto (arts service organizations)
Friday, October 26, 2007   Sudbury (arts community)
Saturday, October 27, 2007   Manitoulin Island (Aboriginal arts)
Tuesday, October 30, 2007   Peterborough (arts community)
Tuesday, October 30, 2007   Toronto (Francophone arts)
Tuesday, October 30, 2007   Toronto (Francophone arts)
Monday, November 5, 2007   Toronto (arts and culturally-diverse arts)
Tuesday, November 6, 2007   Kapuskasing (Francophone arts)
Wednesday, November 7, 2007   Windsor (arts and other sectors)
Tuesday, November 13, 2007   Toronto (anchor organizations)