News
OAC budget and priorities for the new $5 million
In April, the Ontario government confirmed the promised $5 million increase to OAC’s annual funding base. This great news brought our total annual budget to almost $60 million for 2009/2010.
We are delighted to announce that we have fulfilled our commitment to increase our budget across all arts sectors by 30 per cent over three years (from 2007 to 2010).
At 87 per cent, granting takes up the lion’s share of OAC’s budget. We have created a pool of $800,000 to accommodate organizations successfully assessed for entering into the operating stream for the first time.
Continuing on the success of last year’s pilot program, we have established touring programs (national and international) with a budget of $1 million.
To meet the significant growth in demand, we are targeting $879,000 for several project programs. These include Arts Service Organizations, Literary Festivals, Media Festivals, Northern Arts, Aboriginal Curatorial Projects, Aboriginal Arts Projects, Access/Career Development, Integrated Arts, Visual Artists Emerging, Individual Crafts, Literature Works-in Progress and Popular Music.
Our third-party-recommender programs are among our most successful mechanisms for expanding the reach of OAC funds. Funding for these programs – Exhibition Assistance, Writers’ Reserve and Theatre Creators’ Reserve – has been increased by $308,000 to add to their success rates.
Under our new strategic plan, we entered into partnerships with several school boards with the Artists in Residence (AIR) initiatives and two pilot Local Health Integration Networks (LHIN) sites for a total of $300,000.
Two per cent of OAC’s budget is dedicated to providing services to the arts community. The recent strengthening of our Research and Outreach units fall under the services heading. As proposed last year, we have increased jurors’ and advisors’ fees from $240 to $260 per diem. Finally, OAC’s overall administration takes up 11 per cent of our budget.
The following tables express the connection between the targeted increases described above and the percentage increases by sector over three years :
|
Three-Year Percentage Budget Increase
(2007 to 2010)
|
|
Sector / Discipline
|
Three year % increase
over
2006-07 |
|
Aboriginal Arts |
80.1% |
|
Community and Multidisciplinary Arts |
57.6% |
|
Dance |
56.2% |
|
Literature |
43.3% |
|
Franco-Ontarian Arts |
42.2% |
|
Arts Education |
41.2% |
|
Music |
38.8% |
|
Anchor Organizations |
36.2% |
|
Arts Service Organizations |
34.9% |
|
Visual and Media Arts |
33.7% |
|
Theatre |
32.6% |
In addition, the programs listed below have received the following percentage increases over the past three years.
|
Sector / Discipline
|
Three year % increase |
|
Access and Career Development |
93.2% |
|
Touring |
90.6% |
|
Northern Arts |
46.1% |
|
Compass |
19.8% |
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Strategic plan Q&A in Hamilton 
A good number of Hamilton artists and arts representatives gathered at the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre for the presentation and discussion about OAC’s strategic plan on May 28. Our new Hamilton-based board member, Albert Alexanian, introduced Executive Director John Brotman, and Visual and Media Arts Officer, Carolyn Vesely, who answered a range of questions about the impact and directions of the plan.
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Harvey Slack appointed OAC board member
OAC welcomes Harvey Slack, our newest board member. Based in Ottawa, Mr. Slack 
brings more than three decades of experience working in the Canadian arts and culture scene. To date, he has served on more than 30 arts, culture and health organizations.
Mr. Slack has been a board member at several arts organizations including the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, the Thirteen Strings Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra Association and the Ottawa School of Dance. His years of community service include work at the Ottawa Valley Book Festival, the Ottawa Children’s Festival and the Writers’ Trust of Canada.
Over the years, Mr. Slack has received many distinctions. In 1995, the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa Health Service Foundation awarded him a certificate in recognition of his exceptional contributions. He also received a citation in 1993 from the United Way Centraide for outstanding community participation. In 2002, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal for volunteer contribution to the community. Mr. Slack is also the recipient of the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal, awarded by the Governor General.
Mr. Slack holds a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University, and was Chief of Community Relations with the National Museums of Canada for 20 years. He has spent the last 15 years at the Canadiana Fund, where he is currently the Executive Director.
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OAC bids farewell to board member Jean-Claude Bergeron
On March 22, 2009, Ottawa-based Jean-Claude Bergeron finished a second term as an OAC board member. Jean-Claude’s extensive experience in the visual arts world was an asset during many discussions. He has also been a passionate advocate for the Franco-Ontarian arts community during all the board's discussions and decisions. Our thanks go to Jean-Claude.
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Arts take centre stage at spOtlight festival
Over 200 artists presented 135 activities in Cambridge, Guelph (including Elora), Kitchener, Stratford and Waterloo, during the second pilot year of the spOtlight festival. The public was introduced to the artistic process through a variety of activities. People visited studios and took the opportunity to chat with local artists one-on-one.
The range of activities over the first weekend in June offered something for just about everyone. spOtlight was especially big with families because of the number of all-ages events. The majority of registration-based activities were full, and most drop-in activities were busy throughout the weekend.
This year, Grand River Transit introduced an art bus hosted by artists who engaged passengers with entertaining activities and insights into their work. A special $5 discount day pass was also available to passengers traveling the spOtlight circuit.
All of the artists and arts organizations, mayors, city staff, local sponsors and business improvement associations involved raised the profile of this year’s spOtlight, and we thank them all for their hard work and dedication.
For more information, visit www.spotlightfestival.ca
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CADAC update
Over 64 operating grant programs from funders across Canada have been integrated into CADAC (Canadian Arts Data / Données sur les arts au Canada), the financial and statistical online database for arts organizations, since it was launched in December 2008.
CADAC uses a web-based application that has already helped to lighten the administration burden on arts organizations applying for operating funding to one or multiple public funders by enabling them to submit one set of financial and statistical information.
To date, over 846 organizations throughout Canada have registered in CADAC. A majority of these have submitted their financial information well before the deadline, helping to ensure a smoother application process for all. Organizations applying for operating funding in 2009 are encouraged to register with CADAC as soon as possible to ensure their data is submitted on time.
By 2010, CADAC will have the capacity of assisting well over 2200 Canadian arts organizations applying for operating funding. This process will be phased in over the next two years. Please note that book or magazine publishers will be notified by their funders if they are required to submit financial information through CADAC.
Each participating organization has an identification number (CADAC ID) and can only view its own information. When an organization submits its information along with an application to one or more of the participating funders, the funder(s) will be able to view the financial or statistical data for that organization on-line.
Participating organizations will also be able to compare their data with their peers by accessing aggregate data (data combined from many organizations).
For organizations that are registering and submitting data, assistance is available through a toll-free help desk.
For more information, visit the www.thecadac.ca.
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