News
Ohsweken artist, David M. General, joins OAC board of directors 
David M. General was appointed to the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) Board of Directors in January 2011. Mr. General is a professional sculptor who resides in Ohsweken, Ontario, where he divides his time between his art and his community work. He is a founding member of the Society of Canadian Artists of Native Ancestry (SCANA) and was its past co-chair from 1984 to 1987, and he was an advisory committee member for the National Native Indian Artists’ Symposium until 1993. From 1994 to 2000 he served on the Board of Trustees for the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario, and he is currently a member of Kakaekwewin, the Aboriginal Arts Advisory Committee for the Canada Council of the Arts.
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New requirements for all artists and organizations working with children, seniors and others take effect in fall 2011
From the Ontario Arts Council (OAC)’s fall 2011 project program deadlines onward, individual artists, collectives and organizations applying to OAC for funding to deliver arts programs in schools or community settings will be required to obtain a police background check or vulnerable sector verification for every artist, staff member or volunteer involved in the arts programming.
By the end of the 2011-12 fiscal year, all arts organizations that receive OAC operating support will be required to have developed a vulnerable sector screening policy and a set of procedures, including obtaining a police background check or vulnerable sector verification (whichever is required by your community or educational partners), for every artist, staff member or volunteer involved in programming in educational and community settings.
Please note that the screening process can be lengthy (approximately 10 to 15 weeks) and that there are costs involved.
Detailed information is available here.
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New eligibility criterion in all operating grant programs
Beginning in 2011/12, arts organizations must have an annual budget of at least $75,000 in order to be eligible for operating funding. This new criterion helps potential operating applicants understand that they have to reach a certain scale of activity in order to qualify for and meet the obligations of Ontario Arts Council (OAC) operating support. Organizations that are already receiving operating funding with annual budgets of less than $75,000 are not affected by this policy change and will continue to receive operating support. This new eligibility criterion applies to all OAC operating programs.
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Danis Goulet appointed Aboriginal Arts Services Developer
We are pleased to announce that Danis Goulet has been hired as Aboriginal Arts Services Developer. Ms. Goulet will work with Sara Roque, Aboriginal Arts Officer, to identify and develop strategies, collaborative opportunities and tools that will increase capacities, connections and partnerships with Aboriginal communities, arts organizations and artists. Her start date is March 7, 2011.
Ms. Goulet has been active in the Aboriginal and arts community for the past 10 years. She is a media artist whose short films have been screened at numerous national and international festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival, the Cinematheque in Copenhagen, the Native American Film + Video Festival in New York, the Calgary International Film Festival and the Message Sticks Film Festival at the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
She is the former Executive Director and Artistic Director of the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, one of the largest festivals of its kind in the world. Ms. Goulet is Co-Chair of the Visual and Media Arts Committee on the Board of Directors of the Toronto Arts Council. She is a former board member for the Images Festival, and she is a past Programming Committee member for the Worldwide Short Film Festival.
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Arts Investment Fund Update
More than 500 arts organizations are taking advantage of the Ontario Government’s Arts Investment Fund (AIF) to build their capacity in fundraising and marketing or to explore new audience development initiatives. As of the end of January 2011, $9.8 million of the first $11.2 million installment has been disbursed.
Among the projects approved are:
- upgrading technical infrastructure to allow online purchases, donations, social media functions and mobile access;
- diversification of earned revenue through sales of merchandise, consulting services, space rental and equipment rental;
- building national and international touring markets for Ontario arts organizations;
- campaigns to regain lapsed subscribers and donors and
- audience development projects aimed at specific groups, such as Aboriginal people, visually impaired people and new-generation digital media artists.
Arts organizations are addressing basic issues to stay competitive, to build their private sector donations and earned revenue streams or to reach out to new audiences.
Last September, the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture announced a $27 million investment over three years to strengthen arts organizations receiving operating grants from the Ontario Arts Council (OAC). This fund is complemented by OAC’s additional $1.1 million over three years for English- and French-language book and magazine publishers in Ontario, which are not eligible to participate in the AIF. One of the projects funded by OAC is the conversion of books and magazines to e-publications. More details on all of the funded projects will be available in spring 2011.
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Stand-alone programs for Visual Arts and Media Arts
The Media Arts and Visual Arts offices at the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) have been restructured. Related to this change, OAC has separated and renamed some of the programs that serve the arts organizations in these areas. The principal effect of these changes will be on media arts organizations. Click here for information about the visual arts office.
Changes to relevant programs are outlined below.
Media Arts Projects
Deadlines: March 1 and September 15, 2011
NEW All media arts organizations applying for project funding will now apply to this program (including those that formerly applied to OAC’s Media Arts Festivals Projects program and the Visual and Media Arts Projects program).
- Program Description
The Media Arts Projects program provides grants to not-for-profit organizations and artists’ collectives for projects that present, document or disseminate the work of professional media artists in Ontario or that provide professional development opportunities for artists. The program funds projects such as media arts festivals, screening series, workshops, symposia and sector-related publications.
Media Arts Organizations
Deadline: March 1, 2011
NEW All media arts organizations that apply for operating funding must now apply to this program (including those that formerly applied to OAC’s Media Arts Festivals program and the Visual and Media Arts: Artist-Run Centres program). Please note this program will commence a new multi-year cycle in 2011.
- Program Description
The Media Arts Organizations program provides operating support to incorporated not-for-profit organizations, such as artist-run production and distribution centres and media arts festivals, that are involved in the creation, dissemination and presentation of media arts in Ontario.
There are no changes to either the focus or deadlines of the two programs for individual media artists:
For more information, contact Mark Haslam, Media Arts Officer, at 416-969-7453, toll free in Ontario 1-800-387-0058 extension 7453 or mhaslam@arts.on.ca
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National and International Residencies
To allow more artists to benefit from the National and International Residency (NIR) program, the Ontario Arts Council is limiting the number of times artists can receive grants from the program. Starting with the April 1, 2011, deadline, an artist may receive an NIR grant only once every three years. This means that an artist who received a Residency grant in 2010 is required to wait until the same deadline date in 2013 to reapply. Recipients who applied in 2009 are required to wait until 2012 to reapply, and 2008 recipients are required to wait until the matching April or October deadline date in 2011.
The National and International Residency program supports artists through periods of research, exploration, regeneration and rejuvenation and provides access to new cultural surroundings outside Ontario and Quebec for up to three months (12 weeks / 84 days). Residencies in excess of 12 weeks are eligible, but only the first 12 weeks will be funded. Projects may include a work plan with an experienced mentor.
Grants cover travel, accommodation and living expenses as well as personal insurance, but they do not cover the costs of purchasing, transporting and insuring other persons or materials required to carry out the project.
Upcoming National and International Residency program deadlines are April 1, 2011 and October 3, 2011.
The next Ontario-Quebec Artist Residencies program deadline is March 1, 2011.
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Performance measures
At the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), we track and report on our activities on many fronts. Every year we prepare statistics on the size, distribution and reach of our grants to Ontario artists and arts organizations. In addition, we are committed to tracking our ongoing progress on the specific strategies and themes laid out in our 2008-2013 strategic plan, Connections and Creativity.
Over the past year, we identified measures to help us better understand and assess our overall performance as an organization. We developed performance measures for OAC that would be relevant for several years. We chose OAC’s vision statements from our strategic plan as the framework for the performance measures. These statements capture OAC’s broad, high-level desired outcomes. They also provide us with answers to “why” we are doing what we do. These performance measures work hand in hand with the tracking of our progress on the specific strategies and themes outlined in the strategic plan – the “what.”
What we confirmed in the process of developing our performance measures is that many of our key activities – such as the funding of individual artists and the provision of ongoing operating support – are fundamental expressions of OAC’s commitment to and support of our vision for Ontario. Our vision statements are more than compelling words – they are our real goals and expressions of OAC’s mission. The performance measures outlined in the document are our guide to achieving our goals.
We will follow up on the release of this first report with new results data as they become available each year.
Click here to read the report
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Culture Days returns September 30-October 2, 2011
The second annual Culture Days takes place from September 30 to October 2, 2011, in every province and territory across the country. Last fall, Ontario alone had more than 900 free hands-on and behind-the-scenes arts and culture activities. Plans are underway to make the second year bigger and better.
Want to be a part of Culture Days 2011? Now is the time to start planning.
It’s not too early to start brainstorming for your organization’s and community’s Culture Days activity. Here are some ideas to help you get the ball rolling:
- Browse the blog for advice, such as five tips to get you started.
- Get some inspiration from photos of last year’s Culture Days activities.
- View highlight videos.
- Sign up for the e-newsletter to receive the latest Culture Days news and updates on registration.
- Form a local planning group and speak with your municipal culture, tourism or economic development departments about how they can get involved and help make Culture Days a success in your community.
- Contact the Ontario Culture Days Manager for advice on developing local support for Culture Days events.
New role for Aubrey Reeves as Ontario Culture Days Manager
Ontario’s Culture Days Task Force has hired
Aubrey Reeves as the Culture Days Manager for the province. In her new capacity, Ms. Reeves will work closely with municipalities, cultural organizations, arts councils, community groups and the national Culture Days team to mobilize and develop the Culture Days movement in Ontario. As a member of the Ontario Culture Days Task Force, the Ontario Arts Council is providing space and infrastructure support to Ontario’s Culture Days movement.
Nazanin Shoja has taken the role of Culture Days Animator/Coordinator.
To find out more about participating in Culture Days in Ontario, contact:
Aubrey Reeves
Culture Days Ontario Manager
t: 416-646-7469 | f: 416-969-7441
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