news
Martha Durdin to remain OAC Chair until 2012
Hamilton resident Albert Alexanian appointed to OAC's Board
Researcher Alan Brown on Audience Engagement
Invitation to Aboriginal artists and elders to work with schools
New program supports opportunities for Aboriginal curators in Ontario
Two new deadlines added to Franco-Ontarian arts programs
Would you like to enhance your arts education skills?
Martha Durdin to remain OAC Chair until 2012
We are pleased to share the news of Martha Durdin’s reappointment as Chair of the Ontario Arts Council’s board of directors for another three years, until February 9, 2012. Martha’s term as chair has been marked by increased attention to the arts in the province of Ontario and punctuated by recent increases to the OAC’s budget, which now stands at $55 million annually.
“We are delighted that we will benefit from Martha’s leadership for another three years,” said John Brotman, OAC Executive Director. “Martha has an unerring ability to bring focus to the big picture – an essential asset in a board chair. ”
Click here to read Martha Durdin's bio
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Hamilton resident Albert Alexanian appointed to OAC’s Board
Albert Alexanian has been appointed to OAC’s board of
directors. Mr. Alexanian has a strong commitment to community service that he has developed in concert with his business. Until recently, Mr. Alexanian served on the board of Opera Hamilton.
He has been a volunteer executive with the Council for Business and the Arts in Canada and with the Canadian Association of Family Enterprises. Through his business, Alexanian Carpet and Flooring, he has been a long-time patron of the arts – in particular, theatre, music and opera.
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Researcher Alan Brown on audience engagement 
As the world adjusts to the current economic turmoil, the arts community is preparing for the inevitable financial impacts. Arts organizations are already accustomed to doing much with minimum resources. Many are looking to strengthen their connections with their audiences to ensure their long-term viability.
Researcher Alan Brown has done a lot of work in the U.S. non-profit arts world looking at audiences and cultural participation. On February 10, 2009, OAC invited staff, board and arts service organizations to attend a talk by Brown, who was in Toronto for a workshop sponsored by Community Cultural Impressarios (CCI). In keeping with this theme, we would like to invite readers to send us examples of successful audience engagement initiatives that they have either witnessed or participated in. We will then share these in future newsletters. E-mail
news@arts.on.ca
To learn more about the work of Alan Brown, visit www.wolfbrown.com
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Invitation to Aboriginal artists and elders to work with schools
Over the past year, we have seen a significant increase in demand for Aboriginal artists, including Elders, to lead arts education activities in Ontario schools. We have added the May 15, 2009 deadline, specifically for Aboriginal applicants, for this year only, to the Artists in Education program. Arts education projects can include regalia creation workshops, drumming, beadwork, photography and others. Funding will go to projects that take place in the 2009–2010 school year.
Pilot oral application process
To improve access to this program, we have added an oral option to the written process to test how this fits with our existing application practice. Applicants will answer the questions from the print application during a scheduled telephone interview with an OAC officer; the interview will be audited by an Aboriginal jury. Those applying orally will still be required to provide support materials.
For more information contact:
Sara Roque
Aboriginal Arts Officer
416-969-7454 or 1-800-387-0058 ext. 7454
sroque@arts.on.ca
OAC defines the term “Aboriginal” as Status and Non-Status, Métis and Inuit people.
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New program supports opportunities for Aboriginal curators in Ontario
The Aboriginal Curatorial Projects program provides grants of up to $30,000 to assist independent Aboriginal curators or public art galleries, artist-run centres and other presenting organizations, working with Aboriginal curators, to undertake a visual, media arts or craft exhibition that presents and documents the work of professional artists.
The application deadline for this program is October 1, 2009.
Click here for program application and guidelines
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Two new deadlines added to Franco-Ontarian arts programs
The Ontario Arts Council is responding to the need of francophone music and theatre artists for access to funding at various stages of their production cycles. There are now two deadlines annually for the Jets de théâtre and Chanson et musique programs. May 15, 2009 and November 16, 2009 for Jets de théatre and May 1, 2009 for Chanson et musique in addition to the November 2, 2009 deadline.
The above programs are only available in French.
For more information:
Luciana Pierre
Francophone Arts Associate Officer
416-969-7400
1-800-387-0058, ext. 7400 (toll-free)
lpierre@arts.on.ca
Virginie Ouellette-Berruel
Franco-Ontarian Arts Program Assistant
416-969-7417
vberruel@arts.on.ca
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Would you like to enhance your arts education skills?
The Royal Conservatory is launching the Artist Educator Skills Development course for artists at seven sites across Ontario this spring. The 30-hour course is for artists who are already engaged in arts education or would like to learn more about arts education. It prepares artists to work in schools and can also be applied to work in community settings. The Ontario Arts Council is making it possible for Ontario artists to attend this course at a subsidized cost to them of $60. More information about the courses and the sites will be available in April.
For course information, please contact:
Nicole Arends
Community Programs Manager
The Royal Conservatory
416-408-2824 ext. 469
nicole.arends@rcmusic.ca
Christina Akrong
Associate Arts Education Officer
Ontario Arts Council
647-258-5075
toll free 1-800-387-0058 ext. 5075
cakrong@arts.on.ca
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