Arts Notes
- Share your photos with OAC!
Changes to arts curriculum in Ontario schools
New version of Fundraising by Registered Charities document released
Harmonized sales tax: What does it mean?
Tips to help non-profits manage during an economic downturn
An economic snapshot of the performing arts sector in Canada
Ontario Dances pilot gets students moving
Human resources award honouring Robert Johnston announced
Recent award winners including Premier’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts, Pauline McGibbon Award, Virginia And Myrtle Cooper Award In Costume Design, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards
Trillium Book Awards
Staff comings and goings
Share your photos with OAC!
Our annual report collects stories and statistics; your images reflect the variety, innovation and creativity of the arts in Ontario. Be part of our annual report and share your photos with OAC as we build a public record.
We are looking for high-quality, high-resolution (300 dpi+) photographs of your artistic projects. Send your digital images to ahodgins@arts.on.ca.
If your files are more than 1 MB please use www.yousendit.com, an easy-to-use service for files up to 2MB. (Direct the service to send to ahodgins@arts.on.ca.)
When you send your images, please let us know:
- your name and contact information
- the date (approximately) the photos were taken
- the name of the photographer
- the names of artists whose work is represented
- the name of any artwork pictured
- any other contextual details – for example location – important to interpreting the image (location, etc.)
- that you consent to the OAC using your images in a) the annual report, and/or b) other print and electronic publications
We can also accept hard copies mailed to the Ontario Arts Council at
151 Bloor Street West, 5th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5S 1T6.
Thank you for your help with this project. We need the images by Friday, July 17.
If you have questions or concerns, contact Ashleigh Hodgins, Communications Assistant, at 416-969-7462 or 1-800-387-0058 ext. 7462 or ahodgins@arts.on.ca.
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Changes to arts curriculum in Ontario schools
The Ministry of Education has updated the arts curriculum for Ontario grades 1 to 8 and secondary grades. This new document for teachers outlines why, what and how children and youth will be taught the arts in schools across the province.
Why You Should Care:
- Ministry-mandated curriculum is a powerful tool that determines how art education happens in classrooms.
- The new curriculum puts a strong focus on the creative process; artists will have more opportunities to contribute to arts education.
The new curriculum differs greatly from the curriculum published in 1998. Specifically, it emphasizes creativity and the creative process, context and the need to understand the cultural significance of all arts practices, and teachers’ and parents’ attitudes towards the arts as an important factor in the success of arts education.
Of significance is the introduction of a stand-alone dance curriculum for all grades.
Overall, the new curriculum is more accessible to teachers and provides the arts community with a number of opportunities to take part in classroom art experiences.
Learn more about our Artists in Education and Arts Education Projects programs to get started!
If you have any questions, contact Christina Akrong, Associate Arts Education Officer, at 647-258-5075 or 1-800-387-0058, ext. 5075, or cakrong@arts.on.ca
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New Guidance on Fundraising by Registered Charities document released by Canada Revenue Agency
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recently released its Guidance on Fundraising by Registered Charities document (“the Guidance”), which outlines CRA’s policy on fundraising. Key topics include CRA’s definition of fundraising, prohibited fundraising conduct, the allocation of fundraising expenditures and how CRA evaluates fundraising activities.
The release of this final version of the Guidance comes after more than a year of consultation about the draft version of the policy released last summer. The process included briefs from Imagine Canada, the Canadian Conference of the Arts, the Ontario Nonprofit Network and others.
The Guidance clearly reflects some of this community input and is a significant improvement on the earlier draft, although there are concerns about the need for clarification, and the challenges of implementation remains.
We strongly encourage all registered charities that engage in fundraising to review the Guidance. A recent issue of Carters’ Charity Law Bulletin provides a good summary of the Guidance, highlighting changes from the earlier draft and identifying some areas of continuing concern.
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Harmonized sales tax: What does it mean?
The new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) coming to Ontario July 1, 2010 may affect business practices such as purchasing, sales and accounting procedures. A group of arts organizations have formed an HST Committee to examine how the harmonized sales tax will affect the arts sector.
The committee consists of Toronto Alliance of the Performing Arts (TAPA), Canadian Dance Assembly, CAPACOA, Dance Ontario, CCI Ontario Presenting Network, Ontario Association of Art Galleries, Opera.ca, Orchestras Canada, Professional Association of Canadian Theatres and Theatre Ontario
The HST Committee is working with accounting professionals to gathering information from arts organizations. They’ll study types of organizations and budgets, then assess the effect of the HST on those organizations.
OAC will post bulletins from the HST Committee—stay tuned!
Meanwhile, for more information, please contact the organizations that are on the committee.
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Tips to help non-profits manage during an economic downturn
The Institute for Conservation Leadership developed Managing in Hard Times to help organizations deal with financial difficulties. The publication contains tips on how to develop effective solutions that will enable organizations stay afloat during a financial crash.
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Economic Snapshot of the Performing Arts Sector in Canada
Earlier this year, Canada’s Performing Arts Alliance (Canadian Dance Assembly, Opera.ca, Orchestras Canada, and Professional Association of Canadian Theatres) surveyed their member companies to gauge their financial health in the face of the global economic downturn. For more information, contact katherine@oc.ca, shannon@dancecanada.net or lucyw@pact.ca.
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Ontario Dances pilot gets students moving
Last year, OAC launched Ontario Dances, a 3-year pilot program for both audiences and presenters to develop a better understanding and appreciation of dance.
Seven cities across Ontario were selected as pilot sites. In early June, Toronto-based Dancemakers, one of 10 dane companies participating in the pilot, went to Chatham, one of seven cities across Ontario selected as a pilot site, to hold a workshop for dance students in the area.
The Chatham-Kent Daily Post described the event. Click here to read more
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Human resources award honouring Robert Johnston announced
The Board of Directors of Cultural Careers Council Ontario (CCCO) created the Robert Johnston Work in Culture Award in honour of retiring Executive Director Robert (Bob) Johnston’s lifetime of service to cultural workers. The Award will be presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to furthering human resources development in the cultural sector in Ontario. For more information, visit www.workinculture.ca
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Awards
2009 recipients of the Premier’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts announced
The Hon. Ailleen Carroll announced the winners at an award ceremony held at the Wychwood Barns in Toronto on June 23rd.
Filmmaker Ron Mann received the $35,000 award in the individual artist category; Toronto Artscape was awarded the $50,000 prize in the arts organization category. Each year, the winning artist selects a new or emerging artist to receive a prize of $15,000. Ron Mann selected actor and filmmaker Charles Officer to receive the emerging artist award. All other finalists received $2,000.
The Government of Ontario created the Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts to recognize outstanding achievement and contribution to arts and culture in Ontario.
More information
Learn more about the finalists
Director Brendan Healy honoured with the 2009 Pauline McGibbon Award
“Healy has demonstrated a dedication to his craft and originality at this stage in his career,” concluded the 2009 Pauline McGibbon Award jurors. They commended Healy for his “clear and articulate vision and understanding of the depth of the collaborative process.”
The Hon. Aileen Carroll, Minister of Culture, announced the decision at the Dora Mavor Moore Awards in Toronto. The award includes a $7,000 prize and a medal designed by Dora de Pedery Hunt.
More information
Charlotte Dean receives 2009 Virginia And Myrtle Cooper Award in Costume Design
Based in Toronto, Ms. Dean has worked with theatres across Canada, including the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Shaw Festival, Soulpepper Theatre Company, Necessary Angel Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, The Grand Theatre, Blyth Festival and the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People.
The Virginia And Myrtle Cooper Award is given annually to professional Canadian costume designers in Ontario in mid-career, to further enrich their careers through research and travel.
More information
Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards 2009 winners announced
Almost 200 kids crowded into the Market Lane Junior and Senior Public School gym in Toronto to hear the jurors — a selection of students in grades 3, 4, 7 and 8—announce this year’s winners.
Montreal author Mélanie Watt received the prize in the children’s picture book category for her book Chester's Back!
Libertad, by Midland-based Alma Fullerton, was the winning book in the young adult/middle reader award category.
This is Mélanie Watt’s second win; she won for Scaredy Squirrel in 2007; it is Alma Fullerton’s first award.
More information
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OAC grant recipients win Trillium Book Awards
The 22nd annual Trillium Book Awards were handed out June 16th at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Toronto. The awards honour writers (and their publishers) in four categories — Best English Language Book, Best French Language Book, Best English Language Work of Poetry (Emerging Poet) and Best French Language Children’s Book.
The winners are:
- Prix litteraire Trillium
Marguerite Andersen, Le figuier sur le toit (Éditions L’Interligne)
- Prix du livre d’enfant Trillium
Paul Prud’Homme, Les Rebuts: Hockey 2 (Éditions du Vermillon)
- Trillium Book Award
Pasha Malla, The Withdrawal Method (House of Anansi Press)
- Trillium Book Award for Poetry
Jeramy Dodds, Crabwise to the Hounds (Coach House Books)
All four winners and their publishers receive Ontario Arts Council grant support. The Ontario Arts Council is proud of the continued success of those writers and publishers supported through our literary programs.
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Staff comings and goings
We recently hired Laurie McGauley and Gouled Hassan as Northeastern Consultants to increase OAC support to Northeastern Ontario. Gouled and Laurie will build awareness of OAC programs and provide assistance to artists and arts organizations applying for OAC grants.
Both Laurie and Gouled are based in Sudbury and will serve the communities of Sudbury, Timmins, North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Manitoulin Island and Hearst and surrounding areas. More information
- Need to find out where your city fits in OAC’s map of Ontario regions? Click here
- If you live in Northeastern Ontario you can call OAC’s Northeastern Consultant Laurie McGauley, at 877-265-9110 or 705-665-2718, or e-mail her at lmcgauley@arts.on.ca.
- If you are Francophone and live in Northeastern Ontario you can call OAC’s Northeastern Consultant Gouled Hassan, at 877-265-8842 or -705-665-4907, or e-mail him at ghassan@arts.on.ca.
Music Program Assistant Jessica Deljouravesh on maternity leave
OAC sends warm wishes to Jessica Deljouravesh and her husband as they prepare for parenthood. In Jessica’s absence, Shawna Caspi will step in as program assistant in the music office. Welcome Shawna!
We are also pleased to announce that Claire Pfeiffer is OAC’s new Communications Coordinator (Publications). Welcome aboard!
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