Members' Performances this week

TORONTO
*Art Of Time presents Shostakovich: A Portrait Featuring noted Canadian talents:
actor R.H. Thomson, dancer Andrea Nann, filmmaker Peter Mettler
@ Harbourfront Centre's Enwave Theatre

*Arabesque Dance Company & Orchestra
presents OUM
@ the Fleck Dance Theatre


ON TOUR
*Ballet Jorgen Canada on tour in B.C.

Click here to find out more about upcoming shows.

Holiday Cheer!

Bread and the Pearl - beautiful and delicious homemade cupcakes designed and delivered to your door by Meghan McKnight and Allison Cummings.
416 986-1695

The Dance Ontario Directory! Not a member? Place an order by emailing contact@danceontario.ca. Cost is $15 plus postage. - absolutely indispensible!

Download Dance Ontario's quarterly newsletter!

New Members

Senior Artists Research Project (SARP PRAA)

A distinguished group of Canadian arts organizations is looking for ways to do more to support Canada's senior artists (that is, those who are 65 and over). They have invited artists 60 and over (perhaps a little younger in the dance community) to participate in a "Town Hall" discussion about needs and interests in areas such as artistic activity, health care, housing, retirement, financial issues, community connections and social networks. The arts organizations will use this information to assist them as they work to improve current services or establish new services for artists in Canada.

www.SeniorArtists.ca

National Issues

Reprinted courtesy of the CBC website The Conservative government has introduced legislation that will allow the self-employed to opt into the federal employment insurance plan and collect benefits currently available only to wage-earners and salaried workers.

The Fairness for the Self-Employed Act will extend maternity, parental, adoption, medical and compassionate-care benefits to self-employed workers.

"Self-employed Canadians should not have to choose between their family and business responsibilities," Minister of Human Resources Diane Finley told reporters in Toronto on Tuesday. "Extending access to these benefits is the fair and right thing to do."

Self-employed workers can sign up for the plan beginning Jan. 1, 2010, and can start claiming benefits one year later.

Once self-employed workers access EI, they would have to continue paying premiums for as long as they are self-employed.

In response to a reporter's question, Finley said the government expects the plan to be self-financing, though that will depend on how many of Canada's 2.6 million self-employed workers sign up and on their claim rate.

Dale Ripplinger, president of the Canadian Real Estate Association welcomed the move, saying it will address many of the inequities in the EI system and help its 96,000 members across the country balance career and family life.

Extending parental leave to the self-employed was a Conservative campaign promise from the last election. The Conservative platform document for the 2008 election campaign estimated the cost of extending those EI benefits to the self-employed at $147 million.

Women are heavily represented among the self-employed and are a constituency the Conservatives covet, but one that has proved difficult for the party to attract.

In September, the Conservatives survived a Liberal motion of no-confidence when the NDP backed the government to ensure the speedy passage of legislation extending employment insurance benefits.

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Bulletin - Excerpt Only
First priority, market development!
The Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) appeared in front of the Standing Committee on Finance recently to present and defend its 2010 pre-budget submission.

The following is a brief look at the CCA's presentation.
Investing in market development and in cultural diplomacy
Canada is blessed with a very high proportion of artists, creators, cultural institutions, and industries, but is greatly handicapped by its small internal market and immense territory. In order to survive and flourish, our cultural sector must develop markets both internally and externally. Despite several small international programs within the Canadian Heritage portfolio agencies, there is currently no coordinated pan-governmental strategy for the promotion of Canadian artists and cultural works to national and international audiences and markets. Accordingly, the CCA recommends that the federal government invest an additional $ 40 million per year into the expansion of the capacity of the Canada Council for the Arts to increase its capacity to support market development both at home and abroad. As well, the CCA encourages the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to collaborate with the Canada Council for the Arts on its cultural initiatives abroad. The integration of a diplomatic strategy prioritizing cultural relations and trade would yield both economic and diplomatic benefits for Canada. Given the importance of investing in artists and creators who are at the vanguard of the creative economy, the CCA also invites the Committee to recommend to the Minister of Finance that the 2010 federal budget make an additional recurrent increase of $ 20 million a year to the Canada Council base budget for a period of four years starting in 2011, with a view to eventually making its annual budget reach $300 million by 2014. Finally, the CCA urges that the Council be allowed to keep the $ 9 million it has been asked to identify for redirections through the current Strategic Review.

Providing the sector with the tools it needs All sectors of the economy and the government need reliable and comparable statistics in order to develop policies and evaluate their impact. In the new post-industrial economy, it is of utmost importance both for the cultural sector and for the government to have access to timely and reliable data on labour markets, export activity, new forms of cultural activity, and contribution to the quality of life of Canadians. The CCA recommends that the government allocate to Statistics Canada and to the Department of Canadian Heritage a minimum of $1 million a year to provide the cultural sector with the basic information required for its development and for the assessment of programs supporting it.

Investing in infrastructure Much of the cultural infrastructure built around Canada's 1967 centennial celebration is in need of repair and upgrading. Cultural spaces within Canada often have uneven distribution within communities, resulting in a lack of affordable and sustainable rental spaces in many regions of the country. It would be fitting to mark Canada's 150th anniversary by addressing this issue.

The CCA supports the recommendation of the Creative Cities Network for the creation of a special multi-year capital program to address the huge deficit in funding for cultural and recreational facilities across Canada. While the CCA rejoices in the fact that the government recently renewed the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund for five years, with a one-time increase of $ 30 million this year, we submit that the annual base budget of $ 30 million is grossly inadequate given the established needs for investment in cultural infrastructure. We press the government to raise the base budget for the Cultural Spaces Fund to $60 million annually.

What can I do? Don't miss an opportunity to press these points with federal politicians either in meetings or by sending them an email. Do not hesitate to communicate with us if you require assistance info@ccarts.ca

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Update on Hearings Related to PromArt and Trade Routes Cuts
In March 2009, CDA was called as a witness by the Standing Committee on Heritage to provide information on the impact of cuts to the PromArt and Trade Routes programs in August of 2008.
The Committee has since produced a report stating the following:
"The Heritage Committee fully rejects the Minister's decision and calls on the government to reinstate the programs, directly or through the Canada Council for the Arts, or establish new programs with similar objectives." In response to the report, Heritage Minister James Moore wrote to Hon. Garry Schellenberger, the Committee Chair. The full report and the Minister's letter are attached. CDA's representation can be found on our website at www.dancecanada.net under "Advocacy Resources".

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The Canada Council recognizes contemporary circus art as a distinct art form. Professional artists and arts organizations practicing circus art are eligible to apply for funding through grant programs offered by the Council's Inter-Arts Office.

Note: There are no new funds allocated for this art form; support is available through existing resources.

Provincial News

Michael Chan becomes Minister of Tourism and Culture. He will work to establish Regional Tourism Organizations in regions across Ontario and promote Ontario's natural beauty, vibrant cities and towns, and thriving cultural attractions to visitors from all over the world. He will also lead our efforts with Ontario's cultural industries to create new jobs and opportunities for Ontario families.

The Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) and the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) have held province wide conversations on how we can make the world a better place. Nonprofits from across all sectors are dedicated to the public benefit and we are all doing our part. But we are also all faced with a range of challenges which inhibit how we achieve our missions. ONN and CCEDNet are working across sectors to raise issues of common concern, whether it is building a stronger relationship with government or succession planning, raising the profile of the social economy, or strengthening community economic development (CED). They will develop a coordinated strategy to move these issues forward.

For more information, click on ONN button (bottom right of this page).

Municipal News

Toronto city councillors have approved a new tax on billboards in the city. Council voted 29-12 to accept a staff recommendation to implement the tax, which is expected to generate about $10.4 million for the city. Part of that money is expected to be used to pay for arts programs in Toronto. City staff, Mayor David Miller and artist advocacy groups all welcomed the move.
Devon Ostrom, who is part of a group called beautifulcity.ca, took up the cause to introduce the tax as a means to raise money for public art and improve the city's visual landscape.
He said council's decision to support the tax is a major win.
"Most other forms of advertising, they give something back in exchange of attention," he told CBC News. "If you look at TV, you get 45 minutes of content for 15 minutes of advertising. With magazines, it's about 50-50, and with newspapers it's the same."
But that rule doesn't apply to billboards a wrong that the new law rectifies, he said.
Council will still have to make a final decision during next year's budget process on how to spend the new money.
Coun. Rob Ford said supporters of the tax shouldn't count on all the money being spent on the arts.
The billboard advertising industry calls the tax unfair, and it's considering legal action.
The new tax takes effect next April.

The City of Toronto has begun a new program that will regularly feature dancers (contemporary, street dance and breakdancers) performing in the TTC like the musicians now do. The city provides them with an honorarium and they can ask the public for donations too.

This is a great new public showcase and opportunity for dancers in the city. The program is still looking for new dancers and new dance groups to be part of the program.

Acts that have already performed include (rad) Random Acts of Dance, Moon Runners, Kwasi McKnight's Project Origin, Rated X, the Supernaturalz and Tova Kardonne.

For a full schedule go to: http://www.toronto.ca/
culture/arts-services/cityonthemove/
schedule_september.htm

The program also has an amazing Flickr picture and video site where you can view past performances at www.flickr.com/photos/cityonthemove/

A partnership between Toronto Arts Foundation, Art Starts Neighbourhood Cultural Centre and Ontario Trillium Foundation will support arts activities in local neighbourhoods.

Every day, highly gifted Toronto musicians, visual artists, poets, dancers, theatre artists, storytellers, film makers, and crafts people bring their astonishing creative energy to our city. In addition to the high profile work produced in Toronto's galleries, concert halls and stages, many of these dedicated artists apply their talents locally in neighbourhoods across the city. They engage the creativity of the average citizen; they channel the energies of youth at risk, reclaim parks and street corners for community use and encourage the telling of Toronto's stories, from youth, seniors and newcomers alike. They connect creativity and community. And mostly, it's free

"Why do we rarely hear about this exciting work? Generally it falls below the radar. Let's face it, when you don't charge admission, you can't afford to publicize" says Liz Forsberg, Managing Director of Art Starts.

The Neighbourhood Arts Network, to be launched in early 2010, intends to do something about this, by bringing community-engaged work into the foreground. It will support the work of these artists and contribute to the revitalizing of our neighbourhoods.

The Network will map what is currently happening in communities across the city and let the public know about it. It will connect artists with others doing similar work and be a referral for community residents looking to revitalize their neighbourhoods through culture led projects. It will provide access to a broad range of resources, tools, talent, supporters and mentors. It will incubate new initiatives and accelerate the growth of community engaged arts throughout the entire city. It will help to build the capacity of hundreds of organizations.

As one of several initiatives of its Creative City: Block by Block program, Toronto Arts Foundation has been working with community leaders and artists to design the Neighbourhood Arts Network. A principle objective of Toronto Arts Foundation is to promote, support and expand arts activity throughout the city. "We believe that the opportunity to participate in the arts should be available to everyone in Toronto, in every neighbourhood. We know that community-engaged art is a vital element in creative city building" says Claire Hopkinson, TAF's Executive Director.

The Foundation has been conducting interviews with individuals from a wide array of arts organizations that work directly with communities. A series of meetings open to artists and arts groups working in and with communities has been scheduled in various locations during October and November. The interviews and meetings have been designed to assess challenges, successes and specific needs and to develop guidelines regarding network membership, a directory of community arts activities, an interactive website, and more.

The development and initial stages of the Network are made possible by a grant from the Ontario Ministry of Cultural Strategic Investment Fund. Recently announced is a three year commitment of $150,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation towards the implementation of the Network.

For more information about the Block by Block Program, the Neighbourhood Arts Network and the upcoming design meetings please visit www.torontoartsfoundation.org, or contact Leslie Francombe at Toronto Arts Foundation leslie@torontoarts.org or 416-392-6802 ext. 204 or Liz Forsberg at Art Starts liz@artstarts.net or (416) 656-9994.

<sub>The Toronto Arts Foundation is a sister organization to the Toronto Arts Council. TAF fosters partnerships with the private and public sector in order to grow resources for artists and to build arts access for the public. The relationship between the Foundation and Council ensures that unique knowledge is shared and resources are distributed with efficiency and equitability. For more information please go to www.torontoartsfoundation.org

Art Starts is an arts-based community development organization operating in the City of Toronto. Art Starts uses the arts as a vehicle to encourage social change in at-risk neighbourhoods. We offer high quality, responsive and relevant creative opportunities to those who do not have access - namely people living in underserved and stressed communities. For more information please go to www.artstarts.net.</sub>