A Roundup of Recent News from the Sector

Hello Everyone,

As we mark the one-year anniversary of this pandemic, and we do so with Peterborough back into the ‘Red-CONTROL’ zone, we want to say congratulations on everything you have done to keep going, making work when you can and getting it to your audiences. The creativity, innovation and collaboration of the arts sector has been extraordinary throughout throughout COVID-19. Take care, stay strong.

This Bulletin offers some good news from across the sector, including information about a new injection of money into the arts and live events sector from the government of Canada which is resulting in some new grant opportunities; a FREE workshop on doing taxes as an artist; a series of townhall meetings on the arts sector; and more.

Canadian Government Funding for the Arts

The Government of Canada has announced $181.5 million in new funding to help out the struggling arts and live events sectors in 2021-22.

The funding is resulting in new funding opportunities as well as expansions/adaptations of existing grant programs, and are well worth exploring.

This is how the funding breaks down, with links to find out more about each of these programs:

• $25 million to Canadian Heritage, including
  • Canada Music Fund ($10 million), for music artists and the music industry through the NEW Support for Live Music Events program, administered by FACTOR and Musicaction.
  • Building Communities through Arts and Heritage ($7 million), to increase opportunities for local artists, artisans, heritage performers or specialists to be involved in their community through festivals, events and projects. It also allows local groups to commemorate their local history and heritage.
  • Canada Arts Presentation Fund ($8 million), providing financial assistance to organizations that professionally present arts festivals or performing arts series (arts presenters) and organizations that offer support to arts presenters. (Also: see upcoming town hall webinars, below.)
• $116.5 million to Canada Council for the Arts, including:
  • Digital Now ($50.5 million), a NEW fund to enable arts groups, collectives and organizations to adapt or create works to be shared with virtual audiences.
  • Explore and Create ($66 million), to stimulate increased research, creation and production of new work.

Please note: some of these programs (including Digital Now and Canada Arts Presentation Fund) have deadlines coming up within a few weeks – so don’t delay!

Tax Workshop for Artists

EC3 has secured eligibility for local artists to attend the Toronto Arts Council workshop Tax Time for Artists on Wednesday, March 17 at 2pm. Particularly with the disruptions to so many people’s finances this past year, we think this FREE workshop could be invaluable for many artists out there.

Event description via the Toronto Arts Council:

Sam Marinucci, FCPA, FCA, MBA, Partner with Hogg Shain & Scheck, a longtime arts supporter and former Board member of Toronto Arts Foundation, is joining us for a one hour webinar to help answer your questions:
• How to account for arts grants on your tax return?
• What to include as income?
• What expenses are eligible?
• What about work from home deductions?
• Tax impact of government COVID benefits.

Click HERE to register, and to submit questions to be answered druing the workshop.

Canadian Arts Presentation Fund Town Halls

The Canada Arts Presentation Fund (CAPF) is receiving an extra injection of funding from the Government of Canada (see above), and the CAPF team at Canadian Heritage’s Ontario Regional office is inviting artists and arts and culture workers to participate in an upcoming series of town halls. “It is our hope to reach the broadest segments of Ontario’s vibrant cultural landscape. Accordingly, we are immensely grateful to the many coalitions and service organizations partnering with us on this activity, and helping to get the word out.”

The sessions will take place March 16 to 18, and include general sessions and sessions for special target groups. See here (PDF) for details and invitation links.

Main Street Relief Grant

As Peterborough remains in the ‘Red-CONTROL’ zone, and COVID-19 restrictions on organizations and events continue, we wanted to provide a reminder about the Government of Ontario’s Main Street Relief Grant. This fund provides provides businesses in vulnerable sectors with up to $1,000 to help cover the cost of purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE), including masks, gloves, and face shield.

It’s not a huge grant, but it has a simple application process and is well worth it to help cover this now-essential expense.

Please stay well and let us know how we can help.
TRACK THE IMPACT.

As always, keep checking the EC3 Facebook page, @ECThreePtbo on Twitter, @ec3ptbo on Instagram, and the COVID-19 Updates page on EC3’s website, where we are providing daily updates on programs and services available for ACH workers and organizations.

Be safe, stay healthy, and please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Su Ditta and the EC3 Board and staff

Contact
Su Ditta
Executive Director
Electric City Culture Council (EC3)
electriccitycc@gmail.com
www.ecthree.org
705 749 9101

Peterborough, ON – The Board of Directors of the Electric City Culture Council (EC3) is pleased to announce that more than $100,000 has been donated to the Peterborough Arts Alive Fund to support its program of COVID-19 Strategic Response and Resiliency Grants. This grant program will provide financial support to local arts organizations who have been impacted by facility closures, loss of box office revenue, fundraising, sales, sponsorships, rentals and other income, due to pandemic lockdowns. The arts sector has been one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis and EC3 is both proud of, and grateful for, the extraordinary contributions made to the Fund in support of this response, recovery and resiliency initiative.

The Peterborough Arts Alive Fund was launched with a key donation and ongoing fundraising support from art lover and Trent University educator Deborah Berrill, and is hosted by the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough (CFGP), who also so kindly contributed to the fundraising campaign efforts. The City of Peterborough provided a generous and deeply appreciated contribution of $40,0000 to the Fund. EC3 also extends a big thank you to the Peterborough Performing Arts Recovery Alliance for their support in this fundraising project.

“Our deepest appreciation and gratitude go out to all of the donors who have made this happen, with gifts both large and small. It takes all of us to support our artists and arts organizations, and the success of this appeal demonstrates the strength of support for the arts all across our community.” –Su Ditta, EC3 Executive Director

“I contacted EC3, wondering what I might be able to do to support our wonderful Peterborough area artists whose livelihoods depend on live audiences and people visiting galleries. We knew then that we would all be in for the long haul, but few of us suspected just how long this would go on and just how deep the impact would be for various segments of our community. These funds send a strong message to our wonderful area artists that we treasure their contribution to our lives.” –Deborah Berrill, Educator and Arts Supporter

Details on the grant program and how to apply will be available shortly.

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For Further Information Contact:
Su Ditta
Executive Director, EC3
705 749 9101
electriccitycc@gmail.com
www.ecthree.org

Hello Everyone,

To honour Black History Month, EC3 has launched a new project, Spotlight on Local Artists. This initiative presents profiles of Black artists living and working in Peterborough. Each Spotlight will include a photo of the artist, a bio and an artist statement. This project will be shared on EC3’s social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and will culminate in a Resource Bank available on our website in a few months. You may also want to check out EC3’s response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

This project is a great opportunity to learn about these talented artists, include them in your programming and be sure to catch their work, whenever and wherever you can. Many thanks to all the participating artists!

We start today with theatre artist Beau Dixon.

Please stay well and let us know how we can help.
TRACK THE IMPACT.

As always, keep checking the EC3 Facebook page, @ECThreePtbo on Twitter, @ec3ptbo on Instagram, and the COVID-19 Updates page on EC3’s website, where we are providing daily updates on programs and services available for ACH workers and organizations.

Be safe, stay healthy, and please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Su Ditta and the EC3 Board and staff

Contact
Su Ditta
Executive Director
Electric City Culture Council (EC3)
electriccitycc@gmail.com
www.ecthree.org
705 749 9101

Peterborough, ON – The Board of Directors of the Electric City Culture Council (EC3) is pleased to announce that EC3 President and Chair, Bill Kimball has been appointed to the Advocacy Committee of the Canadian Association of Performing Arts Organizations (CAPACOA), and EC3 Executive Director Su Ditta has been appointed Co-Chair of the Alliance of Arts Councils of Ontario (AACO).

A Trent University graduate, Bill Kimball has built a distinguished career in the arts sector in Peterborough, Ontario for more than 35 years, taking a lead role in organizations such as Theatre Trent, Artspace, City Stage, Peterborough New Dance, and of course as Executive Director at Public Energy Performing Arts. Kimball has served on ACHAC, the City of Peterborough’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Advisory Committee and on the City’s Community Investment and Project Grants Assessment Committee, and played a leadership role in renovations of the Market Hall. As President and Chair of EC3, Mr. Kimball has provided exceptional guidance and vision to the organization throughout its start-up phase.

The CAPACOA Advocacy Committee provides expert advice on federal and provincial policy matters affecting the arts, such as government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. CAPACOA provides a broad range of supports, tools and resources to the arts community and plays a leading role in maintaining a healthy and vibrant arts ecosystem in Canada. This organization has played a critical role during the pandemic and their work has been invaluable to hundreds of arts organizations all across Canada.

“CAPACOA is an outstanding arts service organization and I am honoured to have the opportunity to work with them, particularly in such challenging times.” –Bill Kimball

Su Ditta has served as Executive Director of EC3, Peterborough’s municipal arts council, for five years. Also a Trent graduate and an award-winning curator and arts administrator, Ms. Ditta returned to Peterborough after working at the National Gallery of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. Ditta has served as an advisor and consultant to dozens of government agencies and not-for-profit arts organizations and educational institutions, is a founding director of the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough and has served on many City advisory committees.

The Alliance of Art Councils of Ontario (AACO) is a newly formed association of municipal and regional arts councils, artists networks, and community-based cultural councils. It provides professional support, knowledge sharing, information and other resources to its members, advocates on behalf of its members and the artists and arts organizations that they serve, and provides recommendations on government policy and programs at both the federal and provincial level. AACO is dedicated to building a strong, sustainable, inclusive and responsive arts environment in the province of Ontario.

“I am proud to be a founding member and the first Co-Chair of such a dynamic and important organization and thrilled to work with such dedicated colleagues to advance the arts sector in Ontario.” –Su Ditta

EC3 is proud to see the skills and experience of our leadership team members recognized in this way.

Promotional images

• Bill Kimball, EC3 President and Chair
• Su Ditta, EC3 Executive Director

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For Further Information Contact:
Su Ditta
Executive Director, EC3
705 749 9101
electriccitycc@gmail.com
www.ecthree.org

And a Small Update to the Eligibility Guidelines

Last week we announced the Open Call for Artsweek SHIFT², and we have been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response so far. Artists are reaching out with great feedback, excellent questions and exciting ideas, and we can’t wait to see what this project produces!

Thank you to everyone who came out to the two Artsweek SHIFT² Application Information Sessions, which we held last Thursday, February 4 over Zoom.

We have now uploaded recordings of both of those sessions to the Electric City Culture Council YouTube page. Here’s the 5:30pm session and the 7:30pm session. Note: both sessions covered roughly the same material, but with different audience questions.

You can also read through the PowerPoint presentation from the workshop.

Eligibility Guidelines Update

We have released a minor update to the Eligibility Guidelines for Artsweek SHIFT². The update clarifies that both Components 1 and 2 of Artsweek SHIFT² are open to residents of both the City and County of Peterborough.

Read the full guidelines and find the application forms on our website.

If you have any questions about eligibility or anything else surrounding Artsweek SHIFT², contact EC3’s Program Coordinator Gabe Pollock at infoartsweek@gmail.com.

We can’t wait to see your proposals!

Follow Us Online!

For up-to-the-minute updates about all Artsweek programs, be sure to follow Artsweek on Facebook, @Ptbo_Artsweek on Twitter, and @artsweekptbo on Instagram, and check out the Artsweek SHIFT website for more information.

Please stay well and let us know how we can help.
TRACK THE IMPACT.

Be safe, stay healthy, and please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Su Ditta and the EC3 Board and staff

Contact
Su Ditta
Executive Director
Electric City Culture Council (EC3)
electriccitycc@gmail.com
www.ecthree.org
705 749 9101

“The Showstopper: How COVID-19 Affected Local Performing Arts Organizations” by Elizabeth Milton, Trent Arthur.

“Local artists can apply for funding for Peterborough Artsweek ‘pocket festival’ taking place this spring” by Sarah McNeilly, KawarthaNOW.

Call for Applications for ‘Mini Grants to Professional Artists’ and ‘Project Production and Presentation Grants’ for Artsweek SHIFT² Pocket Festival

Hello Everyone,

It’s January, and we are all working through another pandemic lockdown, so we hope this Bulletin comes as some good news.

As previously announced, Artsweek 2020, Peterborough’s biennial, multidisciplinary, ten-day-long celebration of this city’s vibrant arts scene, which was originally scheduled for last September, has been postponed until the fall of 2021 (assuming pandemic conditions permit).

In the meantime, we are pleased to announce Artsweek SHIFT², a program including both Mini Grants to Professional Artists to advance their work, and Project Production and Presentation Grants for events taking place between March and May 2021.

This “pocket festival” of events will be the second phase of Artsweek SHIFT, which kicked off late last year with a curated, multidisciplinary program of arts projects in Peterborough, both live and online. That phase included Downtown, organized by Justin Million, which featured a storefront exhibition of paintings by John Climenhage and a program of spoken word and poetry readings throughout the city; and Post-Code Tour, curated by Hannah Keating, an innovative re-imagining of accessibility and inclusion in Peterborough’s downtown far into the future, which can be experienced on Instagram at @post_code tour.

Now, we are proud to launch the second phase, Artsweek SHIFT².

Artsweek SHIFT² Open Call For Applications

Artsweek SHIFT² has two Components:

• Component One: Mini Grants to Professional Artists provides up to $1,500 for local artists in any discipline to undertake activities that will aid in their creative development and support the sustainability of their practice, including, but not limited to, the development of new projects, advancing works in progress, adapting existing works or developing new approaches to their work including, but not limited to, the use of new technologies or digital opportunities. While projects may include public presentation of a completed work or works, this is not a requirement of this Component of the program.
• Component Two: Project Production and Presentation Grants provides up to $3,000 to individual artists, collectives, or not for profit arts organizations for innovative, larger-scale projects in any artistic discipline, taking place virtually or live in Peterborough before May 31, 2021. Projects may include “pop ups”, one time only, or a series of events. All, projects must comply with current Covid 19 health and safety regulations. Partnerships and collaborations between arts and community groups are welcome.

Applications are now open for both Components of Artsweek SHIFT².

Click HERE for more detailed information, or click HERE for a direct link to the Program Guidelines and Application Forms PDF.

The deadline for both Components is February 22, 2021.

Completed applications will be accepted at infoartsweek@gmail.com.

Inclusion and Accessibility

Artsweek SHIFT² and EC3 are committed to equity and inclusion, and welcome applications in both Components from diverse cultural communities within the City of Peterborough, including artists who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQ2+ artists, artists from marginalized communities, artists who are Deaf, hard of hearing, or living with disabilities.

If you are a first-time applicant, identify with the groups above, or just need assistance with the process, please contact the Artsweek team at infoartsweek@gmail.com.

Artsweek SHIFT² Application Information Session

Got any questions about applying for Artsweek SHIFT²? Looking for some tips & tricks?

EC3 and Artweek will present two Artsweek SHIFT² Application Information Sessions online via Zoom on Thursday, February 4, at 5:30pm and 7:30pm. The sessions are free and will each last approximately one hour.

Pre-registration is required for these sessions:

• Pre-register for the 5:30pm session.
• Pre-register for the 7:30pm session.

(If you can’t make it, we will make a recording of the event available after it’s done.)

If you have any questions, you can contact EC3’s Program Coordinator Gabe Pollock at infoartsweek@gmail.com.

We can’t wait to see your proposals!

Follow Us Online!

For up-to-the-minute updates about all Artsweek programs, be sure to follow Artsweek on Facebook, @Ptbo_Artsweek on Twitter, and @artsweekptbo on Instagram, and check out the Artsweek SHIFT website for more information.

Please stay well and let us know how we can help.
TRACK THE IMPACT.

Be safe, stay healthy, and please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Su Ditta and the EC3 Board and staff

Contact
Su Ditta
Executive Director
Electric City Culture Council (EC3)
electriccitycc@gmail.com
www.ecthree.org
705 749 9101

Where to Watch the Reply, and How to Find Out More

This past Saturday, the Electric City Culture Council (EC3) and ReFrame Film Festival co-presented the ‘So You Want to Make a Documentary’ workshop, featuring filmmaker Maya Bastian, Hot Docs Canadian Programmer Aisha Jamal, Ontario Arts Council Media Arts Officer Mark Haslam, and moderator and ReFrame Creative Director Amy Siegel.

It was a fascinating and lively conversation, full of useful information for emerging or practicing filmmakers at any level of experience. Nearly 30 people joined us virtually for the live event, and over 60 people have watched it since then.

Watch the Workshop

If you weren’t able to attend the workshop, you can still watch a replay through ReFrame’s website until the end of the festival, this Friday, January 29.

After that, we will be archiving the video on EC3’s website.

Further Reading

“So You Want to Make a Documentary: Advice and Resource List” provides a summary of some of the key takeaways from the workshop, as well as a list of the many resources and organizations (grants, festivals, etc.) that the panelists brought up.

“Grant Writing Tips & Tricks” is a document put together by EC3 following a workshop in 2019 that’s full of useful advice on grant applications.

Please stay well and let us know how we can help.
TRACK THE IMPACT.

As always, keep checking the EC3 Facebook page, @ECThreePtbo on Twitter, @ec3ptbo on Instagram, and the COVID-19 Updates page on EC3’s website, where we are providing daily updates on programs and services available for ACH workers and organizations.

Be safe, stay healthy, and please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Su Ditta and the EC3 Board and staff

Contact
Su Ditta
Executive Director
Electric City Culture Council (EC3)
electriccitycc@gmail.com
www.ecthree.org
705 749 9101

You Are Invited! EC3 and ReFrame Film Festival Present ‘So You Want to Make a Documentary’ Workshop

Hello Everyone,

This weekend is the start of the ReFrame Film Festival, Peterborough’s annual documentary film festival, which is going virtual this year, streaming dozens of local and international documentaries from January 22 to 29, 2021, through their website.

As part of the festival, EC3 and ReFrame are co-presenting a workshop, So You Want to Make a Documentary, with panelists Aisha Jamal from the Hot Docs documentary film festival, Mark Haslam from the Ontario Arts Council and filmmaker Maya Bastian. The event takes place virtually on Saturday, January 23 at 2pm, and is FREE to attend – sign up HERE.

Read on for more details!

So You Want to Make a Documentary

An online professional development workshop co-presented by the Electric City Culture Council and ReFrame Film Festival
Featuring: Aisha Jamal, Mark Haslam and Maya Bastian
Saturday, January 23 at 2:00pm
Online
FREE

Making a documentary film and getting it to an audience is a unique undertaking. Developing projects, making funding applications and pitches, putting all the funds together, finding producers, securing a good distributor, getting into the festival circuit, big screen, television and non-broadcast deals are complex and can seem overwhelming. Where to start? What to keep in mind? Who can help?

ReFrame Film Festival and the Electric City Culture Council (EC3) have brought together a panel of experts to help you make it happen.

This professional workshop will introduce filmmakers to opportunities available to them in terms of funding, festivals, media-making resources and advice from the field. This FREE workshop is geared to emerging artists, but is suitable for all levels of experience! This is a great chance to hear the latest from the world of independent documentary filmmaking, build your skills and knowledge and move your project forward.

Sign Up in Advance

To access the workshop, you must sign up for an account (no charge). Click HERE to sign up.

Panelists

Aisha Jamal has been working as Canadian programmer at Hot Docs since 2016. In 2019 she worked as Programming Associate for Canadian and Nordic features at TIFF and for four years she was Head of Programming at the Syria Film Festival. She also teaches film theory and criticism while working on her own film projects.

Mark Haslam is the media arts officer at the Ontario Arts Council. Previously, he was the Founder and Executive Director of the Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival in Toronto. He is a filmmaker, and has worked in television as a documentary writer/director/producer. He began his career in radio broadcasting.

Maya Bastian is a Tamil Canadian filmmaker and artist. She has spent several years travelling the world as an investigative video journalist, documenting areas of conflict and post–conflict which has culminated in an ongoing exploration of trauma as it relates to community and culture. Her award-winning work has been shown in Los Angeles, New York, Berlin, UK, South Asia and across Canada. She is currently in post-production on her short film ‘Tigress’ which looks at militant rebellions. Tigress was recently chosen to participate in the Netflix/Canadian Film Centre Calling Card Accelerator. In her spare time she works as a programmer for several film organizations as well as being a strong champion for filmmakers of colour by sitting on panels and teaching workshops.

Please stay well and let us know how we can help.
TRACK THE IMPACT.

As always, keep checking the EC3 Facebook page, @ECThreePtbo on Twitter, @ec3ptbo on Instagram, and the COVID-19 Updates page on EC3’s website, where we are providing daily updates on programs and services available for ACH workers and organizations.

Be safe, stay healthy, and please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Su Ditta and the EC3 Board and staff

Contact
Su Ditta
Executive Director
Electric City Culture Council (EC3)
electriccitycc@gmail.com
www.ecthree.org
705 749 9101