Arts and culture receives $600K boost from GSDC

The Greater Sudbury Development Corporation (GSDC) Board has approved $594,912 in funding to 44 local arts and culture organizations through the Arts and Culture Grant Program.

This program was established to stimulate the growth and development of this important economic sector, and to increase its potential to attract and retain a talented and creative workforce.

"I congratulate the successful applicants and thank them for making our community more livable," said Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger, in a press release. "The economic impact of arts and culture activity in our city is significant and this year's group is proof of that fact."

The Arts and Culture Grants Program is divided into two streams: operating and project.

Recipients of the 2015 Arts and Culture Operating Grants are:

Carrefour francophone de Sudbury — $50,000
Centre franco-ontarien de folklore — $8,000
Cinefest International Film Festival — $40,000
Cultural Industries Ontario North — $10,000
Galerie du nouvel-Ontario — $42,500
Jazz Sudbury — $31,250
La nuit sur l'étang — $17,000
Myths & Mirrors Community Arts — $15,124
Northern Lights Festival Boréal — $27,500
Éditions Prise de parole — $40,000
Salon du livre du Grand Sudbury — $31,250
Sudbury Symphony Orchestra — $40,000
Sudbury Theatre Centre — $60,000
Theatre Cambrian — $10,000
Théâtre du nouvel-Ontario — $50,000

Recipients of the 2015 Arts and Culture Project Grants are:

Café-musique productions of Rayside-Balfour — $4,000
Caruso Club (Coro Caruso)— $1,650
Chorale Troubadours — $2,000
Crestfallen Theatre — $2,500
Downtown Art Crawl — $2,000
Fiddleworks — $3,700
India Canada Association — $500
Jubilee Folk Ensemble — $1,400
Nickel City Sound — $2,900
Northern All Stars - Pan Steel Band — $500
Northern Artist Gallery (Artists on Elgin) — $2,000
Northern Initiative for Social Action — $5,500
Northern Ontario Railroad Museum & Heritage Centre — $2,500
N'Swakamok Native Friendship Center — $2,990
Rayside Balfour Whitewater Brush Art & Palette Club — $500
Regroupement des organismes culturels de Sudbury — $1,500
Silver Birch String Quartet — $4,890
Sudbury & District Weavers & Spinners Guild — $2,990
Sudbury Arts Council — $1,500
Sudbury Blueberry Festival — $1,250
Sudbury Downtown Indie Cinema Co-operative — $2,800
Sudbury Multicultural & Folk Arts Association — $11,000
Sudbury Music Collective — $500
Sudbury Pride — $2,900
Ukrainian Seniors' Centre (Garlic Festival) — $2,500
Valley Community Theatre — $2,990
We Live Up Here (Up Fest) — $2,990
Young Sudbury Singers — $2,950
Youth Entertaining Sudbury Theatre — $15,000

Applications were evaluated against the goals of the new Cultural Plan to incorporate the themes of innovation, creativity and potential for increased capacity.
Evaluations were completed by two GSDC Arts and Culture Juries, with community and arts and culture representation to ensure a sound investment. Applications for funding are based on three criteria: artistic and cultural merit, community impact and benefits, and organizational and financial health. The juries make recommendations for grants, which are then approved by the GSDC Board.

“Education, entertainment, quality of life, employment and volunteer opportunities are just some of the many ways in which arts and culture is beneficial to our community,” said Dr. Darren Stinson, chair of the GSDC Board, in the press release.

“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank our grant juries for their thoroughness and commitment, and for making an investment in this important part of our community.”

For a complete list of arts and culture grant recipients, visit www.greatersudburyculture.ca.

The GSDC is the economic development arm of the City of Greater Sudbury, consisting of a 17-member board of directors and supported by City staff. They act as a liaison between economic growth and development, and City Council.

The work of the GSDC board extends beyond monetary outcomes. It focuses on quality of life, retention of talent in the north, business growth, and the support of arts and culture in our community.