New Directors Elected at Joint Annual General Meeting

Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation hosted their Annual General Meetings on September 13.

Toronto Arts Council welcomed incoming Directors Kelvin Browne, Executive Director and CEO of the Gardiner Museum, Charles Falzon, Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Design (FCAD) at Ryerson University, and Maayan Ziv, a fashion, portrait and street photographer who focuses on black and white emotive portraiture, editorial fashion, and gritty street scenes. Browne, Falzon and Ziv are all filling in at-large positions.

In welcoming Toronto Arts Council’s incoming Directors, TAC President Nova Bhattacharya acknowledged the Board of Directors and members of TAC’s Community Arts, Visual/Media Arts, Literary, Music, Theatre and Dance committees for their volunteer contribution of an estimated 2,500 hours. Bhattacharya further remarked that, “All of us here clearly believe that the arts make the world a better place, and we are doing our best to support relevant, vital, visions and narratives regarding our culture, and its relationship to the identity of this city.”

To view the full list of Toronto Arts Council’s 2016 Board of Directors, click here.

Toronto Arts Foundation welcomed incoming Directors Andréa N J Callà, an architect with over 30 years of experience in residential, retail and commercial real estate development across Canada, the U.S., Caribbean and the Middle East, and Hasan Makansi, a consultant in business growth, strategic initiatives, innovation, and start-ups. Makansi is also a member of Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Leaders, a dynamic group of young professionals, arts lovers, and arts philanthropists.

To view the full list of Toronto Arts Foundation’s 2016 Board of Directors, click here.

Following the Annual General Meetings, Claire Hopkinson, Director & CEO of Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation gave a presentation on the “state of the arts” to a packed room of colleagues and arts supporters in the Urbanspace Gallery at 401 Richmond. Hopkinson began the presentation by remarking, “There has never been a more exciting time to be involved in the arts in Toronto.” She went on to outline the many ways Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation make key contributions to nurture and support Toronto’s artists.

Among new TAC programs introduced to address funding inequities, such as Indigenous Arts Projects, and Performing Arts Facility Support, Hopkinson highlighted how TAC grants act as a catalyst for increased revenues, employment, and engagement, all at a cost of just $6.43 per Torontonian in 2015. She also highlighted various new Foundation initiatives such as Arts in the Parks, which aims to increase access to the arts in underserved areas, and the Creative Champions Network, which facilitates knowledge sharing amongst the estimated 1200 arts board volunteers in Toronto.

To end the presentation, Claire gave a toast to North York Arts, which has become a fully incorporated, autonomous organization, run by its own Board of Directors. North York Arts was incubated by Toronto Arts Foundation in 2011 and has successfully grown into a strong and effective local arts service organization offering  programming in all corners of North York.  

The State of the Arts PowerPoint presentation can be viewed here.

For a complete list of artists and arts organizations funded by Toronto Arts Council, click here.

Details of the Foundation’s programs, events and awards may be found on their website.

For more information, contact Susan Wright, Deputy Director, susan@torontoartscouncil.org