Featured Story
June 2019
Nova Bhattacharya, Susan Crocker, Kathleen Sharpe and Claire Hopkinson celebrate TAC's 45th anniversary at the 2019 Annual General Meeting
Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation hosted their Annual General Meetings on June 12 at St. Matthews Clubhouse, home of East End Arts, to approve the minutes from the previous AGMs held June 11, 2018; to receive and consider the financial statements for both corporations for the year ended December 31, 2018 as approved by the board of directors; to elect the 2019-2020 boards of directors; and to appoint the auditor for the 2019 fiscal year.
In her remarks, Director and CEO Claire Hopkinson said: “TAC turns 45 years old this year. In 1980, 84 TAC grants were awarded totaling $180,000. Now, 9.9 million people annually benefit from the City’s support to the arts through Toronto Arts Council. That’s close to 10 million residents and visitors attending an overall contribution of 24,000 TAC-funded performances, exhibitions, and events.
"It’s next to impossible to calculate the cumulative legacy of this investment – of the cultural contribution which has ensued, with award-winning books, compositions, plays, films, and artwork being created reflecting back the city’s heart and soul," Hopkinson noted.
Toronto Arts Council Board Chair Susan Crocker congratulated TAC on its 45th anniversary, noting support of the arts serves to bolster the local arts sector’s benefits to the city. Crocker thanked TAC’s board directors and committee chairs for their tireless work in support of Toronto’s artists, and paid tribute to outgoing Board President Nova Bhattacharya.
Both the Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation boards will welcome back their current directors for the 2019-2020 term, with the exception of Bhattacharya, who has completed eight years as a Director of Toronto Arts Council, including the last six years as Board President.
Outgoing TAC Board President Nova Bhattacharya (L) and Toronto Arts Foundation Board Chair Kathleen Sharpe
Bhattacharya, recognized as one of the leading dance artists of her generation, has been a member of Toronto Art Council’s board of directors since 2011. In 2008, she founded Nova Dance – her powerful works have been presented across Canada, in Germany and Japan, and have been described as “transforming bharatanatyam dance vocabulary into stunning contemporary dance” (Globe and Mail).
“Toronto Arts Council is an organization that listens to its community and evolves with it,” Bhattacharya said. “The staff of artists and creative producers; the Board of Directors with a mandated number of artists and arts workers; arts-loving members of community and city councillors – their intelligence, their insights and their care for culture drew me in, and the opportunity to make a contribution to the city made the commitment worthwhile.”
As the arts are an essential part of civic life, driving innovation in multiple sectors, “funding for the arts is not just important, but crucial,” Bhattacharya added.
Toronto Arts Council Board Director Gaëtane Verna will assume the role of Board President for 2019-2020. Verna has been the Director of The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Canada’s leading public gallery devoted exclusively to contemporary visual art, since 2012. In January 2018, Verna was invested as a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) by the Cultural Service of the Embassy of France in Canada to recognize her significant contribution to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world. Verna is also Co-Chair of TAC's Visual Arts/Media Arts Committee.
Toronto Arts Foundation Board Chair Kathleen Sharpe thanked the Directors and staff of the Foundation, as well as the donors and sponsors who so generously helped support the Foundation’s programs over the last year.
Steel pan percussionist Joy Lapps-Lewis performs at the AGM
Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation also presented their 2018 Annual Reports, documents that highlight the impact of both organizations over the past year, including TAC’s commitment to equity and the many dynamic programs supported by the Foundation’s donors and sponsors (including Arts in the Parks and the Neighbourhood Arts Network).
To view the Toronto Arts Council’s 2018 Annual Report, click here.
To view the Toronto Arts Foundation’s 2018 Annual Report, click here.
The AGM also served as a celebration for TAC’s 45th anniversary this year, as well as for the ‘graduation’ of East End Arts – the city’s sixth Local Arts Service Organization (LASO) providing community arts programs and support, EEA became a fully independent entity this year after being incubated by Toronto Arts Foundation since its start in 2013.