2024 has been a year of promise for the arts in Toronto.  

Over this past year, Toronto Arts Council and Foundation assisted with and championed the City of Toronto’s ambitious new culture plan Culture Connects: An Action Plan for Culture in Toronto, which includes an increase to Toronto Arts Council’s base budget of $2 million per year for the next five years; we celebrated 50 years of public investment in the arts through Toronto Arts Council, and the creative city this has built;  and we reimagined our major fundraising event with the In Bloom Gala, an electric party  that raised over one million dollars in support for our vital year-round programming.  

Here are some highlights for the year: 

Toronto Arts Council: 

• Managed thousands of grant applications and funded outstanding art:  

• Grants staff managed over 71 days of adjudication meetings, assessing 2,597 applications with requests of $45,383,463 and delivering a total of $23,853,422 through 886 grants to artists and arts organizations in Toronto. 

• Launched our 50^th Anniversary celebration in June with a public event at Luminato in the Square, attended by over 1,200 people; over the year, we spotlighted 50 artists and highlighted the benefits of the arts with our “Believe in Art” campaign. 

• Engaged in research to better understand and demonstrate the importance of our work:  
  • Concluded a SSHRC funded research project, Fostering Integration Through the Arts: Learning from Toronto Arts Council’s Program for Newcomers and Refugees (FIT-ART), in partnership with the Toronto Metropolitan University; presented the initial findings of this project at the Metropolis Canada Conference in Montreal in March and will launch the final report in January. 
  • Began another SSHRC funded research project titled Funding Matters with University of Toronto Scarborough Campus about the importance and perception of public arts funding.
  • Participated in “Pathways to Growth: Impact, Partnerships, Funding” organized by the Association of Arts Councils of Ontario (AACO) in Belleville in October. 
• Spoke to our peers at key gatherings:
  • Participated in “Advancing Data Strategies for Arts Funders: Turning the Idea of Data Strategy(ies) for Arts Funders into a Reality,” this past June, organized by the National Research Group and hosted by funders in Alberta in Calgary. 
  • Served as a panelist for Canadian Urban Institute’s 2nd Annual Summit, “State of Canada’s Cities Summit – Stepping Up.” 

• Reached out to prospective applicants and helped convene communities:
  • Organized 13 outreach and networking events for 1060 registered participants, including four grant information sessions, four combined community conversation / networking / information sessions, two multi-grant drop-in “office hour” events and three Black Arts Connect sessions. 

Toronto Arts Foundation: 

• Recognized and celebrated the achievements of outstanding artists and arts organizations through our various awards:
  • In April we named the recipients of five awards at our annual Mayor’s Arts Lunch: Pan Fantasy received the $20,000 Arts for Youth Award, Destinie Adélakun received the $10,000 Breakthrough Artist Award, Rina Fraticelli received the $10,000 Celebration of Cultural Life Award, Anthony Gebrehiwot received the $10,000 Community Arts Award, Laurence Lemieux received the $10,000 Muriel Sherrin Award. 
  • In May we gathered at the City of Toronto’s Newcomer Day to celebrate six newcomer artists: Mahsa Alikhani, Gaby Al Botros, Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto, Jelica Mijanovic, Leandro Matos and Niloufar Ziaee each received $2,500 as part of our Newcomer Artist Award. 
  • Through our Space Award: Tan VU, Nami Ueno, Leen Hamo, Felipe Tellez, Dana Prieto and Melika Saeeda each received $500 cash and $2,000 in credit to be used for studio space; we expanded our partnerships to serve performing artists: space partners now include AKIN, Small World Centre, Unity Charity and Factory Theatre.
  • In June, Dánae Olano was named the recipient of the $10,000 Breakthrough Jazz Artist Award. 

• Connected artists with industry professionals through our Mentor in Residence program, managed by our Neighbourhood Arts Network.  
  • In total, we worked with 18 multi-disciplinary mentors who contributed over 245 mentorship hours, providing support to 95 mentees.  

• Provided opportunities for 25 youth media artists who are Indigenous, Black and People of Colour and/or 2SLGBTQ+ to gain professional experience, skills and network in the media arts industry through ArtWorksTO. This program operates in partnership with our Neighbourhood Arts Network, the City of Toronto, OCAD U and The Remix Project. 
  • $100,000 in industry contracts were awarded to the cohort, with an additional $120,000 industry contracts awarded to program alumni. 
  • ArtWorksTO received the City’s Manager’s Award for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in September.  

• Provided arts board volunteers the opportunity to gather and learn effective governance practices through our Creative Champions Network workshops led by Michelle Yeung. 
  • A total of five workshop sessions took place throughout the year, featuring seven speakers and inspiring 223 arts champions to serve their arts organizations better and more effectively.   

• Engaged audiences with free, accessible, high-caliber art of all kinds throughout the summer through Arts in the Parks. 
  • A total of 877 artists brought 295 events to 33 parks across the city in 18 wards, bringing together approximately 92,800 audience members through unique and memorable arts experiences. 

• In November, our Mayor’s Evening for the Arts raised $1,040,000 to support our programming in 2025, helping to build careers, strengthen networks and create greater access to the arts throughout Toronto.  

Both Organizations 

• Celebrated Toronto Arts Council board members:
  • Thanked outgoing board members Amanda Hancox, Richard Paquet and maxine bailey. 

• Celebrated Toronto Arts Foundation board members:
  • Welcomed incoming members Stefan Baranski, Bob Blazevski, Nasir Noormohamed, Sage Paul, Orit Sarfaty, Jonathan Simmons and Mike Yorke and thanked outgoing directors Devyani Saltzman and Danielle Labossiere Parr. 

• Welcomed and celebrated joint Toronto Arts Council and Foundation staff:
  • Celebrated Kadija de Paula in her new role as Senior Manager, Impact & Evaluation.
  • Welcomed Francois Lebas, Manager, Data Analytics and Sarah Mangialardo, Senior Executive Coordinator. 

• Welcomed Toronto Arts Council staff:
  • Tafiya Itiaba-Bayah, Program Manager, Dance Programs 
• Welcomed and celebrated Toronto Arts Foundation staff:
  • Celebrated Alandra McKirdy in her new role as Coordinator, Special Events
  • Welcomed Courtney Fiddis, Senior Manager, Development, Elizabeth (Liz) Tsui, Coordinator, Outreach & Awards, Hemangi Shroff, Coordinator, Membership & Engagement, Sophie Brzozowski, Senior Coordinator, Philanthropy, Lucy Reddy, Senior Coordinator, Philanthropy 

2025 promises to be even better. Our organizations are preparing for future growth to support creative opportunities for everyone in our city through a new Strategic Plan which we expect to launch in the spring along with a renewed digital presence to serve Torontonians better. We will continue to build bridges, to listen, engage, and connect while pursuing our vision of a better Toronto for everyone through the arts. 

In addition to boosting the economy and creating jobs, we see every day how the arts contribute to healthy and whole communities, reduce isolation,  promote well-being, and so much more. This is the power of the arts. It is why the arts are fundamental to peoples’ lives and to a caring, vibrant city, and why we will continue to work with our public and private partners to support the arts and make the case for increased investments in this critical sector.  

Thank you to our dedicated staff, board, and committee members, volunteers, and community members who directly contributed to our success in 2024. Thank you to all of Toronto Arts Council’s grant recipients for their inspiring work, to Toronto Arts Foundation donors and sponsors for fueling our vital programs, and to Mayor Olivia Chow, Toronto City Council, and our colleagues at the City of Toronto for continuing to believe and invest in the arts. Finally, thanks to every Toronto resident who attended or engaged in an arts experience this year and, by doing so, helped to sustain our unique creative city. 

I look forward to connecting with you in 2025.  

Sincerely,  

Kelly Langgard 
Director & CEO 
Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation