The Gift Giving Show: Kingston 2008

A one-of-kind type event to help you find the perfect gift for the holiday season. With over 40 juried vendors in a unique venue, it will be the place to shop this December. Come shop and even dine at Historic Fort Henry!

Prospective vendors, see:
http://www.giftgivingshow.com/index.cfm?page=vendor

Eager shoppers, have a look:
http://www.giftgivingshow.com/index.cfm?page=shop

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Environmental Filmmaking

Green Pitcher – Perfecting the Art of the Pitch for Environmental Filmmaking
Always wanted to make a film about an environmental issue close to your heart? Struggling to find the finances to pull it together? Welcome to the Planet in Focus Green Pitch Competition, an opportunity to pitch your idea to the people with the power to give your project the green light.

With Environmental NGOs, broadcasters, producers and established filmmakers on board to lend their insight, this workshop will give participants the opportunity to test their green ideas in front of creative professions.

Selected participants will gain valuable first-hand feedback as they present their pitches for the chance to win development funding and services*! The winning Green Pitch will be announced on Sunday October 26th, 2008 at the Awards Ceremony.

* Cash and services TBA (please check back in September for details )

To qualify as a Pitch participant, please read the complete guidelines and fill out the application form posted at www.planetinfocus.org/pitch

Ontario Contact 2008 - Online Registration is now Open

Check out details on the website:

http://www.ontariocontact.ca/oc.php

On The Road - A touring workshop for the commercially-challenged musician

A three-day workshop organized by the Canada Council for the Arts for culturally diverse musicians involved with world music

* Are you a performer, manager or agent involved with world music?
* Do you perform for money in clubs, concerts and at festivals?
* Have you performed away from your home town?
* Have you spent at least one night in an uncomfortable bed in a cheap motel beside a busy highway?
* Have you wondered how you can get more gigs in front of more folks for more money?
* Would you like to travel around the country/continent/world sharing you music with cultivated and adoring fans?
* Have you recorded at least one CD that you sell during your shows?
* Are you interested in serious face time with seasoned music business professionals who are willing to share their knowledge, experience and trade secrets?
* Are you mystified by terms like EPK, PDF, JPEG, 300 DPI, Face Book, You Tube, MP3?
* Have you listened green with envy, to another musician talking about the smoked eggs benedict your hosts served on the ocean-view patio the morning after the sold-out show?


If you’ve answered YES! to these questions you should participate in On The Road. Does this mean you will learn the secret handshake that opens the door to success, wealth and fame? No! Does it mean that you will gain some insights into how and where you can build your career better? Absolutely!

On The Road brings together artists and their agents and managers with seasoned music professionals. This will be an intensive three days of discussions, presentations and hands on sessions for professional artists who want to do more.

GARY CRISTALL will lead the workshop, On the Road, and will also feature invited guests from the Canadian music community to address specific topics and issues outlined in the agenda.

Gary is the former artistic director of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival and a former Canada Council music officer. He is presently working as an artists’ manager and agent.

For more information on Gary Cristall, please visit www.garycristall.com.

Objective

This workshop is designed for culturally diverse musicians in world music who have not toured outside their home market and require the basic fundamental skills and contacts necessary to increase their touring opportunities and to make them more effective.

Information

The workshop is coordinated and sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts in conjunction with the Lula Lounge and the Small World Music Festival and will take place in Toronto, Ontario, from 18 to 20 September 2008.

Where

Lula Lounge
1585 Dundas St. W, west of Dufferin
Toronto, ON

When

Thursday, 18 September 2008, 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m.
Friday, 19 September 2008, 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m.
Saturday, 20 September 2008, 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m.

Note

This workshop will be conducted in English, with resource materials available in English.
For more information on the Small World Music Festival, please visit www.smallworldmusic.com. The festival will take place in Toronto from 18-30 September 2008. For more information on the Lula Lounge, please visit www.lulalounge.ca 416.588.0307.

Registration

Deadline: Friday, 5 September 2008
Registration fee: $150
The registration fee includes all resource materials, as well as lunch all three days.

Along with a completed registration form, please submit one copy of your press kit, CD or sound recording, video of live performance, if available, and a list of tours and performances from the previous 12 months.

Due to the limited space, the Canada Council for the Arts will confirm your participation in the workshop by Friday, 12 September 2008. Promotional materials and cheques will be returned to anyone who cannot be accommodated in this workshop.

Registrations without payment will not be processed.

Cheques should be made payable to the Canada Council for the Arts and mailed to:

Koba Johnson

Audience and Market Development
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, PO Box 1047
Ottawa, ON K1P 5V8

Contact Information:
Toll-free at 1-800-263-5588, ext. 4118 or (613) 566-4414, ext. 4118
Fax: (613) 566-4390
[email protected]
www.canadacouncil.ca

AGENDA

First Things First

* Introduction to the workshop
* Who are you? and What do you want?

The Who, What, Why, Where and When of Touring?
To Market I’ll Go!

An exploration of the Canadian performing physiognomy:

* Festivals, concerts, clubs
* Seasons and scenes

Festivals – The Big and the Beautiful

* Where are they?
* How to get into them?
* What to do while you are there?
* What to do in between festivals?

Let’s Make a Deal

* The art of Negotiation or “You can’t always get what you want”

Your 15 Minutes Have Arrived

* Showcases: what they can do for you and how to manage the 20 minute set – official, guerilla, provincial, national – the many options

You Show Me Yours – I’ll show You Mine

* A hands-on look at your promo materials

Tools of the Trade

* Promo materials you need
* From double white glossy to MP3 – New Technologies

You Deserve a Promotion

* Publicists: What they do and how they do it
* The Media - Why should we make you famous?
* Interview Strategies – How to get them and how to do them?

Foreign Affairs

* Other continents and our neighbours to the South

You Need Professional Help - Agents and Managers

* What do they do?
* Do I need one?
* How do I find one?
* The “do it yourself” career

It’s in my contract!!

* Words on paper – what do they mean?

Moving “Merch”

* CDs, T-shirts, belt buckles and all the other consumer durables that can boost your income while leaving a pleasant memory

While you’re up, get me a grant

* The ins and out of funding for tours

Making it Easy

* Tour planning and management

Let’s do it

* A hands on tour planning exercise from conception to funding application

What did you learn?
What do you still need?

ONTARIO AND QUEBEC DEFEND THE VALUE OF CULTURE

Joint Statement by Minister Aileen Carroll and Minister St-Pierre

ONTARIO AND QUEBEC DEFEND THE VALUE OF CULTURE

As ministers of culture for Quebec and Ontario, we want to convey our deep disappointment about the recent cuts to federal arts and culture programs. In so doing, we are joining countless Canadian artists and arts organizations who have publicly expressed their grave concern.

We understand that at least seven programs that provide crucial support to Canada's cultural sector have already been cut. We have now learned that the federal government intends to continue this ill-advised course of action, abolishing or severely reducing the budgets of essential initiatives.

Our artists make unique, important and necessary contributions to the cultural, social, economic and political development of our vibrant society. They act as ambassadors for our culture abroad and here at home. The excellence and the originality of their work witness and mirror to the world the modernity, dynamism and vitality of our country. They are the creative engines of our knowledge-based economy.

The culture sector plays a vital role in the Canadian economy. In Quebec and Ontario, the sector contributes close to $30 billion to both provinces' GDP, which represents 68 per cent of the national cultural sector. The sector also employs roughly 616,000 people across the country of whom 68 per cent call Quebec and Ontario home.

Culture is one of Canada's fastest growing economic sectors. It's spin-off benefits include growth and diversification in tourism and local economies, and skills development for the knowledge economy. Investing in our home-grown talent on the international stage encourages foreign investment, opens new markets for export and promotes our country as a cultural tourism destination.

Equally vital, culture helps us define who we are, describes where we have been and signals where we are going. Culture is an essential ingredient to the cohesiveness of our society and to the promotion of our identity.

This is not the time for the federal government to reduce support for culture. Governments need to invest in the people and businesses that make up our cultural industries so that Canada's economy will reap the benefits. The governments of Quebec and Ontario understand this and have targeted the cultural sector for investment to generate future growth in our economy. Given the context of globalization, now is the time for each province to promote Canadian culture. Our governments recognize the power of culture in the conduct of international affairs, which is essential for a country like Canada.

By cutting these federal programs, without any notice or consultation, the federal government has put the future of organizations and initiatives across the country at serious risk. These programs, primarily for international development, film, video and new media, have complemented Quebec and Ontario programs in priority areas. They promote our artists touring abroad and support the work of such prestigious institutions as the Society for Arts and Technology and the Institut national de l'image et du son, Hot Docs and the Canadian Film Centre. These cuts will compromise years of work on the part of organizations, artists and governments to make culture a sector of excellence recognized throughout the world.

To grow a stronger economy and put Canada on the international stage, we will need to work together. Quebec and Ontario will be raising this issue at the Sept. 25-26 meeting of federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for culture and heritage in Quebec City. We hope that our colleagues from across Canada will join us in urging the federal government to reinstate these programs and reinvigorate federal funding in arts and culture. We both have asked federal Heritage Minister Josée Verner to meet with us and to work together to ensure that Canadian arts and culture remains a powerful contributor to the development of our creative society, our economic diversity and future prosperity.

It is one thing to review programs to make sure funding is there for those who need it; it is quite another to scrap an entire program because of an ideological aversion to a handful of ideas.

Aileen Carroll is Ontario's minister of culture and minister responsible for seniors.

Christine St-Pierre is Quebec's minister of culture, communications and women's issues.

Ontario Minister of Culture, Letter defending value of culture

Minister Aileen Carroll

Letter to the Editor

_______________________

I am deeply concerned about the Harper government’s decision to cut programs that support Canada's cultural sector.

The entertainment and creative cluster is one of Canada's fastest growing economic sectors. According to Statistics Canada, Ontario now generates more than half of Canada’s total cultural Gross Domestic Product and accounts for nearly $20 billion of our provincial GDP.

Spin-off benefits to a strong cultural sector include growth and diversification in tourism and in local economies; skills development for the knowledge economy; and stronger planning for growth.

The McGuinty government has the right plan for the times – one that is strengthening our economy by investing in the people and businesses that make up our cultural industry.

Investing in our home-grown talent on the international stage encourages foreign investment, opens up new markets for export, and promotes Ontario as a cultural tourism destination.

It is one thing to review programs to make sure funding is there for those who need it, but it is quite another to scrap an entire program because of an ideological aversion to a handful of ideas. By doing so, the federal government has put many worthy organizations and initiatives at risk and is damaging our economic diversity and future prosperity.

Aileen Carroll

Ontario Minister of Culture, Barrie

Call for Artists, juried art exhibition in Toronto

The Artist Project Toronto (www.theartistprojecttoronto.com). We would love to have a strong representation of Kingston artists in the show.

See website for details.

Job posting, Kingston Canadian Film Festival

Job Title: Festival Coordinator

Terms:Approximately 25 hours/week for 30 weeks (possibility of extension and renewal)

Closing Date: August 20, 2008 at 5:00 pm

Salary: $11,000 + bonus structure for sponsorships

Accountabilities:

Reporting to the Festival Director and working in partnership with staff, interns, volunteers and board members, the Festival Coordinator will be the primary public contact for the festival and provide administrative, business and sales support to:

• Research, cultivate and negotiate new cash and in-kind sponsorships and renew existing sponsors

• Invite and secure attendance of film industry guests, arrange travel and accommodation

• Manage hospitality suite and guest relations throughout festival

• Assist with recruitment, coordination and management of volunteers and interns

• Assist with promotion, marketing and community outreach

• Author reports and correspondence, create and maintain databases and records

Qualifications:

• Degree or diploma in communications, marketing or liberal arts

• Minimum 2 years' experience in special event planning, project management, marketing or fundraising; successful fundraising experience a strong asset

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Strong teamwork and interpersonal skills

• Superior organizational abilities, capable of meeting tight deadlines for multiple and competing priorities

• Ability to work independently without regular supervision

• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint

This is a work from home position. The successful candidate must have home access to a computer with high speed internet, a valid driver's license and a reliable vehicle. Position requires regular availability during business hours.

The successful candidate will be expected to work all five days of the 2009 Kingston Canadian Film Festival.

Position is dependent on securing the necessary funding.

Please apply by email only with cover letter and résumé to:

[email protected]

No phone calls please

Statistical Insights on the Arts series from Hill Strategies Research, 23rd report

Social Effects of Culture: Detailed Statistical Models , the 23rd report in the Statistical Insights on the Arts series from Hill Strategies Research, provides strong evidence of the social effects of culture through detailed statistical models of six social indicators:

• Feeling trapped in a daily routine;
• Volunteering;
• Donating;
• Doing a favour for a neighbour;
• Sense of belonging to one’s province; and
• Sense of belonging to Canada.

This report builds on a previous report in the Statistical Insights on the Arts series, which provided some exploratory findings regarding the social effects of culture. Taking the previous report as a starting point, the statistical models in this report examine whether cultural activities have an impact on social indicators above and beyond demographic information.

The current report shows that, in many cases, even adjusting for the effects of key demographic variables, Canadians who participate in cultural activities are more likely to be socially active than Canadians who do not take part in cultural activities.


Among the cultural activities, visits to public art galleries or historic sites each have a positive impact on five of the six social behaviours, while visits to conservation areas or parks and theatre attendance each have a positive impact on four social behaviours. Book reading, newspaper reading and attendance at a performance of cultural/heritage music, theatre or dance each have a positive impact on three of the social indicators.

www.arts.on.ca

Arts funders moving forward on integrated reporting

An integrated financial and statistical online database called CADAC (Canadian Arts Data/ Données sur les arts au Canada) is being developed for launch in late 2008.

CADAC is a web-based database that will lighten the administration burden on arts organizations applying for operating funding to one or multiple public funders by enabling them to submit one set of financial and statistical information.

For years, arts funders have heard from the organizations they fund that they would like a more unified approach to the complex and comprehensive funding application processes. A key element is the financial and statistical data required by each funding agency.

The CADAC benefits for arts organizations, arts funders and the broader sector are:

* Arts organizations will have access to reports and historical data on their own organizations, as well as reports that compare their data to all the data in CADAC for similar organizations - by size, region or discipline.

* Financial and statistical information will be secure. Only the arts funders will have access to the information provided by arts organizations applying to their programs.

* Arts funders and arts organizations will be able to use the aggregate data to identify trends and monitor the overall health of the arts sector.

* The arts sector will be able to speak with a common voice on the impact of the arts.

Pilot testing of the database is expected to begin in October with a number of arts organizations and will proceed throughout the fall. Once the testing is complete, CADAC will be phased in gradually over the next two years, beginning in late 2008.

This initiative was originally conceived by the Intergovernmental Roundtable of Arts Funders and Foundations (IRAFF) in Ontario and shepherded through the development phase by the Ontario Arts Council. The following are member partners: the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the British Columbia Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), the Saskatchewan Arts Board and Toronto Arts Council. Discussions are ongoing with other provincial, territorial and municipal arts funders to encourage them to join the partnership.

In addition, the CADAC initiative has supporting partners: the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, the Ontario Ministry of Culture, the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the City of Toronto.

The Canada Council for the Arts will be the secretariat and host for CADAC. For more information please contact: [email protected]


For more information about OAC and CADAC please contact:

Pat Bradley
Research Manager
Ontario Arts Council
416-969-7433
or 1-800-387-0058 ext. 7433
[email protected]

*For other OAC information please contact:*

Kirsten Gunter
Director of Communications
Ontario Arts Council
416-969-7403
or 1-800-387-0058 ext. 7403
[email protected]

The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is the province of Ontario's primary funding body for professional arts activity. Since 1963, OAC has played a vital role in promoting and assisting the development of the arts and artists for the enjoyment and benefit of Ontarians. For more information, visit the OAC website at http://www.arts.on.ca