Performing Arts Grants Awarded 2008
The Metcalf Foundation is pleased to announce total disbursements of almost $1.4 million through the Performing Arts Program in 2008. The following organizations received grants this year:
Strategic Initiatives
Under the Strategic Initiatives program (SI), small and mid-sized professional performing arts companies in Toronto have an opportunity, over a three-year period, to implement a strategic course of action that would not be possible under normal budgetary circumstances. It is the Foundation’s hope that successfully implemented plans will make organizations stronger and more resilient, productive, and effective in the execution of their creative mandates.
First Year of Three-Year Commitment
Arraymusic
$20,000
to select, rehearse, and perfect a core repertoire of “contemporary classics” from its 36-year legacy of works and to develop a network of outside presenters to hire its ensemble to perform this repertoire in order to increase audiences, revenues, and the organization’s profile.
Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus
$21,457
to create a new education/outreach program, consisting of the creation of a non-auditioned after-school program offered to children at a nominal cost, and the development of additional performance and workshop opportunities in the traditional school system.
Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie
$20,000
to develop their relationships within the Regent Park Community, in which the company is located, by developing a dance program for Aboriginal youth, a school outreach project, and a series of exchanges or workshops with world-renowned artists in their studio.
Continuum Contemporary Music
$20,000
to develop the organization’s performing ensemble through touring and recording using both traditional and alternative internet means of dissemination, and to adopt methods of marketing through the internet, by working with a part-time internet consultant and increasing the remuneration for artistic and administrative staff.
MOonhORsE dance theatre
$20,000
to allow MOonhORsE, COBA Collective of Black Artists, and the Korean Dance Studies Society of Canada to engage a collective Profile and Development Manager to address fundraising structures and the development of sustainable relationships with their communities in order to address, on a long-term basis, diversification of their revenue sources.
Music TORONTO
$32,375
to address succession planning through the creation of a new administrative position that, over the course of three years, will gradually assume control of the full administrative function of the organization, allowing the current General Manager/Artistic Producer to focus on the artistic development of the company.
PACT Communications Centre
$20,000
to re-invigorate PACT’s professional development program through the implementation of “Real Time, Real Place,” a series of subject-specific workshops offered to groups of PACT members in cities across Canada.
Sampradaya Dance Creations
$20,000
to create DanceIntense Toronto, an unprecedented an innovative project designed to introduce, develop, and sustain a unique choreo-residency that will benefit emerging and mid-career professionals in South Asian dance.
Sinfonia Toronto
$20,000
to invest in a half-time administrative position, as the beginning of a plan to develop a strong infrastructure for the organization, working towards goals of diversified revenue and increased opportunities for outreach and regional performances.
Theatre Passe Muraille
$46,036
to create “Scratch Nights,” a play development program that serves the needs of collaboratively based new work; allows Theatre Passe Muraille to mentor younger, emerging companies; and helps to re-focus the organization on its original creative mandate while addressing needs of audience development.
tiger princess dance projects
$20,000
to expand the role of current administrative staff in order to take on additional responsibilities for tour marketing and management – while providing additional training for these roles – allowing the company to capitalize on current touring opportunities in order to find a new level of financial stability and artistic capability.
Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts
$20,000
to work in collaboration with eyeGO to investigate the potential for additional marketing of youth ticket discount programs through the exploration of internet capabilities and the creation of a Youth Ambasssador position.
Toronto Dance Theatre
$50,000
to allow the company to engage in a variety of programs, comprising formal class work, mentorships, self-directed learning, and peer networking, that will strengthen artistic, production, and administrative staff both in their work for the company and in their individual development.
Second Year of Three-Year Commitment
The Chimera Project
$20,000
to create the position of Business Development Manager to allow their administrative structure to parallel the extraordinary artistic growth of the company and result in a shift from operations funded on a project-to-project basis to an annually funded organization.
Clay and Paper Theatre
$20,000
to create a new part-time position of Development Associate that will become a permanent part of the organizational structure of the company in order to concentrate on revenue development, internal and external communications, and Board development.
Corpus Dance Projects
$20,000
to develop the effectiveness of their touring activities by broadening the scope of their existing agent position into the role of Director of Touring Operations.
Dancemakers
$36,000
to engage a Resident Dramaturge and Animateur in order to address two related components of their artistic vision: building a distinct voice through the quality of their art-making, and developing existing and new audiences.
Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company
$20,000
to provide assistance to the Artistic Director, in the form of the creation of part-time positions in administrative and artistic roles, in order to enable her to focus more fully on creative and professional development.
Factory Theatre
$61,350
to create a Facility Development Team, a group of experienced outsiders to guide the company through the three-year preparation for renovations and the launch of a capital campaign, including work with architects and building consultants finalizing plans.
Native Earth Performing Arts
$20,000
to create the position of Artistic Associate in order to alleviate some of the artistic planning and development responsibilities of the Artistic Director and to address ideas of succession by training another individual into the leadership of an Aboriginal arts organization.
Opera.ca
$20,000
to develop and launch an integrated program providing opportunities for mentoring and knowledge-sharing among the creators of opera, including roundtable workshops and the opportunity for the presentation of full-scale orchestral work in a risk-free setting, in order to mitigate the risk of engaging in the creation of new opera.
Roseneath Theatre
$27,750
to engage in two projects addressing their challenges of product and profile: creating a mentoring team of Artistic Associates to work with David S. Craig in the development of new work, and having strong presence at international arts market conferences.
The Storytellers' School of Toronto
$20,000
to heighten the celebration of the art of storytelling throughout the year and to raise the profile of the organization through the creation of additional storytelling events in conjunction with their upcoming move into the Green Arts Barns community.
Volcano Non-Profit Productions Inc.
$20,000
to solidify and expand their position as an internationally active experimental company through: networking and partnering, to make and maintain international connections; training, to bring international knowledge and teachers to Canada; and touring exchange, to create collaborative work on an international scale.
Third Year of Three-Year Commitment
Canadian Music Centre
$72,000
to test and evaluate several models for product development and market management related to the distribution of the Centre’s most important asset – the creative legacy of 676 composers – in order to become more proactive in promoting this music in Canada and internationally.
Dance Collection Danse
$20,000
to implement a three-year strategy for resource development, embedding new knowledge and attitudes toward income development leading towards a more appropriate balance among earned, contributed, and government revenues.
DanceWorks
$20,000
to access specialist knowledge and support for their Outreach Officer in order to expand the company’s database and understanding of school and community demographics, to create a template for use in marketing future projects, to improve curriculum-based educational materials, and to evaluate these initiatives.
Dusk Dances Inc.
$20,000
to engage a tour producer to facilitate Dusk Dances presentations across Ontario and to engage First Leadership in an extended, three-year evaluation of the expanded Dusk Dances program.
Fujiwara Dance Inventions
$20,000
to engage in a three-year course of work with consultant Ottie Lockey in order to develop their skills and knowledge related to touring, including researching tour strategies, meeting with tour marketers, and building relationships with key festivals and presenters.
Danny Grossman Dance Company
$25,000
to create The Grossman Collection, a series of videos and teaching manuals for the works of Danny Grossman, which are essential as the company transitions from a performance-centric organization into one dedicated to the promotion, licensing, and teaching of the Grossman repertoire.
Jumblies Theatre
$20,000
to create Jumblies Playground, a training and mentorship initiative that will provide workshops, seminars, individualized internship placements, and guidance for artists who wish to foster a more broadly based community arts movement.
Obsidian Theatre
$20,000
to hire a part-time staff person dedicated to resource development and specialist consultants to mentor that individual in order to enhance the company’s ability to realize the full potential of an exciting new work-in-development while strengthening their internal administrative capacity.
Soundstreams Canada
$45,000
to respond to changes in the manners in which people listen to and purchase music by pursuing independent relationships with international public broadcasters and public radio, by investigating opportunities provided by web-based retailers like i-tunes, and by working in collaboration with other institutions.
Tapestry New Opera Works
$36,140
to create Tapestry’s first resident Studio Company, whose artists will form the core for all Tapestry projects and for whom the company will invest in specialized training in voice, acting, and creative collaboration; and to create additional points of entry for audience engagement, including special studio and external events.
Toronto Children's Chorus
$55,000
to create a staff position dedicated to the communications area who will redesign the website to include more interactive features, explore the creation of an alumni choir, and enhance the recruitment potential of the choir’s school performances and educational programs.
Professional Development
Under the Professional Development program (PD), the Foundation supports the training and development of artists, administrators and production staff. Two parallel streams within this program provide opportunities for practitioners at different stages within their career: internships for individuals who have completed formal training and are in the early stages of their careers, and grants for senior practitioners to pursue significant opportunities for professional development or renewal.
Internships
Clay and Paper Theatre
$27,500
for Guy Doucette as producer intern.
Grand Theatre
$25,200
for Brian Britton as Technical Director intern.
Great Canadian Theatre Company
$27,500
for Jordana Cox as dramaturgy intern.
Jumblies Theatre
$24,000
for Dan Watson as artistic producer intern.
Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People
$27,500
for Vanya Garraway as outreach intern.
Native Earth Performing Arts
$25,500
for Isidra Cruz as administrative intern.
Nightswimming
$27,500
for Marie-Leofeli Barlizo as dramaturgy intern.
$27,000
for Rupal Shah as administrative intern.
Nightwood Theatre
$27,500
for Hilary Green as administrative intern.
Obsidian Theatre
$27,500
for Dian Marie Bridge as Artistic Director intern.
Opera Atelier
$27,500
for Evelyn Campbell as Production Manager intern.
Orchestras Mississauga
$27,500
for Kevin Lau as artistic administration intern.
Studio 180
$8,250
for Mark McGrinder as director intern.
Tarragon Theatre
$11,635
for Alison Peddie as administrative intern.
Theatrefront
$5,400
for Bryn Jennings as director intern.
Volcano Non-Profit Productions Inc.
$22,000
in collaboration with Peggy Baker Dance Projects, for Linda Besner as administrative intern.
Senior Artists & Administrators
The School of Toronto Dance Theatre
$18,644
to allow Artistic Director Patricia Fraser to engage in physical, mental, spiritual, and artistic renewal through visits to a variety of European cities, walking the Camino from southern France to northwest Spain, and visiting various international centres for education in dance.
Soundstreams Canada
$27,300
to allow Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney to sustain creative renewal and forge new artistic directions by participating in artistic exploration in Latin America and Asia.
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