The Canada Council for the Arts has angered festival organizers in Ottawa after informing them a popular grant program that has helped underwrite innovative musical projects has been put on hold for 2011.
In a letter dated Jan. 19, the federal funding body advised officials with the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival and other groups that the fund for new program initiatives and artists’ collaborations was currently under review and that there would be no payouts in time for this summer’s festival season.
The grants, which have ranged in size from $8,000 to $20,000, have helped organizers of the annual chamber event and other festivals fund a variety of special performances over the years.
Russell Kelley, the head of the music section for the Canada Council for the Arts, says he regretted suspending the grant application process three weeks before the Feb. 15 deadline.
“We regret the timing,” says Kelly. “We understand it’s short notice.”
He says the program has not been cancelled but is being examined to determine if the council is spending the money in the most effective way.
Between 2007 and 2010, Ottawa festivals received $76,200 from the grant program.
The chamber music event received $32,000 in the last three years alone.
Festival organizers say they’re frustrated with the council’s decision to no longer provide money for special musical collaborations and other program initiatives.
Catherine O’Grady, executive producer of the jazz festival, says she had a strong application this year.
She was hoping to get consideration for her proposal to put on a “great trans-Canada jazz collaboration” that would have featured artists from across country in a workshop series.
“It wasn’t like the money came to the festivals,” she says. “The money went to the artists.”
Kelly says the council does spend money helping artists travel across the country and that this fund is still available.
Julian Armour, founding artistic director of the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival and currently artistic director of Music and Beyond, says he was upset when the council did not consult him or other organizers before cancelling the grants.
He says he hopes the agency reviews the grant program and restores it completely.
Armour noted that there are many festival organizers who count on a shot at getting grant money from the council.
He says the short notice for cancelling the program is another indication of a downward spiral in government support for the entire Canadian arts community.
When the council decides to cut or freeze funding for the arts, it’s a loss for all Canadians, he says.