Ontario’s Cultural Strategy needs you!
In the past nine months, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport have engaged tens of thousands of citizens across Ontario (in person and online), asking the big questions about the arts in Ontario. What do Ontarians value in the arts? What are the social and economic impact of the arts? Where should the government focus its energies in the next five years with respect to arts and culture in Ontario?
All of these answers informed Ontario’s Cultural Strategy, the first draft of which was released on April 22. The Ministry is again asking for your input:
- Do the Vision for culture in Ontario and the Principles to guide government support for culture reflect what is important to you? Why or why not?
- Do you think that the three overarching goals will help to grow and strengthen the culture sector in Ontario? Why or why not?
- Do you have any feedback on the proposed initiatives in the document?
You can submit your responses to the Cultural Strategy online: the submission deadline is May 13!
10 Years of Luminato
In 2016, the Luminato Festival will celebrate 10 years of big ideas, high art and cutting-edge events. In the past decade, Luminato has commissioned almost 100 new works of art, presented more than 3,000 performances and featured 11,000 artists from 40 countries.
The 10th Luminato Festival doubles down on Luminato’s mission to “invite the world to [celebrate] creativity.” Taking over the Hearn Generating Centre (a massive decommissioned power plant), the 16-day festival residency will feature pop-up performance spaces, restaurants, bars and much much more.
One of the most anticipated events is the epic James Plays. The sprawling trilogy follows three Scottish kings, the Stewarts, during their tumultuous fifteenth century reign. Presented by the National Theatre of Scotland, National Theatre of Great Britain, the James Plays will be shown individually, as well as in in trilogy on June 18, 19, 25 and 26. See the trailer for the James Plays (above!)
For more information about Luminato, the James Plays, or to buy your tickets today, check out the Luminato website!
Classic Theatre Festival in Perth kicks off in June!
The Ottawa Valley will be filled with classic hits from Broadway and the London stage this summer. The 7th annual season for the Classic Theatre Festival starts June 22 with Perth Through The Ages, a theatrical historical walking tour of Perth.
Based in Perth, the Classical Theatre Festival is committed to producing plays from the 1920s to the 1970s, “arguably the golden age of western theatre.” A product of Burning Passions Theatre, the Festival also works to engage their community with the arts. Their shows have been hailed as “very entertaining” and “enduring”.
The 2016 season will also feature Arms and The Man by George Bernard Shaw, J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls, I Ought to be in Pictures by Neil Simon, and the Lonely Ghosts Walk and runs from June 22 until mid-September.
To get your tickets for any of these great shows, head to the Classic Theatre Festival website!
McMichael Gallery and OCAF team up for major milestone
The McMichael Gallery, a major collection of Canadian art, announced on April 26 that they will be supported by OCAF in anticipation of their 50th anniversary . Together with the Honorable Steven Del Duca (MPP, Vaughan) and Thomas Vaughan (Fund Officer, OCAF), the McMichael Gallery shared the exciting news that OCAF had endowed the gallery with a $200,000 investment to support an enhanced marketing plan for their 50th anniversary season.
The Gallery will produce four major exhibitions to commemorate their golden anniversary, including Higher States: Lawren Harris and His American Contemporaries and The Group of Seven Guitar Project.
For more information, you can read the full press release.
Prince 1959-2016
The world was devastated to hear about the death of musical legend Prince, an innovative and prolific artist for over 30 years. Toronto was particularly struck, as the musician has spent much of his life in the city and played one of his final concerts at the Sony Centre less than a month before his passing.
Here’s what some Ontarians had to say about the legend’s passing.
