What People Are Saying

From: Che Kothari, Executive Director and Noora Sagarwala, Managing Director
Manifesto Community Projects

January 11, 2012
To: Mayor Ford

Dear Mayor Ford:

Manifesto Community Projects is an arts organization that has supported thousands of young entrepreneurs and artists from all parts of the GTA, primarily through our annual Festival of Community & Culture. Our Freshest Goods market, for example, is a highlight for many young businesspeople. As part of our main event at Yonge-Dundas Square, the market of 22 vendors draws over 20,000 people. Our organization also helps to sustain numerous suppliers and event-related businesses in the region. According to market research by Ipsos Reid, after only five years of operation, our annual festival event is a significant tourist attraction for the city – with nearly 55,000 attendees at our 2011 event.

We find the idea of reducing arts funding by 10% counterintuitive and urge you to use your resources to prevent this from occurring. The Toronto Arts Council and the city’s Culture Division have been instrumental in supporting the growth of not only our organization but also in developing the careers of many of the young Toronto artists and entrepreneurs that participate in our events.

We are confused by your actions: in August 2010, during your campaign, you voted to increase arts funding to $25 per-capita within three years. In May 2011, as Mayor, you voted in favour of increasing arts funding and reaching the same target as recommended by the Capital Gains Report. Why are you now changing your position and planning to cut arts funding?

It is already extremely difficult for emerging artists to gain support for their work. This is largely due to growth in the sector and the fact that, after inflation, city funding is effectively stuck at 1991 levels. Further pressure as a result of these proposed cuts will disproportionately bear down on the most vulnerable – young artists with limited capacity, particularly those outside the downtown core.

As you know, our city needs more opportunities for young people, not fewer. We urge you to consider cancelling the planned cuts to arts and culture. Thank you very much for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Che Kothari, Executive Director and Noora Sagarwala, Managing Director
Manifesto Community Projects

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From: Chris Goddard
December 01, 2011
To: Mayor Ford
Cc: All City Councillors
Subject: Toronto Arts Council Funding

Dear Mayor Ford and City Councillors,

I write to you all again in response to your proposed funding cuts of the Toronto Arts Council.

I sit on five charitable boards in Toronto - many of them arts based. I run my own business and am a proud father of two kids and I like to think that I'm doing my part to give back to this city both culturally and financially.

I could run my business anywhere but I chose Toronto because of the arts culture. I enjoy it, I support it directly and indirectly and it makes me proud to live here.

I sympathize with the task set before you to balance the budget and understand that in order to do this you must make some hard (and often unpopular) decisions. But I implore you to reconsider your cuts to the Toronto Arts Council. As modest as you may seem to think they are, a reduction of 10% to their funding would prove catastrophic for many of the smaller organizations that TAC supports which will prove ruinous to the vibrant culture that this world class city has developed.

Many small arts organizations have seen funding from their private sector partners restricted or rolled back because of the overall world economic situation, if their funds from TAC are cut this will leave them in an even tighter budget situation. These organizations do not have a "gravy train" to dip into; there is no fat to cut from their operations. Many already depend heavily on volunteers to simply put their shows and festivals on and the paid staff often don't have very competitive wages because there simply isn't the money. This is not from a lack of attendance at all, we are not talking about festivals and events that only a dozen people attend. We are talking about organizations that welcome thousands of guests each year and host hundreds of foreign artists from around the world. These organizations also head out to all the corners of the Earth to other festivals and represent Toronto's arts community.

The ripple of this funding cut does not mean that we simply need to wait longer for a bus or that we can't go to our local library at night. It means that some of these events will simply cease to exist entirely. These organizations are not scalable. They are already running a fiscally responsible ship that is accountable for every penny that is brought in and spent.

The cuts to TAC must be reconsidered or we will see our fair city begin to culturally die. That buzz and excitement that people feel when they visit will simply fade away. Toronto's cultural voice will be replaced with main-stream generic culture that could be seen in any second-rate city around the world.

We are a city rich with ideas. Some of these ideas will change the world and some will inspire others to change the world. TAC helps nurture and incubate this culture to keep Toronto as a distinct and exciting voice around the world.

Please reconsider your funding cut to TAC.

Respectfully,

Chris Goddard
President
Goddard Marketing + Event Specialists
117 Sixteenth Street, Toronto, ON

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From: Paul Weiss, Chair, Board of Directors, Soulpepper Theatre
To: Councillor McConnell
Cc: Councillor Berardinetti; Councillor Delgrande

Dear Councillor McConnell,

I am a resident of Toronto, a long-time member of the business community and Chair of the board of Soulpepper Theatre Company.

I am writing to respectfully oppose the recommendation for cuts in City funding to arts and culture in the recently proposed budget. I write as someone who has volunteered hundreds of hours on the boards of various arts groups, including Soulpepper, which is in your Ward and, as you know, does so much to enliven the Distillery District and surrounding areas, as well as conducting outreach and education programming for youth from many of the Wards of your colleagues across the GTA.

I am also writing as someone who has personally provided financial support to such organizations as a philanthropist. I value the contribution of arts organizations to making Toronto an attractive place to live, work and play and know that companies like Soulpepper work very hard to leverage the public funding they receive to successfully attract private sector funding from companies and from individuals like me. Municipal cuts to this area would send the wrong message to the private sector that the City believes that supporting arts and culture is not important.

I also say the above in the context that it has already been acknowledged by the City in the Creative Capital Gains report - which was unanimously approved by Council in May - that the arts are already underfunded yet yield excellent returns for Toronto's citizens and businesses on so many fronts.

In addition to standing by the findings of the report, preserving arts funding would also send a signal that despite pressures on its finances, the City is taking care to ensure that thoughtful, consistent and rational decisions are being made in the budgeting process.

As a life-long businessman, I am well aware of how challenging it is to make budget decisions in tight fiscal times; however it is clear to me that there is little to be gained - or saved, for that matter - in making any of the proposed cuts to the arts. The bottom line is that the actual dollar amount to be saved through such cuts is, in fact, miniscule relative to the overall budget, yet represents a significant loss to the arts and culture portfolio and would have a major negative impact on hundreds of organizations and the thousands of people who are involved with them as employees, program participants, audience members, volunteers and donors.

It is my sincere hope that in these challenging times for all, the Budget Committee and City Council will make a wise and forward-thinking decision to support the arts.

Paul R. Weiss

Chair
Soulpepper Theatre Company
Corporate Director
Managing Partner (retired), KPMG

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From: Scott Miller Berry, Images Festival
December 6, 2012
To: Mayor Ford
Cc: All City Councillors
Subject: Toronto Arts Council Funding

Dear Mayor Ford and City Councillors,

I write to you all again in response to your proposed funding cuts to the Toronto Arts Council.

I am a homeowner in Ward 13 and an Arts Administrator.

I also sit on numerous charitable and non profit Boards in Toronto - most of them arts and culture based. I manage the 2nd oldest film festival in Toronto and fancy that I'm doing my part to give back to this city both culturally and financially. I could work in the arts anywhere, but have chosen Toronto because of the vibrant and collaborative arts scene. I enjoy it immensely, I support it directly and indirectly and it makes me proud to live here.

I sympathize with the task set before you to balance the budget and understand that in order to do this you must make some hard (and often unpopular) decisions. But I implore you to reconsider your cuts to the Toronto Arts Council. As modest as you may seem to think they are, a reduction of 10% to their funding would prove catastrophic for many of the smaller organizations that TAC supports which will prove ruinous to the vibrant culture that this world class city has developed.

Many small arts organizations have seen funding from their private sector partners restricted or rolled back because of the overall world economic situation, if their funds from TAC are cut this will leave them in an even tighter budget situation. These organizations do not have a "gravy train" to dip into; there is no fat to cut from their operations. Many already depend heavily on volunteers to simply put their shows and festivals on and the paid staff often don't have very competitive wages because there simply isn't the overall funds. This is not from a lack of attendance or interest, we are not talking about festivals and events that only a dozen people attend. We are talking about organizations that welcome thousands of guests each year and host hundreds and thousands of international artists from around the world. These organizations also head out to all the corners of the Earth to other festivals and represent Toronto's arts community.

The ripple effect from such a funding cut does not mean that we simply need to wait longer for a bus or that we can't go to our local library at night. It means that some of these events will simply cease to exist entirely. These organizations are not scalable. They are already running a fiscally responsible ship that is accountable for every penny that is brought in and spent.

The proposed cuts to TAC must be reconsidered or we will see our fair city begin to culturally wither and die. That buzz and excitement that people feel when they visit Toronto will simply fade away. Toronto's cultural voices will be replaced with mainstream generic culture that could be seen in any city around the world.

We are a city rich with ideas and talents. Some of these ideas will change the world and some will inspire others to change the world. TAC helps greatly to nurture and incubate this culture to keep Toronto as a distinct and exciting voice.

Please reconsider your funding cut to TAC.

Respectfully,

Scott Miller Berry, Executive Director
THE IMAGES FESTIVAL
448-401 Richmond Street West
Toronto, Ontario

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From: Sara Diamond, President, OCAD University
December 7, 2012
To: Mayor Ford

Dear Mayor Ford:

I write to you all again in response to your proposed funding cuts to the Toronto Arts Council.

I am President of Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD University), which is this year celebrating 135 years of contribution to Toronto’s world class arts community. We do not receive funding from the City of Toronto.

The City’s support for Toronto’s artists and arts organizations — many of them students, alumni, staff and faculty of OCAD University — leads to increased investment from provincial and federal government, increased employment in the City, an enriched cultural life for city residents, and increased tourism. For every $1 granted to an arts organization by the TAC, $13.90 is received from other levels of government, the private sector or earned revenue. The City’s artists and arts organizations contribute to the annual $9 billion of cultural GDP in Toronto. 7.5 million people, including 1.5 million children and youth, attend TAC supported events annually. Investing in culture equals more jobs for Torontonians, and more tax revenue for the City’s budget.

Funding to organizations such as the TAC is an investment in the cultural economy that pays back thousands of times beyond the initial investment made. For example, Torontonians spent $4.8 billion on cultural goods and services in 2008 and Nuit Blanche alone brought in 138,000 out of town visitors, in turn contributing to $34.7m of economic benefit in 2010. The City must continue to invest in this public/private partnership in order to thrive.

In the digital era the art and design talent pool of individual artists feeds the heated digital media and ICT industry and the Ontario technology corridor — screen based industries alone contributed $1.1 billion/year to a larger cluster worth $12.2 billion in GDP. We need the public portion of investment to maintain this virtuous circle and keep those jobs here.

The leverage of the City’s investment in arts and culture is not only economic. Contributing greatly to Toronto’s quality of life, this public/private partnership allows the arts to play their fundamental part in providing cohesion in our diverse city, with tremendous positive impacts on youth engagement.

Of course it is legitimate and necessary for the city to review delivery mechanisms and institutions, look for efficiencies, amalgamate and modernize services, and eliminate redundancies to find budget savings and to ensure quality. However, the City of Toronto should tread cautiously in eroding arts funding. The City of Toronto is already spending less per capita than other major cities in Canada, and spending significantly less than major American and European cities. Reducing our spending on arts and culture further will drive not just arts talent but many other drivers of our creative economy away from Toronto. A city devoid of the arts will not have the capacity to compete on the world stage.

It is during these challenging times that we must draw upon our creative thinkers for new solutions and fresh ideas. I implore the Budget Committee and City Council to support Toronto’s arts and culture community.

Sincerely,

Sara Diamond

Dr. Sara Diamond
President, OCAD University
100 McCaul Street
Toronto, Ontario M5T 1W1
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