New Canada Council funding announced

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The Canada Council for the Arts announced last month it plans to distribute $75 million in new funding over three years. The money, which is part of $560 million allocated by the federal government to fund arts and culture over the same period, was confirmed in the last federal budget of 2001.

The first year is nearly up. The Canada Council board has approved distribution of the new grants for the current fiscal year, which ends March 31, and for the 2002-2003 fiscal year. Allocations for the 2003-2004 fiscal year will be reviewed by the board next year, a Dec. 18 news release said. For Aboriginal artists specifically, support for individuals and for Aboriginal arts organizations will increase by more than $800,000 this year, which will include increases to the Aboriginal Peoples' Collaborative Exchange Program and to Aboriginal programs in dance, theatre and media arts.

Additionally, four new Aboriginal arts officers, including one who speaks Inuktitut, will be hired.

The board says support for Aboriginal artists and arts organizations is one of the council's "strategic priorities." It also claims that between the 1996-97 and 2000-2001 fiscal years, its support for Aboriginal arts increased by more than 500 per cent.

An additional $1.5 million will be spent to reinforce "culturally diverse" arts organizations.

"If there is one central theme for the use of this new money, it's capacity-building," said Canada Council Director Shirley L. Thomson.

For more information, visit the government's Web site at www.canadacouncil.ca.