A new arts lobby group, One Voice for Arts and Culture, has written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with recommendations to ensure the survival of the arts sector.
“It is imperative that we now act to help our struggling arts and culture sector where many organizations are facing a threat to their existence today, and all are contending with unprecedented challenges,” says the letter from Brad Keast, chair of Toronto’s Museum of Contemporary Art.
The letter's 65 signatories represent numerous galleries from across Canada, including Contemporary Calgary and the Vancouver Art Gallery, as well as a range of other cultural organizations.
The letter, sent Tuesday, proposes various measures to assist the arts sector, including emergency stabilization funding, tax changes to encourage charitable giving and increased funding in the aftermath of the crisis.
It's the group’s first initiative since it was established in mid-March.
Keast, a co-founder serving as interim chair of the group, emphasized the seriousness of the threat facing Canadian cultural providers.
"There is no doubt that in the coming weeks many of the members of our group will face a severe crisis regarding funding," Keast wrote in the letter to Trudeau. "Some may not be able to survive even a short period without emergency relief."
Arts organizations are facing cancelled events, performances and exhibitions, the loss of key staff and revenues that have essentially fallen to zero.
For more information, go to artsandculturevoice.ca.
Source: One Voice for Arts and Culture