FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 2, 2021
QUEEN’S PARK – The Ontario government is supporting the arts sector with a one-time investment of $25 million to help artists and arts organizations remain solvent and prepare for a time when they can fully re-open their facilities, resume full programming and welcome back their visitors and audiences as a result of COVID-19.
Toby Barrett, MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk, announced today Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover will be receiving $71,858 in funding support through the Arts Recovery Support Fund.
“This is quite welcome news for our Lighthouse Festival Theatre and all who enjoy its offerings,” said Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett. “Lighthouse Theatre is an anchor for our area’s visitor-based economy.”
“Ontario’s arts sector, like so many of the province’s heritage, sport, tourism and culture industries, was among the first and hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a ‘high-touch’ sector that depends on gatherings of people, and will take the longest to recover,” said Minister MacLeod. “That is why I am proud that our government is providing much-needed support through initiatives like the Arts Recovery Support Fund. Arts and cultural festivals, live musicians, writers, filmmakers, art galleries, and dance and theatre companies are vital to the cultural fabric of this province. They also play an important role in the mental health and well-being of Ontarians and an equally important role in the province’s economic and social recovery.”
This initiative is part of the government’s 2020 Budget, Ontario’s Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover, the next phase of a comprehensive action plan to respond to the devastating health and economic impacts of COVID-19.
More information about grant programs available to Ontario-based individual artists and arts professionals, ad hoc groups/collectives and organizations, is available on the OAC website.
QUICK FACTS
- sets out a total of $45 billion in support over three years to make available the necessary health resources to continue protecting people, deliver critical programs and tax measures to support individuals, families and job creators impacted by the virus, and lay the groundwork for a robust long-term economic recovery for the province.
BACKGROUNDER
Arts Recovery Funding recipients
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
2020 Ontario Budget/Ontario’s Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover
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For more information, contact MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446 or toby.barrett@pc.ola.org