WELLINGTON COUNTY – The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) has announced grants totalling over $81,000 to three Wellington organizations.
The Elora Singers, a professional chamber choir, will receive $38,711.
They are the ensemble-in-residence for the Elora Festival, presenting a concert series, touring across Canada and producing recordings.
The Porcupine’s Quill, a book publishing firm in Erin, will receive $32,421.
They publish literary fiction, non-fiction and poetry, with all books designed, printed and bound in-house.
The Eden Mills Writers’ Festival, a literary festival dedicated to creating connection and community through Canadian literature, will receive $10,000.
“The professional artists and arts organizations supported by OAC strengthen and add vitality to Ontario communities, making them great places to live and work,” said OAC Chair Rita Davies
“The arts also help build Ontario’s brand across the country and around the globe, in turn attracting significant tourism, jobs and investment.”
The OAC says arts and culture directly contribute $25.7 billion annually to the province’s economy, representing 3.5% of Ontario’s gross domestic product (GDP) and over 269,000 jobs (3.8% of total provincial employment).
The arts help drive tourism across Ontario. 9.5 million overnight tourists participate in arts and culture activities while visiting Ontario, generating $3.7 billion in GDP province-wide. Many OAC-funded arts organizations serve as key tourist attractions and economic drivers in their communities.
Ontarians also believe that arts and culture are integral to their quality of life:
According to a 2017 study by Nanos Research, 90% of Ontarians agree that an active local arts scene helps make a community a better place to live.
The survey found that 88% of Ontarians believe that if their community lost its arts activities, people living there would lose something of value.
OAC funding reached 231 communities across Ontario last year.
