Edmonton, April 7, 2010 – The Canada Council for the Arts and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) announced today that the Alberta Creative Development Initiative (ACDI) has been renewed for the current fiscal year.
Established in 2007 as a three-year arts funding initiative to support the development of the arts in Alberta, ACDI offers grants for specific projects relating to creation, development, research, audience development and administrative capacity building.
Over the past three years the program has provided $6 million in grants to more than 350 professional artists and arts organizations. For 55% of the individuals who received a grant it was the first time they had been funded by the Canada Council. Many of the recipients had not previously received a grant from either agency.
Professional arts organizations, individual artists and arts administrators can apply for project-specific funding from ACDI. The partners have committed a total of $1 million to ACDI for 2010-11.
"This initiative has enabled us to strengthen our support to the arts in Alberta," said Canada Council Director and CEO Robert Sirman. "Partnerships such as this provide new opportunities for funders to work together and enable artists at all stages of their career to advance their practice."
"This partnership is providing more funding to Alberta's talented artists – artists who did an amazing job of representing our province and our country during the recent Cultural Olympiad," said Lindsay Blackett, Minister of Alberta Culture and Community Spirit. "It's part of the legacy we started with our cultural policy – The Spirit of Alberta; and something we'll continue to build upon now and into the future."
The next application deadline is June 1, 2010 for professional arts organizations and November 1, 2010 for individuals. Full guidelines are available.
The Canada Council and the Government of Alberta, through the AFA, are jointly responsible for the program in collaboration with the Calgary Arts Development Authority and the Edmonton Arts Council. The AFA is the Government of Alberta's principal arts funding agency.
To administer ACDI and to ensure Alberta artists and arts organizations are informed about Canada Council programs, the Canada Council will continue to maintain a program officer presence in Alberta. Stephen Williams is based in Edmonton and can be reached at 780-428-2956 or via email.
Canada Council for the Arts is a federal Crown corporation created by an Act of Parliament in 1957. The role of the Council is to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. To fulfill this mandate, the Council offers a broad range of grants and services to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations in dance, integrated art, media arts, music, theatre, visual arts, and writing and publishing. It also promotes public awareness of the arts through its communications, research and arts promotion activities.
The Alberta Foundation for the Arts is an agency of the Government of Alberta. The Foundation exists to fund, encourage, and support the development of arts as a valuable contributor to quality of life in Alberta, and to maintain and expand the AFA art collection as a strategic resource for all Albertans.
Grace Thrasher
Communications Manager
1-800-263-5588 or
613-566-4414, ext. 5145
Email this contact
Alberta Culture and Community Spirit
Keltie MacPherson, Communications
780-427-6530
To call toll-free within Alberta, dial 310-0000
keltie.macpherson@gov.ab.ca
