The Liberals have allocated $16 million over the next two years to local arts organizations in their federal budget. The fund is called the Canada Arts Presentation Fund, which helps organizers put on art festivals and performances.
This news has created a buzz in Ottawa for musicians, festivals, and organizations—it is something people have been waiting for, for decades.
Among those excited by the news is Carleton student and local musician Jesse Seheult.
He is the lead vocalist and a guitarist in his band, Pointless Aesthetics.
He explained that festivals help young bands, especially in a city like Ottawa, where few large venues exist for musicians to perform.
But, he said their impact goes much beyond that—they help foster a community, bring people together, and allow them to appreciate what their city has to offer.
“It’s a cultural hub for the people of the city to get together and enjoy something. Entertainment brings everyone together, and music festivals can do that as well,” Seheult said.
Sean Wilson is the president of the Ottawa Festival Network, a non-profit organization which does research and advocacy for festivals.
He said he is thrilled to see a boost of funding come in that he has spent a long time waiting for.
He also explained the importance of festivals not just for musicians, but for everyone in Ottawa.
“For me, this is the great thing about a festival. It’s not just the artist on the stage, or the artform being celebrated. It’s coming out and seeing your community, and this is for me the greatest thing,” he said.
Wilson explained how festivals allow Canadian artists to interact directly with their city and create strong human connections—something deserving of government funding, he said.
“[Festivals] are events that celebrate the best of us through the arts and bring us together with our neighbours in a way we don’t often do anymore,” said Wilson.
Wilson is also the artistic director of the Ottawa International Writers Festival and understands the struggle festivals have faced because of a lack of funding until now.
He says his festival has expanded its audience reach by 800 per cent over the past 20 years, and the festival budget has increased three times in size.
Despite this increase, their funding shrunk. He said the situation is like giving a chef everything they need to make an amazing meal, but failing to provide a spoon or bowl to serve it in. Now, with the funding, they can help serve the community better and meet that demand.
Ottawa is currently a hub for festivals—it hosts over 100 in the city, most of which have a focus on the arts in some form. Wilson said the city “does festivals better than anywhere else in the country.”
Not only do these festivals create a sense of community, they also result in economic development for Ottawa.
Wilson said every dollar invested into a festival results in $20 being made back because of the increased tourist activity that happens when the festivals take place.
Taxi drivers, museums, and hotels all become more popular when there is a festival in town.
Wilson also said there are over 20,000 jobs in Ottawa directly connected to festivals, which means more job opportunities for security guards, audio/visual assistants, and even the people who provide the porta potties.
“These new investments in the festival sector by the Canadian government will certainly result in even greater economic impact for our community and provide a substantial return on investment for all Canadians,” Mark Monahan, executive director of RBC Ottawa Bluesfest, said in a press statement.
The annual outdoor music festival is one of Ottawa’s most popular and showcases a variety of musicians from around the world. They applauded the government for their recognition of the festival industry and presenters in the press release as well.
However, while everyone is celebrating the good news, there is concern in the back of some minds. The funding is only confirmed for the next two years—even then, that’s only if the Liberals win the upcoming federal election.
“Performing arts innovation requires some predictability of funding,” said Frédéric Julien, the director of research and development at the Canadian Arts Presenting Association (CAPACOA).
CAPACOA, like the Ottawa Festivals Network, also advocates and does research in order to develop the festival and arts presenting sector. They have been in conversation with the government for months in order to try and obtain this funding.
They worked together with similar organizations across the country, under the umbrella organization, the Canadian Arts Coalition.
“It was a long and hard road,” said Julien. He said he was extremely pleased to get the funding from the government and have their platform understood. But, with just two years of guaranteed funding, they may have more challenges ahead.
“It requires you to either take risks or to be overly conservative in the end if the funding does end. So, it’s not an optimal scenario for fostering long-term development in the sector,” he said.
Moving forward, he said CAPACOA will stay in conversation with the government to advocate for further funding.
He said their campaign was successful this time because many organizations worked together, similar to the way festivals have united people across Canada.
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