We think that if ‘mentorship grants’ could be provided by funders, seasoned community-engaged arts initiatives could be paired with emerging community-arts initiatives and many of these challenges could be addressed via peer support…

Last Friday, we posted a summary from a telephone survey on needs and challenges of community arts organizations in Ontario that Maxine Sidran, our ArtBridging Ontario Researcher, did.

The following is a companion piece to last week’s summary:

An OCAD grad student worked with Maxine’s survey results and tallied all the mentions of various needs and challenges that were expressed by each of the 39 (30%) of the 132 English-speaking community arts organizations in Ontario previously profiled on this blog.

In order of top needs/challenges here is the list:

21 — sustainable funding, alternate funding, donations
12 — volunteers, presenters
9 — space, venue
8 — board members, how-to
8 — increased profile, promotion, networking, publicist
7 — partner organizations, collaboration
7 — how-to info, toolkits, best practices
6 — grant writing info, grant writer
6 — staff, personnel, “capacity”
4 — corporate funding, sponsorship, partner
4 — time
3 — IT, tech support
3 — administrator
2 — web design, presence
2 — professional development, staff training
2 — strategic planning
2 — social media
2 — showcase
1 — forum, Q&A
1 — community research
1 — sustainability plans

If anything, the tally reflects that we are not alone with issues; many challenges are shared in this field.

One thing that Maxine and I found in the comments she recorded, was that people are keen collaborate, mentor and help other initiatives work through issues they’ve already worked through successfully—but, this takes time. And time is a resource that no one seems to be able to spare much of.

We think that if ‘mentorship grants’ could be provided by funders, seasoned community-engaged arts initiatives could be paired with emerging community-arts initiatives and many of these challenges could be addressed via peer support. The outcome would positively effect the quality of service and capacity of these and similar organizations and lead to more arts in communities—the ensuing benefits to communities.

We’d love to keep the discussion going, so share your thoughts with us: info@artbridges.ca.

On behalf of ArtBridges/ToileDesArts, thank you to everyone who participated in the survey:

Aiding Dramatic Change in Development, Amnesty International Toronto, Art City in St. Jamestown, Art House for Children and Youth, Art Starts, Arts Council Windsor and Region, ArtsSmarts, ArtReach Toronto, Arts for Children and Youth, bARTer, Broken City Lab, Cabbagetown Community Arts Centre, CARFAC National, CFRC 101,9FM, Collaborative Connections (TDSB), Creative Spirit Art Centre, Cultural Appreciation from a First Nation Perspective, Debajehmujig-Storytellers, Definitely Superior Art Gallery/Die Active Art Collective, Environmental Defence, Fred Victor Arts Program, Inner City Angels, Kids Up Front Foundation, Luc Sculpture School and Studio, MABELLEarts, Making Room Community Arts, Mixed Company Theatre, Neighbourhood Arts Network, North-South Partnership for Children, North York Community House, Ottawa Innercity Ministries, Prologue, Scarborough Arts, Sketch/CUE, Smooth Rock Falls Art Centre, South Etobicoke Youth Assembly (SEYA), Suite Life Arts for Youth, Supporting Our Youth, Toronto Pan/ParaPan Am Games, Up Front Theatre Foundation, Willow Springs Creative Centre.

-Seanna Connell, ArtBridges/ToileDesArts Project Director

For ArtBridges/ToileDesArts sponsorship opportunities: Simon Constam, Sponsorship Director, simon@artbridges.ca, 905-537-7227
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