A Call to Action Concerning the Community-Engaged Arts & the Canada Council

A team of concerned artists from across the country is urging members of the arts community to take part in a letter-writing campaign as a result of serious concerns about new policies affecting community-engaged arts practice in the context of the Canada Council for the Arts' New Funding Model. 

According to members of the Community-Engaged Arts Advocacy Working Group, including Judith Marcuse, founder and co-director of International Centre of Art for Social Change (ICASC), the practice of community-engaged arts/arts for social change will no longer have its own presence within the Canada Council's funding structure despite the fact that over 200 Canadian arts organizations are exclusively doing this work on an ongoing basis.

The group's call to action asks the public to send letters that advocate for the re-establishment of the category of these unique forms of artmaking in the context of the New Funding Model, details of which will be formally announced in December. It’s very important that letters be sent promptly in order to have an impact prior to the launch of the New Funding Model portal, so you’re urged to act now.  

Read the detailed call to action, including points to consider when preparing your letter and a list of suggested contacts, on the ICASC website here or download it in Word/docx format here.