SHOW ME THE MONEY! ~ Funding for Canadian Artists and Arts Organisations

Since the violent death of George Floyd on May 25, the Black Lives Matter movement has experienced a climax in the United States, Canada and across Europe. Black communities of all generations have spoken loud and clear about the widespread mistreatment of them. At a time when questions are still strongly present and, in all circles, the world is turned this time on the side of decision-makers in the arts and culture. How do distributors of Canadian and Ontario public funds ensure that funding, support and programs continue to be created and made available to Black and racialized artists in the film and television industry?

Panel 1. Moderator: Josiane Blanc
America and Africa. Her short documentary Tales of Ordinary Fatphobia produced by the NFB recently premiered on Radio-Canada. Josiane is currently in pre production of her 7 episodes scripted web series Blokus and her short film Faux Départ while also working as a writer on multiple kids’ TV series.

Canada Arts Council: laura jeanne lefave, Program Officer
laura jeanne lefave is a Program Officer in the Explore and Create program at the Canada Council for the Arts with a field of practice specialization in Media Arts: Moving Images and New Media as well as Digital Arts. She has been a Program Officer at Council since 2008. Before joining Council, she has participated in visual and media arts communities as an artist, curator, and researcher for over 20 years. She has also taught at both Concordia University and University of Ottawa in Studio Arts and been involved in several artist-run centres. Her works have been presented nationally and internationally.

Ontario Arts Council: Mark Haslam, Media Arts Officer at the Ontario Arts Council
Mark Haslam is currently the Media Arts Officer at the Ontario Arts Council. In previous incarnations he has been a television writer/director/producer, a documentary filmmaker, and the founder of Planet in Focus International Environmental Film Festival.

Toronto Arts Council: Peter Kingstone, Visual & Media Arts Program Manager
Peter Kingstone is a Toronto-based visual artist and curator, working primarily in video and photography. As an independent artist, Peter’s installation pieces have been shown across Canada and internationally, and he was awarded the Untitled Artist Award in 2005 for his installation The Strange Case of peter K. (1974-2004). Peter holds a degree in Philosophy/Cultural Studies from Trent University in Peterborough and a Masters of Fine Art focusing on video and new media from York University in Toronto.