Toronto Arts Foundation Partners With TELUS To Discover The City's Best Newcomer Artists
TORONTO, August 7, 2015 – Nominations are now open for Toronto Arts Foundation’s TELUS Newcomer Artist Award, a $10,000 cash prize. The award celebrates a professional newcomer artist living in the City of Toronto who is making a positive impact in their community. The TELUS Newcomer Artist Award will be administered by Neighbourhood Arts Network, an initiative of the Foundation.
In 2013, Toronto Arts Foundation released a study of the impact of arts at a neighbourhood level. The study revealed that newcomer artists face difficulties finding work and making connections in their new home. As artists they must also learn how arts funding works, discover how to speak about their arts practice in a Canadian context, figure out presentation opportunities, and find enough time for their arts practice while dealing with settlement issues.
“These barriers keep newcomer artists hidden,” states Margo Charlton, Research Manager at the Foundation and one of the authors of Transforming Communities through the Arts. “We need continued support to help newcomer artists find their place in the city.”
Toronto Arts Foundation and TELUS celebrate the third year of their partnership, with TELUS as the named sponsor of this award. This partnership enables the Foundation to develop and strengthen partnerships with settlement organizations, expand the reach of the Newcomer Artist Award throughout the city and facilitate the creation of networking and professional development opportunities for newcomer artists.
Nominations run from August 5 to September 7, 2015, with applications available online at www.neighbourhoodartsnetwork.org. Applicants can nominate themselves or be nominated by others, and all applications will be assessed by a multidisciplinary jury selected by the Neighbourhood Arts Network and Toronto Arts Foundation.
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About Toronto Arts Foundation
Toronto Arts Foundation is a charitable organization that provides the opportunity for individuals, private and public foundations, corporations and government agencies to invest in and strengthen the arts in Toronto. We are powered by our vision Creative City: Block by Block, a commitment to connect every Toronto neighbourhood to the transformative social and economic benefits of the arts.
Contact Information:
For more information about the Toronto Arts Foundation and its awards program, as well as this partnership with TELUS, please contact:
Francesca Perez, Community Investment Manager, Toronto Arts Foundation, at francesca@torontoarts.org or at 416 392 6802 x 204.