Provided by Ottawa Arts Council.
The Ottawa Arts Council announced on Nov. 23 the 10 recipients of their ActivArts Community Micro-Grants. The grants—valued between $250 and $1,000—are divided into two streams to support either a community project or an individual artist.
The grants are designed to respond to a specific need, such as purchasing art supplies or DJ equipment, renting a venue or creating a proof of concept for a web series.
According to the Ottawa Arts Council, the goal is “to provide financial support to the Ottawa region’s cultural sector through small cash infusions.”
“We firmly believe in the power of the arts to enrich our lives, spark innovation, and foster a vibrant and inclusive community. This grant program was designed to empower emerging artists and to offer a platform for their unique and inspiring projects,” the organization says.
For Elaine Tamblyn-Watts, who publishes poetry as Elaine Marilyse, the grant will allow her to launch her chapbook The All-New Filaments in a “COVID-safe, physically and financially accessible way.”
“[The grant] means I can have an indoor event with really good ventilation,” Marilyse says. “Having most of the rental cost covered means I can make the tickets cheap, enlist a few friends to help me run things smoothly and focus on putting on a really great performance.”
Others are using the grant to purchase supplies for their art practice.
“With Psych Ward (Confidential), I wanted to create a graphic novel that’s equal parts crisis vs. miracle, and give context…. We have something to say, and we’re not given a platform,” says grant recipient Dominic Bercier, an Ottawa cartoonist and artist. “The ActivArt grant allows me to buy a drawing tablet to convey the energy and horror and gratitude I feel in my memories of the Ottawa wards I was confined to when I got sick after art school. The drawing tablet gives me hope that the story will reach the public’s eyes through my graphic novel.”
In addition to the eight individuals, two organizations are also receiving the ActivArt grant: the Inuit Women Sewing Centre and Moov Ottawa Dance.
The Ottawa Arts Council and Arts Network Ottawa have also announced their merger to create a new, unified organization. Community consultations are taking place between now and June 2024.
The list of ActivArts Community Micro-Grant recipients can be found here.
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