CBC/RADIO-CANADA AND CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS ANNOUNCE “DIGITAL
ORIGINALS” FUNDING INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT CANADIAN ARTS COMMUNITY
New fund extends national cultural organizations’ commitment to champion Canadian culture, connect artists and audiences, and inspire groundbreaking cultural programming
Ottawa, April 21, 2020―CBC/Radio-Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts today announced the creation of Digital Originals, a new time-limited funding initiative to help artists, groups and arts organizations pivot their work to online audiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding will directly benefit creators of original digital content.
The Canada Council will provide a total of $1 million in funding to successful applicants to develop, create and share original or adapted works with Canadian audiences online. CBC/Radio-Canada will showcase and amplify the discoverability of select projects on one or more of its platforms.
“Digital Originals will help to keep Canadian artists working, while connecting them to audiences from coast to coast to coast. In this time of social isolation, CBC/Radio-Canada is delighted to collaborate once again with the Canada Council and to kickstart creativity, bring creators' work to new audiences, and ensure that our cultural sector thrives, now and in the future.”
Catherine Tait, President and CEO, CBC/RADIO-CANADA
“In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, even as social linkages are unravelling because of forced confinement, local artists have understood and responded by sharing their works online in unprecedented numbers. The Canada Council for the Arts aims to further support digital creation, production and dissemination, now during this pandemic, when it is most needed, and into the aftermath, which we can expect to be long and difficult. We are grateful to CBC/Radio-Canada for continuing to partner with us in bringing the arts to life, online.”
Simon Brault, Director and CEO, Canada Council for the Arts
The Digital Originals initiative will allow artists, creators and makers to apply for a maximum of $5000 in funding per project. The Canada Council will fund approximately 200 projects. CBC/Radio-Canada will curate and feature select projects in a digital showcase; these showcased projects will receive a $1000 grant supplement. Artists can apply with a brand-new work or adapt their work for online sharing. For more information, please visit the Canada Council for the Arts website.
Also launching today is CBC’s Art Uncontained, a rich collection from CBC Arts offering inspiration for audiences and support to the Canadian artistic community in these unprecedented times. New original content includes:
- CBC Podcasts’ PlayME: The Show Must Go On, featuring adaptations from Canadian playwrights whose projects have been disrupted by the pandemic;
- COVID Residencies, video diaries from artists sharing how isolation has affected their art;
- Showcasing provocative original theatre from the National Theatre School of Canada’s Art Apart program, which supports young and emerging Canadian theatre artists;
- Scenes From An Exhibition, offering exclusive virtual tours of Canada’s finest galleries and museums;
- CBC Books’ Transmission, featuring Canadian writers reflecting on these uncertain times;
- CBC Music’s Quarantunes, highlighting Canadian music created in isolation;
- A COVID-19 resource list for artists and freelancers; and weekly virtual arts listings to help people explore culture from home.
Radio-Canada also continues to add new cultural offerings to its digital platforms:
- La commande culturelle is asking Canadians to submit their ideas for special cultural commissions—songs, readings, poetry, dance, comedy acts, or visual art to help them get through these trying times. These "command performances" will be published on Radio-Canada.ca and on its Facebook page.
- On the Radio-Canada OHdio app, Théâtre à la carte gives listeners the chance to revisit original theatre productions that were recently on stage or on the radio, adding to the app’s robust cultural offering of comedy shows, audio books and music playlists that showcase Canadian talent.
- ICI ARTV, Canada’s only French-language specialty channel focused on culture, continues to promote local artists and their works through its programming, on its social media and on ICI.ARTV.CA.
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About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic and Chinese, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
About the Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts contributes to the vibrancy of a creative and diverse arts and literary scene that reaches across Canada and around the world. The Council is Canada’s public arts funder. The Council’s grants, services, initiatives, prizes, and payments support Canadian artists, authors, and arts groups and organizations. This support allows them to pursue artistic expression, create works of art, and promote and disseminate the arts. Through its arts funding, communications, research, and promotion activities, the Council fosters ever-growing engagement of Canadians and international audiences in the arts.
Version française: https://bit.ly/2VSqK8O
Media contacts:
CBC
Katherine Wolfgang
Director of Communications
cell. 323-550-5821
Radio-Canada
Marc Pichette
Senior Director, Public Relations and Promotion
cell. 514-712-4342
Canada Council for the Arts
Pilar Castro
Manager of Communications and Engagement
cell. 613-793-5725
