Minister reveals $330K for Shaw Festival
The Shaw Festival has received $330,000 from the federal government for upgrades to its Festival Theatre.
The funding, via the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund (CCSF), was announced by Tourism Minister Melanie Joly Tuesday morning – one of three Niagara funding announcements she was scheduled to make during the day.
When reached Monday, Joly said the Shaw’s importance to Niagara – generating upwards of $200 million in economic impact to the region – played a factor in the grant.
“As a government, we believe in the importance of arts and culture in tourism,” she said. “There’s no question we should continue to invest rather than cutting into the cultural sector, like the Doug Ford Conservatives are doing right now.”
Joly recalls seeing her first Shaw Festival play 20 years ago and has seen several since.
“The Shaw Festival is one of the most well-known theatre festivals in the country,” she said. “It’s not only important to the region, but as the minister in charge of tourism – trying to support people coming to the region not only in summertime but throughout the year – obviously the Shaw Festival is the right investment to make.”
Shaw executive director Tim Jennings said the funds will go towards the purchase and installation of specialized audio equipment in the 856-seat Festival Theatre, which houses the company’s larger shows during the season.
It will allow the Shaw to “better deliver on our artistic programs, support the needs of our audiences and encourage tourists and visitors to the Niagara region” during the summer and, in recent years, winter time with the company’s holiday shows.
It marks the third time in four years the Shaw Festival has received funding from the CCSF. In 2016 and 2017, the company was awarded $2.77 million to secure theatre upgrades and purchase specialized equipment.
The Cultural Spaces Fund was created by the Government of Canada in 2017 to support creative hubs and other cultural spaces over a ten-year period, allotting $54 million in grants and contributions annually until 2028.
Following the Shaw Festival visit Tuesday, Joly had funding to announce for the Celebration of Nations festival in St. Catharines and the Canal CEF in Welland.