20,000 sigs by Monday – from Friends of the Arts

Thank you for signing the Friends of the Arts Petition!  We’ve collected over 15,000 signatures to date (13,500 on line, 2,000 on paper).

City Council will be making important recommendations about arts support at its next meeting, Monday September 26.  Can you help us get to 20,000 signatures by then? 

Maintaining pressure will help us to make sure that arts grants are protected, that the arts community is consulted and that other critical arts items on the city’s agenda (including access to space, Nuit Blanche and museums) are maintained.

What can you do?

Forward this message to friends, colleagues and family to encourage them to sign the petition.

Volunteer to help collect petition signatures during Nuit Blanche and at other arts events across the city.

We have one upcoming volunteer training session:

Monday September 26 volunteer training: drop in any time between 5:30pm and 7:30pm on Monday September 26 at Toronto City Hall in Committee Room 3, 2nd floor, 100 Queen Street West (closest to Osgoode subway station).

If you are able to volunteer, please contact us to confirm that you’ll be there, or to request additional information at friendsoftheartsTO@gmail.com.  Also let us know if you are interested in volunteering but cannot make the training time.

Toronto City Council is planning to make deep cuts to the city budget, and this puts arts and cultural funding at serious risk. Cutting the arts could be an economic and social catastrophe for Toronto: not only does the city achieve a huge return on a relatively small investment, but our vibrant arts scene is also a big part of what makes Toronto a great place to live, work and visit.  To make certain this doesn’t happen, we need your help.

Key Upcoming City decision dates:
September 26: City Council meets to review Executive Committee recommendations

*Friends of the Arts is a network of arts supporters including the following organizations:  Arts Vote Toronto, Arts Etobicoke, BeautifulCity.ca, Business for the Arts, Creative Trust, Lakeshore Arts, Scarborough Arts, Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, Toronto Arts Foundation, Urban Arts.

Tags: art, BFTA, City Council, culture, Toronto, Toronto Arts Council, Toronto City Council