June 29, 2015
Toronto Mayor John Tory today announced that Councillor John Filion (Ward 23 Willowdale) will be his new Advocate for the Arts. Among other initiatives, Councillor Filion will lead a new Arts in the Parks project, which will receive an infusion of funding from part of the proceeds of the Mayor's Evening for the Arts.
“Toronto has a diverse and much celebrated arts scene and I am confident that Councillor Filion will be an active voice for the arts at Toronto City Hall,” said Mayor Tory. “As mayor, I am committed to growing partnerships between the City and the creative sector that promote artistic growth and ultimately enhance the quality of life for Torontonians.”
"I am delighted to be a strong voice for the arts and artists in Toronto," said Councillor Filion. "I am looking forward to working closely with Toronto's many arts communities to enhance our public spaces and to help Toronto realize its potential as an internationally respected music city."
A councillor for nearly 25 years, Councillor Filion sits on the Toronto Arts Council board as well as the Toronto Music Industry Advisory Council. As the Mayor's Arts Advocate he will lead initiatives like Arts in the Parks and will use arts programming to bring communities together, and make public spaces more vibrant. The Arts Advocate will also provide leadership on making Toronto a Music City by working closely with the Toronto Music Industry Advisory Council.
Toronto Arts in the Parks is a Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation initiative that aims to increase public use of parks by animating them with performances and high quality art events. The new funding will increase the number of artists in the program.
The program will increase access to usable space for artists and provide grants to artists to explore and utilize Toronto's parks for their own artistic purpose. In the program's pilot year 22 parks in 22 wards will be animated with programming and free events for the public.
Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host City for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit
http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.
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Media contacts:
Keerthana Kamalavasan, Office of the Mayor, 647-460-7507, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Shane Gerard, Strategic Communications, 416-397-5711, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
