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NLIS 3
June 12, 2006
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)
 

Projects approved under Cultural Economic Development Program

The Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation has announced funding for 21 arts and heritage projects totalling approximately $475,000 under the Cultural Economic Development Program (CEDP). The CEDP is one of the major building blocks of the recently released cultural strategy designed to develop and grow the cultural industries in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Started in 2003, the CEDP is intended to stimulate economic activity by providing financial assistance for professional arts and heritage projects across the province.

"This demonstrates our commitment to the continued development and promotion of our cultural industries which make such an important contribution to our social and economic life, especially in rural areas," said Tom Hedderson, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

"These projects are very important to the cultural life of the province and will attract even more tourists to our shores. A major trend in the tourism industry is cultural tourism. We know that visitors travel to Newfoundland and Labrador to enjoy unique and authentic experiences."

CEDP projects were selected on the strength of business plans, artistic vision and potential for development within a specific sector. Projects range from summer theatre festivals to promotional campaigns.

In March, the government announced an investment of $17.6 million over the next three years to implement the first cultural plan entitled Creative Newfoundland and Labrador: The Blueprint for Development and Investment in Culture (//www.gov.nl.ca/tcr/publications.htm).

BACKGROUNDER
Projects approved through the Cultural Economic Development Program

Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador
Theatre Newfoundland Labrador (TNL) received $50,000 toward the cost of producing its Gros Morne Theatre Festival for the 2006 summer season. The festival is situated just outside Gros Morne National Park and attracts provincial, national and international audiences. TNL presents top quality professional theatre productions over a four-month period and provides work for over 35 professional Newfoundland actors, directors, designers, stage craft and theatre students.

Rising Tide
Rising Tide Theatre Company received $50,000 toward the 2006 operating season for The Summer in The Bight Festival which attracts thousands of tourists to the Trinity area each summer. Plans for 2006 season include 15 different plays and an extended season, beginning mid June and running until October 15, 2006.

Andy Jones Productions
Andy Jones Productions received $20,000 toward the cost associated with promotion, marketing and operational costs for the 2006 - 2007 season of theatre activities.

Grand Bank Theatre Company
The Grand Bank Theatre Company received $20,000 toward the operational costs of its 2006 summer festival program. Berni Stapleton is returning as artistic director of the festival and will be producing six productions.

Eastern Edge Gallery
The Eastern Edge Galley received $10,000 to offset costs associated with developing its marketing and promotional campaign. Eastern Edge Gallery is a non-commercial, artist-run centre that is committed to exhibiting Canadian contemporary art in diverse media, including visual, audio, interactive, performance, video and film.

Jack Five - OH Theatre Company
Jack Five - OH Theatre Company received $10,000 to offset costs related to its touring the theatrical production Jack and the Three Giants throughout the Atlantic Provinces.

Battery Radio
Battery Radio received $4,000 to assist with travel costs for producer Chris Brookes to attend the Prix Marulic Europa in Berlin in October 2006 and the International Feature Conference in Vienna, Austria in April 2006. Battery Radio, an award-winning St. John's based production company, specializes in radio documentary features.

Festival 500
Festival 500 received $50,000 toward the operational costs of the 2007 Festival 500 Sharing the Voices. Now widely regarded as the best of its kind in the world, the festival organizers are planning once again for a rich and diverse international choral festival. Choral groups and music enthusiasts from around the globe will come to the province to participate in performance, workshops and concerts.

Writers at Woody Point Literary Festival
Writers at Woody Point received $4,600 toward the 2006 summer festival, which will start officially on August 16 and run to the 20th and will include eight writers and five musicians or musical groups. CBC�s Shelagh Rogers will once again host the Writers at Woody Point Festival.

Winterset in Summer Literary Festival
Winterset in Summer Literary Festival received $4,000 toward the cost associated with presenting its annual festival in Eastport this August. The festival has grown from a one-day awards show in 2001 to a three-day extravaganza of readings and discussions with Newfoundland and Labrador writers and hosts.

Tramore Theatre Troupe
The Tramore Theatre Troupe, located in the community of Cuslett on the Cape Shore, received $12,500 toward the cost of presenting its 2006 summer festival. This is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the cultural heritage and oral history of the Cape Shore and Placentia Bay area. The festival is made up of a series of theatre performances, story telling and ballad singing workshops. The troupe also organizes an archival collection, as well as cultural exchanges with Ireland.

Association of Cultural Industries

The Association of Cultural Industries (ACI) received $30,000 toward its operational costs for 2006. Established in 1998, ACI has served as a unified voice for the artists and cultural workers of the province to foster the growth and development of our cultural resources and industries.

THEM DAYS
THEM DAYS Magazine and Archives received $50,000 toward its annual operating costs. The first edition of the magazine was published in 1975 and quickly became a quarterly publication. The archives were started in 1984. This collection - which continues to grow - contains diaries, letters, reports, audio and video recordings, photographs, slides, maps and a reference library. It is considered one of the most important collections of Labrador history.

Colony of Avalon Foundation
The Colony of Avalon Foundation received $75,000 towards operating costs for the popular archaeological site at Ferryland. Visitors are growing in number and are attracted by the outdoor interpretation and on-going archaeology, period gardens, exhibits of artifacts, the archaeology laboratory, not to mention the start of a living history program and a remarkably successful gift shop.

Cape Freels Heritage Trust Inc.
The Cape Freels Heritage Trust Inc. received $50,000 to offset some of the costs associated with the operation of the Barbour Heritage Village for its 2006 season. The heritage village comprises 17 heritage structures and replicas of traditional buildings that represent the history of the Barbour family. The site is historically important as it represent the story of the province= s sealing history on the north east coast and its role in the seasonal fishery activity of Newfoundland.

Exploits Valley Heritage Society
The Exploits Valley Heritage Society received $1,500 to support the production of a heritage passport to raise public awareness and to promote culture and heritage in the region. The Exploits Heritage Council is a network comprised of heritage centres in the Exploits region whose membership includes the Exploits Valley Tourism Association, the Exploits Valley Economic Development Corporation, and the provincial heritage organizations.

Shallaway
Shallaway, the Newfoundland and Labrador Youth in Chorus Choir received $10,000 toward the development of marketing materials for its folk opera entitled:
Ann and Seamus B A Chamber Opera for Treble Voices inspired by the book Ann and Seamus by award-winning author Kevin Major. The opera was composed by Stephen Hatfield, well-known composer and conductor; produced by Jillian Keiley, who was the 2004 recipient of the prestigious Elinore and Lou Siminovitch Prize in Theatre; and directed by Susan Knight, founder and Artistic Director of Shallaway. Ann and Seamus B A Chamber Opera will tour Canada and the US in 2007.

Individual Artists
Several individual artists received funding to assist with the production of marketing materials for specific projects including: visual artist Pam Hall $4,370; painter Elena Popova, $8,000; sculptor Jim Maunder, $8,000 and actor Berni Stapleton, $4,000.

For CEDP guidelines or more information on the program, go to //www.gov.nl.ca/tcr/services_programs/CEDP.

Media contact: Susanne Hiller, Director of Communications (709) 729-0928, 728-7762; susannehiller@gov.nl.ca

2006 06 12                               12:30 p.m.


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