National advocacy group Canadian Conference of the Arts shuttered

“What’s lost is a very important resource, because the work of the CCA included analysis and comment on every federal budget that is produced,” Alliance for Arts and Culture executive director Rob Gloor told the Straight. “It included work on issues that relate to legislation that can have an impact in the arts-and-culture sector.”

The Canadian Conference of the Arts, a national arts-advocacy group founded in 1945, recently started winding down operations following the loss of its federal funding. The organization determined it was impossible to transition to a new self-financing business model, citing a lack of interim federal funding.

“It’s not been that surprising that this has come about, but it’s very frustrating because the work of the Canadian Conference of the Arts isn’t really partisan; it’s about representing the interest of the arts-and-culture sector with any government that is in power federally and informing that advocacy with a strong focus on research and policy development,” Gloor said.

Gloor suggested existing groups such as the Canadian Arts Coalition may be able to carry on some of the work done by the Canadian Conference of the Arts.