Toronto, June 28, 2023 – The Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) and the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) are delighted to announce that Native Earth Performing Arts is the recipient of the inaugural $25,000 Ray Ferris Innovation and Sustainability Grant for their production of Women of the Fur Trade. This annual grant recognizes advances in theatrical design and the promotion of environmental sustainability in live theatre. The grant was presented at the 43rd annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards ceremony last evening at the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, Koerner Hall.
Native Earth Performing Arts
Native Earth Performing Arts is Canada’s oldest professional Indigenous performing arts company. In Women of the Fur Trade, a lively historical satire of survival and cultural inheritance, playwright Frances Koncan shifts perspectives from the male gaze onto women’s power in the past and present through the lens of the rapidly changing world of the Canadian fur trade.
Assessment
Native Earth Performing Arts grant was selected by an assessment committee comprised of Indrit Kasapi (CHAIR) – Artistic Producer, Theatre Passe Muraille, TAPA Board member; Anthony Garoufalis-Auger – The Climate Emergency Unit, SCALE-LeSAUT Mission Circle; Denyse Karn – Executive Director, Associated Designers of Canada (ADC); Shawn Kerwin – Independent Stage and Costume Designer ; Jacoba Knaapen – Executive Director, TAPA; and Lisa Lambert – Estate of Raymond M. Ferris.
The committee was unanimous in their choice of Native Earth Performing Arts as the inaugural recipient of the Ray Ferris Innovation and Sustainability Grant. They said:
“We are so delighted that the inaugural recipient of the Ray Ferris Innovation and Sustainability Grant is going to a theatre company which embodies the spirit of sustainability wholeheartedly. Native Earth is dedicated to using renewable resources in their productions, and their comprehensive green mentality is inspiring for all of us in the theatre and performance industry to see. We are so excited to see Native Earth Performing Arts continue their sustainability journey and where this grant can further their efforts.”
About the Grant
Ray Ferris Innovation and Sustainability Grant is open to Toronto based theatre companies who successfully demonstrate a proposal for improved sustainability practices in an upcoming production. Advances can be considered, but not limited to, the creation of unique methods of delivering a narrative in live theatre; the development of new and sustainable processes in the construction and striking of a live theatre production; and transforming non-traditional or underused spaces into theatrical venues.
Successful grant recipients will provide a written report following the conclusion of their production, detailing how the grant was used to further sustainability practice in the performing arts, elaborating on elements that worked well and others that require additional consideration. The report will be presented to the TAPA membership with goal of building upon best practices in the industry.
The Ontario Arts Foundation manages the endowment that funds the award. The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts is responsible for the selection process and convenes a jury to review applications and make deliberations.
About Ray Ferris
This grant is made possible through a generous gift from the estate of Raymond M. Ferris, Toronto artist, mathematician, and statistician. Ray earned a Master of Science degree and early in his career and was on the team of NASA rocket scientists responsible for the successful return of the astronauts from the moon landing. In the mid-1980s, Ray started his own business in Toronto, R.M. Ferris Research Consultants. With advances in technology, he began experimenting with digital art and developed techniques to integrate his love for art, mathematics and computer technology and he collaborated with local musicians, combining art forms. Ray loved the theatre and was an enthusiastic supporter of Toronto’s scene.
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For information, please contact:
Jacoba Knaapen, Executive Director
Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA)
Tel: (416) 536-6468 x25 jacobak@tapa.ca
Bruce Bennett, Executive Director
Ontario Arts Foundation
Tel: (416) 969-7413 bbennett@oafdn.ca
To nurture an environment in which theatre, dance and opera may flourish and play a leadership role in the vitality of the City of Toronto. The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA): unites the disciplines of theatre, dance, and opera to celebrate and strengthen the performing arts in Toronto; promotes and advocates on behalf of a large and diverse membership of professional performing arts practitioners to legislators, public and private sector funding bodies, and to the general public; and provides marketing opportunities and professional development services to its membership.
Established in 1991, the Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2022-2023, the OAF paid $4 million in endowment income and $450,000 in awards and grants.
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