Because physical distance shouldn’t mean total isolation, the National Theatre School of Canada (NTS) is allocating $60,000 in support of emerging artists (as 80 grants of $750). These funds will be granted to theatre artists in training, or artists who have completed a theatre training program within the past five years, to present a piece of art online.
With the COVID-19 crisis, artists find themselves in a situation of increased financial precarity due to the closure of performance venues and cancellation of contracts. The impressive and diverse arts community is already finding a thousand ways to keep hope and art alive in times of social distancing. Through this initiative, NTS continues to provide a voice and support to emerging artists. It’s a way to help minimize the impact of this crisis in the arts community and to provide much-needed assistance to artists who are in the early stages of their careers by rapidly injecting funds into the arts sector.
“Young artists, already living close to the poverty line, are finding themselves in particularly precarious situations because of cancelled contracts and lack of job opportunities, all while trying to manage the emotional weight of enforced isolation. This fund will hopefully go a little way to providing them some breathing space while helping them share their artistic voices. Art is a cornerstone of a compassionate society, allowing us to engage with the complexity of our times, and we need it more than ever,” says Gideon Arthurs, CEO of NTS.
