On the eve of its 35th anniversary in 2014, Buddies in Bad Times’ Canadian Heritage funding for its innovative Rhubarb festival has been cut.
Here’s the letter artistic director Brendan Healy received from Alice Toyonaga, director of programs of the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Ontario Region, and the theatre’s online response.
As Healy points out, the rejection letter doesn’t explain why their application was turned down. The letter states that the government’s objective is to “fund projects designed to deliver measurable and tangible results, to optimize available funds, and to meet the needs of Canadians.”
Over its more than three decades, Rhubarb has certainly delivered measurable and tangible results, helping to develop new works by such artists as Daniel MacIvor, Robin Fulford, Darren O’Donnell, Claudia Dey, Evalyn Parry, Hannah Moscovitch, d’bi.young, Moynan King, Damien Atkins, Jess Dobkin, Sook-Yin Lee, and the recent Governor General’s Award-winning playwright Nicolas Billon.
That’s out of hundreds of artists.
According to Healy, the festival will still be happening this February. And audiences are encouraged to explain what the festival means to them, perhaps to show the government “meets the needs of Canadians.”
glenns@nowtoronto.com | @glennsumi
