Stage Door News
Stage Door News
TORONTO (December 16, 2015) – Crow’s Theatre is thrilled to announce the confirmation of three major public and private contributions to the capital campaign for their new performing arts facility and community hub totalling $3.75 million. With a total project budget of $10.7 million, This announcement brings Crow’s to 90% of their $8.9 million private and public fundraising goal, and right on track to open the doors of the new facility in January 2017.
The lead gift comes from real estate developer, Streetcar Developments, led by President Les Mallins, which is gifting $1.25 million and will name the facility. "We are proud to partner with Crow's Theatre and be a part of the ongoing revitalization of the city's east end. The new facility will be a creative hub for the east end's growing arts and culture community. We are deeply committed to helping local communities thrive, and this project is one of importance to the Leslieville neighbourhood and the city,” says Mallins.
Private arts enthusiasts Donald Guloien and Irene Boychuk have named the facility’s main theatre with a gift of $750,000. “Chris Abraham and those who work with Crow’s are amongst the best in theatre today — creative, passionate, and challenging. We are honoured to help them in making the city of Toronto their permanent home,” comments Donald Guloien.
The private donations have been matched by a generous $1.75-million contribution from the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Canada Cultural Spaces Fund toward the performance space. The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, says, “Cultural spaces bring Canadians of all backgrounds together. By supporting the construction and renovation of cultural infrastructure, we help create jobs, strengthen communities and put arts and culture within reach of all Canadians.” Julie Dabrusin, Member of Parliament (Toronto–Danforth), adds, “We are proud to welcome arts and culture organizations like the Crow’s Theatre to Toronto’s East End. Their work broadens our horizons, inspires us and improves our overall quality of life and sense of community.”
Selon l’honorable Mélanie Joly, ministre du Patrimoine canadien, « Les espaces culturels réunissent les Canadiens de tous les horizons. En soutenant la construction et la rénovation de notre infrastructure culturelle, nous aidons à créer des emplois, à renforcer nos communautés et à mettre les arts et la culture à la portée de tous les Canadiens. » Quand à Julie Dabrusin, députée de Toronto–Danforth, elle ajoute « Nous sommes fiers d’accueillir dans l’Est de Toronto un organisme voué aux arts et à la culture tel que le Crow’s Theatre. Grâce à leur travail, ces organismes nous aident à élargir nos horizons, nous inspirent, améliorent notre qualité de vie et favorisent un plus grand sentiment d’appartenance à la communauté. »
The performing arts space and community cultural hub will house three spectacular venues for cultural and neighbourhood programming and events: a Multi-Configurational Theatre (200-seat); a Studio Space for rehearsals, intimate performances, and community programming; and a Gallery Bar and Restaurant. The Crow’s Theatre facility will be the first professional performing arts facility of its kind east of the Don Valley, an area that is home to over 1.3 million people. The facility’s last phase of construction is expected to begin in January of 2016.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to deepen our partnership with Streetcar Developments and proud to have them name our facility. Les Mallins and the Streetcar team are visionaries in creating new models for urban community development and they’re as passionate about a dynamic vision for the east end of the city as we are. They truly appreciate the importance that culture brings to community development and we have learned so much in our partnership with them about working organically with the community to create spaces that make a meaningful contribution,” says Crow’s Theatre Board Chair, Nancy Lockhart.
Crow’s Theatre Artistic Director, Chris Abraham adds, “Joining Streetcar as foundational partners are Donald Guloien and Irene Boychuk. This means the world to us, particularly because their commitment is rooted in their connection to Crow’s artistic work. It is important to Donald and Irene that Crow’s has a permanent home and an expanded platform to tackle important contemporary subjects. They are an inspiring couple who have made major contributions in medical research, education, child welfare, and the environment - as well as culture. It is an honour to put their names on our main performance space.”
These newly-announced gifts are added to existing foundational support of $1.150 million from the City of Toronto, negotiated as a Section 37 community benefit by Councillor Paula Fletcher and previously announced in January 2013. Fletcher, the representative for east end Ward 30, was the instrumental force in bringing Crow’s Theatre and Streetcar Developments together for this important initiative, and says, “What a fantastic milestone — 90 percent there!! Crow's will be a signature performing arts space for Toronto and home to a vibrant arts and cultural community in the East End. I'm delighted they have received this additional support to make the theatre space a reality and, like residents across Ward 30, I'm eagerly anticipating opening night!"
With support from the federal government and the City of Toronto now confirmed and discussions with the Ontario government continuing, Crow’s looks forward to having all three levels of government as partners in the new facility.
State of the Art – Facility Design animates cultural corridor on Carlaw Avenue
The facility design is led by architect Joe Lobko and his award-winning team at DTAH Architects. Mr. Lobko is the principal architect behind notable city-building projects in the GTA, including Wychwood Barns and Evergreen Brickworks.
Pioneering – East End Revitalization continues with new culture hub
The East End, particularly Leslieville, has seen remarkable revitalization over the past decade, yet accessible cultural and community space has not kept pace. With Toronto’s professional arts facilities largely clustered in the downtown core, Crow’s strives to serve as a core cultural hub for east end residents and their families, thereby playing a meaningful role in the community’s continuing transformation.
Entrepreneurial – Social Enterprise model supports culture creation
Supporting the facility is an entrepreneurial business model that will diversify Crow’s earned revenue streams. Notably, operating revenue generated through social events will be directly channelled to support the artistic and community mandates, alleviating the pressure caused by limited public funding. As a financially-sustainable not-for-profit, Crow’s Theatre further exemplifies the objectives and recommendations stated by the Creative Capital Gains Report: An Action Plan for Toronto (2011), including the development of new creative clusters and emerging cultural scenes to capitalize on their potential as generators of jobs and economic growth.
About Crow’s Theatre:
Crow’s ignites passionate and enduring engagement between our audiences and artists by creating, producing and promoting unforgettable theatre that examines and illuminates the pivotal narratives of our times. Founded in 1983, Crow’s Theatre is recognized in the Canadian theatre landscape as a daring, award-winning theatre company. Crow’s has premiered over 40 new Canadian works, including multiple award-winning productions such as SEEDS, Eternal Hydra, Time After Time: The Chet Baker Project, A Short History of Night, Dali and Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love.
In recent years, Crow’s Theatre has presented the world-premiere of Kristen Thomson’s Someone Else, presented the international success Winners & Losers and in 2015 debuted the world premiere of Annabel Soutar’s critically acclaimed The Watershed.
Illustration: Rendering of future Crow’s Theatre. ©2015 dtah.com.
2015-12-16
Toronto: Crow's Theatre announces funding for its new Leslieville theatre