Canadian Conference of the Arts
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The Canadian Conference of the Arts (the CCA) was an Ottawa-based, not-for-profit, member-driven organization that represented the interests of over 400,000 artists, cultural workers and supporters from all disciplines of the nation's arts, culture and heritage community. The CCA served the arts and cultural community in Canada by providing research, analysis and consultations on public policies affecting the arts and Canadian cultural institutions and industries. The CCA was active on many fronts to advance the relevance of the arts in Canadian society. In September 2019, the CCA's activities were assumed by Mass Culture / Mobilisation culturelle, a Canadian arts research network that strives to harness the power of research to learn and generate new insights, enabling the arts community to be strategic, focused and adaptive.


History

The CCA was founded in 1958, when the Canadian Arts Council adopted a new name at the same time as it submitted papers of incorporation. The name was one of several submitted to the federal government for consideration.


Canadian Arts Council

The Canadian Arts Council was founded in December 1945 by a coalition of sixteen arts organizations to be an advocate for artists of all disciplines. The birth of a national organization representing the interests of Canadian artists of all disciplines can be traced to the formation of the House of Commons Special Committee on Reconstruction and Re-establishment in 1942. This committee was one of several charged with identifying issues likely to face the country following the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and solutions reflective of Canada's post-war prosperity and global influence. Fifteen major cultural organizations met in Toronto in 1944 in order to draft a report for the committee on how the
federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
ought to intervene in Canadian artistic and cultural development. Their three-part report, "Brief Concerning the Cultural Aspects of Canadian Reconstruction," called for, among other things, the formation of a non-partisan national body to support and oversee the arts in Canada and the establishment of community arts centres across the country. During 1945, the coalition resolved that some kind of permanent association would be beneficial. The Canadian Arts Council was formed with the mandate to "act in collaboration . .on matters affecting the common interests of the member societies." The council pushed for government action on issues pertaining to Canadian arts and culture, including making a presentation to the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences in 1949. Following the formation of the
Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...
, the Canadian Arts Council renamed itself the CCA in 1958.


Activities

The CCA has organized conferences and spoken out on all major Canadian policy proposals pertaining to arts, culture and heritage since its formation. Highlights include: * Twelve years of CCA leadership were rewarded with the adoption of federal Status of the Artist legislation in 1992; * Also in the 1990s, the CCA created the Cultural Sector Training Committee to improve work and training opportunities for members of the cultural labour force. The committee later became independent of the CCA as the Cultural Human Resources Council; * The CCA was the incubator and administrator of the national ArtsSmarts program from its creation in 1998 to 2005, when the Canadian Education Association took over; * The CCA was a founding member of the
Governor General's Performing Arts Awards A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Foundation, alongside the
National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a Arts centre, performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre build ...
, the
Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...
and the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
(1992); * The CCA participated actively in the development and adoption of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005); * Most recently, the CCA demonstrated its role as convener by bringing together 98 cultural organizations from coast to coast to support a common message to the government regarding
copyright reform Criticism of copyright, or anti-copyright sentiment, is a dissenting view of the current state of copyright law or copyright as a concept. Critics often discuss philosophical, economical, or social rationales of such laws and the laws' implem ...
. This led to a presentation to
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
of a series of amendments that reflected a large consensus in the cultural sector regarding this issue. * The CCA was one of numerous organizations opposing the decision of the federal government to make the long-form version of the 2011 Canadian census optional.


Closure

On October 30, 2012, the Canadian Conference of the Arts released a press release announcing that it would be discontinuing operations. The release identified this decision was due to the loss of federal government support, which the organization had received regularly since the 1960s, and which during its final years accounted for approximately 60-70 per cent of its total operating budget. Responding to indications in spring 2012 that the federal government intended to fundamentally change its funding model, the CCA sought to redefine its business model and become an organization completely independent of government. The organization requested two years' worth of transitional funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage, but given six months of funding. Unable to convert its model within this timeframe, the CCA decided to cease its operations as of November 2, 2012. The CCA has left its research, archives and ongoing projects in the hands of a volunteer trustee board, with the intention that another cultural or academic organization will be able to continue its work in future. As of 2019, the CCA's charitable number has been assumed by Mass Culture / Mobilisation culturelle (MC), a national arts research organization.https://massculture.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Press-Release-Mass-Culture-in-now-a-charity-EN.pdf MC continues with CCA's work of mobilizing arts research across Canada.


CCA Awards

Since 1954, the CCA has given awards to members of Canada's cultural community who have made significant contributions to the spirit and vitality of arts and culture in Canada. The list of recipients reads like a Who's Who of the Canadian cultural sector. The Diplôme d'honneur is presented annually to a Canadian who has made a sustained contribution to the cultural life of the country, whether through volunteer activity, mentoring, patronage, individual arts practice or other recognized support. The Keith Kelly Award for Cultural Leadership has been awarded annually since 1998, when it was established to recognize the leadership shown by the former national director of the CCA during his tenure from 1989 to 1998. It is presented to a Canadian who has made a significant contribution to the arts through advocacy work or the development of cultural policy, or who has otherwise demonstrated leadership in the field.


List of recipients of the Diplôme d'honneur

*1954
Vincent Massey Charles Vincent Massey (February 20, 1887December 30, 1967) was a Canadian lawyer and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Confederation. Massey was the first governor general of Canada who was born in Canada after ...
, C.C., C.H.* *1956 Tom Patterson, O.C.* *1957 Jean Bruchési* *1958 Walter Herbert, O.C.* *1959 Senator Donald Cameron, O.C.* *1960 Honourable Brooke Claxton* *1961 Iby Koerner, O.C.* *1962 William A. Riddell, O.C.* *1965
Albert Trueman Albert William Trueman, OC, FRSC (January 17, 1902 – June 29, 1988) was a teacher, professor, cultural and university administrator. Early life Trueman was born in the United States, where his New Brunswick-born father John Main Trueman ta ...
, O.C.* *1968
Marius Barbeau Charles Marius Barbeau, (March 5, 1883 – February 27, 1969), also known as C. Marius Barbeau, or more commonly simply Marius Barbeau, was a Canadian ethnographer and folklorist who is today considered a founder of Canadian anthropology. A ...
, C.C.* *1969 Alan Jarvis* *1970
Wilfrid Pelletier Joseph Louis Wilfrid Pelletier (sometimes spelled Wilfred), (20 June 1896 – 9 April 1982) was a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and arts administrator. He was instrumental in establishing the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, serving ...
, C.C. * *1971 Peter Dwyer, O.C.* *1972
Alain Grandbois Alain Grandbois, (May 25, 1900 – March 18, 1975) was a Canadian Quebecer poet, considered the first great modern one. Traveling around the world in 1918-1939 and sharing the hopes and problems of contemporary man, his work combined the the ...
, C.C. * *1973 Donald Wetmore, C.M. * *1974 Erik Bruhn*; Floyd S. Chalmers, C.C., O.Ont. *; Esse W. Ljungh, C.M. *; Mariette Rousseau-Vermette, O.C.* *1975
Ludmilla Chiriaeff Ludmilla Chiriaeff (January 10, 1924 – September 22, 1996) was a Latvian-Canadian ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher, and company director. Biography Ludmilla Alexandrovna Otsup was born in Riga to a Russian-Jewish father Alexandr Otsup ...
, C.C.*; S.C. Eckhardt-Gramatté*;
Tanya Moiseiwitsch Tatiana Benita Moiseiwitsch, (3 December 1914 – 19 February 2003) was an English theatre designer. Born in London, the daughter of Daisy Kennedy, an Australian concert violinist and Benno Moiseiwitsch, a Russian/Ukrainian-born classical pianis ...
*;
Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...
, C.C.*; Robert Weaver, O.C. *; Moncrieff Williamson, C.M. * *1976
Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; September 25, 1932October 4, 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was one of the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann ...
*; Florence James *;
Félix Leclerc Félix Leclerc, (August 2, 1914 – August 8, 1988) was a French-Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, writer, actor and '' Québécois'' political activist. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 20, 1968. Leclerc was posth ...
, O.C. *;
Félix-Antoine Savard Félix-Antoine Savard, (August 31, 1896 – August 24, 1982) was a Canadian priest, academic, poet, novelist and folklorist. Born in Quebec City, he grew up in Chicoutimi, Quebec. He received a Bachelor of Arts in 1918 and was ordained a pri ...
, O.C. * *1977
Ernest Lindner Ernst Friedrich Lindner LL. D. (1 May 1897 – 4 November 1988) was an Austrian-born Canadian painter. He moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in 1926, where became a self-taught commercial artist. He soon was recognized locally and then nationally a ...
, O.C. *;
Alfred Pellan Alfred Pellan (born Alfred Pelland; 16 May 1906 – 31 October 1988) was an important figure in twentieth-century Canadian painting. Biography Alfred Pelland was born in Quebec City on 16 May 1906. His mother, Régina Damphousse, died when ...
, C.C. *;
Barbara Pentland Barbara Pentland C.M. (2 January 1912 – 5 February 2000) was one of the pre-eminent members of the generation of Canadian composers who came to artistic maturity in the years following World War Two. Life and career Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba ...
* *1978 Gilles Lefebvre, O.C.*;
Barker Fairley Barker Fairley, (May 21, 1887 – October 11, 1986) was a British-Canadian painter, and scholar who made a significant contribution to the study of German literature, particularly for the work of Goethe, and was an early champion and friend ...
, O.C. *; Norman McLaren, C.C. *; Norma Springford* *1979
Arthur Gelber Arthur Ellis Gelber, (June 22, 1915 – January 1, 1998) was a Canadians, Canadian philanthropist. Educated at Upper Canada College, from 1977 to 1980, he was Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Arts Centre. In 1989, he establishe ...
, C.C., O.Ont. *;
Bill Reid William Ronald Reid Jr. (12 January 1920 – 13 March 1998) ( Haida) was a Canadian artist whose works include jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and paintings. Producing over one thousand original works during his fifty-year career, Reid is ...
*; Yvonne Hubert* *1980 Père Émile Legault, O.C. *;
Maureen Forrester Maureen Kathleen Stewart Forrester, (July 25, 1930 – June 16, 2010) was a Canadian operatic contralto. Life and career Maureen Forrester was born and grew up in Montreal, Quebec, one of four children of Thomas Forrester, a Scottish cabinetmak ...
, C.C. *;
Gabrielle Roy Gabrielle Roy (March 22, 1909July 13, 1983) was a Canadian author from St. Boniface, Manitoba and one of the major figures in French Canadian literature. Early life Roy was born in 1909 in Saint-Boniface (now part of Winnipeg), Manitoba, and ...
, C.C. * *1981 Maxwell Bates, C.M.*; Robert Fulford, O.C.;
Antonine Maillet Antonine Maillet, (; born May 10, 1929) is an Acadian novelist, playwright, and scholar. She was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, Canada."Antonine Maillet." ''Paroles d'Acadie : Anthologie de la littérature acadienne (1958-2009)'', edited by ...
, C.C.; Hon. Pauline McGibbon, C.C.* *1982
Betty Oliphant Nancy Elizabeth Oliphant (August 5, 1918 – July 12, 2004) was a co-founder of the National Ballet School of Canada. Life Oliphant was born in London in 1918. Her father was a lawyer who died within weeks of her birth in a train crash. Oli ...
, C.C.*;
Louis Archambault Louis Archambault (April 4, 1915 – January 27, 2003) was a Quebec sculptor and ceramicist, who was one of the members of the "new sculpture" movement in Canada that moved away from traditional methods towards abstraction. Career Born in M ...
, O.C. *; G. Hamilton Southam, O.C.*;
Mario Bernardi Mario Bernardi, (20 August 1930 – 2 June 2013) was a Canadian conductor and pianist.Pierrette Alarie, C.C.*; Lyell Gustin*;
Léopold Simoneau Léopold Simoneau, (May 3, 1916 – August 24, 2006) was a French-Canadian lyric tenor, one of the outstanding Mozarteans of his time. In 1959 he became the first recipient of the Calixa-Lavallée Award. Life and career Simoneau was born in Sa ...
, C.C.*; Arnold Spohr, C.C.* *1984
Jean-Paul Riopelle Jean-Paul Riopelle, (October 7, 1923 – March 12, 2002) was a Canadian painter and sculptor from Quebec. He had one of the longest and most important international careers of the sixteen signatories of the ''Refus Global'', the 1948 manif ...
, C.C. *; Stan Rogers* *1985 Joan Chalmers, C.C., O.Ont., A.O.C.A.; Gilles Hénault*;
Mavor Moore James Mavor Moore (March 8, 1919 – December 18, 2006) was a Canadian writer, producer, actor, public servant, critic, and educator. He notably appeared as Nero Wolfe in the CBC radio production in 1982. Life and work Moore was born in Tor ...
, C.C.* *1986
Celia Franca Celia Franca (25 June 1921 – 19 February 2007) was a co-founder of The National Ballet of Canada (1951) and its artistic director for 24 years. Early life Franca was born Celia Franks in London, England, the daughter of an East End tailo ...
, C.C.*;
Jean Papineau-Couture Jean Papineau-Couture, (November 12, 1916August 11, 2000) was a Canadians, Canadian composer and academic. Born in Montreal, Papineau-Couture is the grandson of conductor and composer Guillaume Couture (musician), Guillaume Couture. As a child ...
, O.C. * *1987
Gratien Gélinas Gratien Gélinas, (December 8, 1909 – March 16, 1999) was a Canadian writer, playwright, actor, director, producer and administrator who is considered one of the founders of modern Canadian theatre and film. His major works include ''Tit ...
, C.M.*; Dorothy Burnham, C.M.* *1988 Eva Cleland*;
Robertson Davies William Robertson Davies (28 August 1913 – 2 December 1995) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best known and most popular authors and one of its most distinguished " men of letters" ...
, C.C.* *1989
Gweneth Lloyd Gweneth Lloyd, OC (September 15, 1901 - January 1, 1993) was a co-founder of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, a ballet teacher and choreographer. Lloyd was born in Eccles, Lancashire, United Kingdom. She attended The Perse School in Cambridge, but b ...
, O.C. *;
Betty Farrally Betty Farrally (May 5, 1915 – April 9, 1989) was an English-born Canadian dancer, educator and ballet director. She was co-founder of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. The daughter of Arthur Hey and Ada Sugden, she was born Betty Hey in Bradford ...
*;
Frédéric Back Frédéric Back (April 8, 1924 – December 24, 2013) was a Canadian artist and film director of short animated films.John L. Kennedy and Eugene Walz"Frédéric Back". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', November 4, 2007. During a long career with R ...
, O.C.;
Herman Voaden Herman Arthur Voaden, FRSA (19 January 1903 – 27 June 1991) was a Canadian playwright.Herman Voa ...
, C.M. * *1990 Malcolm Ross, O.C. *; André Fortier *1991
Nicholas Goldschmidt Nicholas Goldschmidt, (December 6, 1908 – February 8, 2004) was a Canadian conducting, conductor, administrator, teacher, performer, music festival entrepreneur and artistic director. He was the grand-nephew of famed composer Adalbert von Goldsc ...
, C.C., O.Ont., L.L.D. * *1992 Paul Siren, C.M. * *1993 Michael M. Koerner, C.M. *1994
Charles Dutoit Charles Édouard Dutoit (born 7 October 1936) is a Swiss conductor. He is currently the principal guest conductor for the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia and co-director of thMISA Festival in Shanghai In 2017, he became the 103rd recipient of th ...
, O.C. *1995
Phyllis Lambert Phyllis Barbara Lambert, (née Bronfman; born January 24, 1927) is a Canadian architect, philanthropist, and member of the Bronfman family. Life Born in Montreal, Quebec, she studied at The Study, a premier independent school for girls, and wa ...
, C.C., C.Q., FRAIC, RCA, LL.D *1996 John Beckwith, C.M. *1997 J. Alan Wood *1998 Dr. Louis Applebaum, C.C. * *1999 John Hobday, C.M. *2000
Peter Herrndorf Peter A. Herrndorf (October 27, 1940 – February 18, 2023) was a Canadian lawyer and media businessman. He retired as the president and chief executive officer of the National Arts Centre on June 2, 2018. Born in Amsterdam, Netherlands, he gr ...
, O.C. *2001 Vincent Tovell, O.C. *2002
Pierre Juneau Pierre Juneau, , (October 17, 1922 – February 21, 2012) was a Canadian film and broadcast executive, a one-time member of the Canadian Cabinet, the first chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and ...
, O.C.* *2003 Pierre Raphaël Pelletier *2004 John E.* & Barbara Poole *2005 Roch Carrier *2006 Bluma Appel, O.C., O. Ont.* *2007
Joe Fafard Joseph Fafard (September 2, 1942 – March 16, 2019) was a Canadian sculptor. Biography Joseph Fafard was a twelfth generation Canadian born in 1942 in Ste. Marthe, Saskatchewan, to French Canadians Leopold Fafard and Julienne Cantin. Fafard is ...
*2008 Allan King, O.C.* *2009
Françoise Sullivan Françoise Sullivan LL.D (born 10 June 1923) is a Canadian painter, sculptor, dancer and choreographer. Biography Early life Françoise Sullivan grew up in Montreal, Quebec, the youngest child and only girl in a middle-class family with fo ...
, O.C. *2010
Joyce Zemans Joyce Zemans D.F.A. D.Litt. (born April 21, 1940) is a Canadian art historian, curator, cultural policy specialist and academic. She is known as the first woman to serve as York University`s Dean of Fine Arts and as director of the Canada Counc ...
, C.M.


List of recipients of the Keith Kelly Award for Cultural Leadership

*1998 Keith Kelly *1999 Paul Siren, C.M.* *2000 Gilles Lefebvre, O.C.* *2001 Élise Paré-Tousignant *2002 John Kim Bell, O.C. *2003 Donald Sobey *2004 Mallory Gilbert *2005 Nini Baird, C.M. *2006 Pat Durr *2007 Garry Neil; Robert Pilon *2008 Simon Brault, O.C. *2009 Robert Jekyll *2010 Maurice Forget, C.M. (*)=deceased


CCA National Directors

*Alan Jarvis (1960–66) *
Herman Voaden Herman Arthur Voaden, FRSA (19 January 1903 – 27 June 1991) was a Canadian playwright.Herman Voa ...
(1966-1968) *Henry Comor (1968) *Duncan Cameron (1968-1971) *John Hobday (1971-1982) *Jeffery Holmes (1982-1983) *Brian Anthony (1983-1986) *Michelle d'Auray (1986-1989) *Keith Kelly (1990-1999) *Megan Williams (1999-2005) *Jean Malavoy (2005) *Alain Pineau (2005-2012)


CAC/CCA Presidents

*
Herman Voaden Herman Arthur Voaden, FRSA (19 January 1903 – 27 June 1991) was a Canadian playwright.Herman Voa ...
(1945-1948) * A.H. Gillson (1948) * Jean Bruchési (1949-1952) *Claude Lewis (1952-1953) *Roland Charlebois (1954-1955) * John Parkin (1956-1957) * Jean Bruchési (1957-1958) *Robert Elie (1959) *
Arthur Gelber Arthur Ellis Gelber, (June 22, 1915 – January 1, 1998) was a Canadians, Canadian philanthropist. Educated at Upper Canada College, from 1977 to 1980, he was Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Arts Centre. In 1989, he establishe ...
(1959-1968) *
Jean-Louis Roux Jean-Louis Roux, (May 18, 1923 – November 28, 2013) was a Canadian politician, entertainer and playwright who was briefly the List of lieutenant governors of Quebec#Lieutenant Governors of Quebec, 1867–present, 26th Lieutenant Governor of Que ...
(1968-1970) *Gilles Lefebvre (1970-1972) *
Pauline McGibbon Pauline Mills McGibbon (21 October 1910 – 14 December 2001) served as the 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1974 to 1980. In addition to being the first woman to occupy that position, she was also the first woman to serve as a vi ...
(1972-1974) * Richard Courtney (1974-1976) *Elizabeth Lane (1976-1978) *Micheline Legendre (1978-1979) *
Lister Sinclair Lister Sheddon Sinclair, OC (January 9, 1921 – October 16, 2006) was a Canadian broadcaster, playwright and polymath. Early life Sinclair was born in Bombay, India, to Scottish parents. His father, William Sheddon Sinclair, was a chemical eng ...
(1980-1983) *Micheline Tessier (1983-1984) *Curtis Barlow (1984-1986) *Claudette Fortier (1986-1988) *Paul Siren (1988-1990) *Patrick Close (1990-1992) *Simon Auger (1992-1994) *Jan Miller (1994-1996) *Mireille Gagne (1996-1998) *Pat Bradley (1998-2001) *Pierre Filion (2001-2002) *Denise Roy (2002-2005) *Robert Spickler (2005-2008) *Kathleen Sharpe (2008-2012)


External links


Canadian Conference of the Arts fonds (R5615)
at
Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...


References

{{Canadian art 1958 establishments in Ontario 2012 disestablishments in Ontario Arts organizations based in Canada Organizations based in Ottawa Organizations disestablished in 2012 Organizations established in 1958