Art-Theatre-Music-Dance-Lit

[block43]

Awesome!

[JT Jacobs]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

big surprise.

on a positive note, some great stuff is happening to James North....you'll hear a bigger announcement in August, so look for it. The street is really coming along.
also, I found out today that the Threshold School of Building will be demolished next month and the new condo building will begin construction shortly thereafter.
A new bar, similar to one you'd find on College St in TO is opening on James, north of Mulberry - it'll be called 'The Brain'.
Anyone on the street I've spoken to about it can't wait...they are excited based on the plans and ideas they've been told by the owner.

Which new condo project is this? Can you give us some extra info (location, style of building, link to renderings, etc)? More condos down there is just what the area needs--and a cool coffee house.

[raisethehammer]

The condo is being built by the owners of Acclamation.
It will be 5-6 floors with 50 units. It will be located in the parking lot next to Acclamation and the soon to be demolished Threshold site.
Acclamation will be expanded with a cocktail lounge along the James St frontage with removable glass walls in summer. A large banquet hall will be built on the ground floor of the new building and the kitchen will be expanded in order to accomodate both the restaurant and the banquet hall (the current Acclamation will be joined to the new addition as one restaurant).
Office space and a few walk-up condos will occupy the 2nd floor and then condos will occupy the rest of the floors with rooftop terraces on some.
Earlier renderings showed a terraced-style building from floors 3-5. Final renderings will be done in the next week or two.

[SteelTown]

Good to see this will still go ahead even with the death of the general manager I believe a few weeks ago. The architect is John Mokrycke, a fellow Acclamation addict it appears lol.

[raisethehammer]

steeltown...where did you get that rendering of the new Inc building?? I'd love to see a larger one.

[northender98]

A BOOST FOR HAMILTON'S ART COMMUNITY
McGuinty Government Supporting Local Arts Organizations



Hamilton — At-risk high school students in Hamilton will benefit from an arts apprenticeship program offered by Culture for Kids in the Arts, one of three arts organizations in the city to get a funding boost from Ontario.

The Government of Ontario is investing $30,000 in CONNECT with the Arts, which exposes secondary school students at risk of not graduating to skilled trades within the arts and entertainment businesses.

The government is also providing $56,000 through the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund to the Art Gallery of Hamilton to attract new audiences to see the Inspiration East exhibition this summer. Inspiration East is a celebration of Asian arts and culture which runs until the fall.

Arts Hamilton is also receiving funding for its ARTwalk project. The government is investing $10,000 in ARTwalk, a permanent urban art trail which will connect arts and cultural activity centres in Hamilton’s downtown core.

QUOTES
“Hamilton has a vibrant and eclectic arts community that is helping transform the city’s landscape and quality of life through innovative partnerships and programs,” said Culture Minister Aileen Carroll. “Ontario is proud to support arts and culture initiatives that build stronger communities, help students achieve success and provide a boost to our economy.”

“Ontario’s investments in Hamilton’s growing arts sector benefit everyone by raising the profile of our artists and arts organizations and highlighting the positive impact they have on our community,” said Hamilton Mountain MPP Sophia Aggelonitis.

“The investment from the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund has allowed us to draw new audiences to the Art Gallery of Hamilton during our celebration of Asian arts and culture,” says Art Gallery of Hamilton President and CEO Louise Dompierre. “We’re delighted to attract visitors to Hamilton and, in many cases, art galleries, for the very first time.”

"Thanks to the support of the Ministry of Culture, 315 new elementary and secondary students will have the opportunity to experience the arts as a vehicle to learn and grow," said Culture for Kids in the Arts founder and programming director Vitek Wincza.

“The King William Artwalk is an animated pedestrian environment that will encourage increased exposure to a variety of artistic and cultural experiences through celebrations and events," said Arts Hamilton Executive Director Paul de Courcy. "Thanks to the Ontario government for helping bring the King William Artwalk to life."

[raisethehammer]

the press release I was sent had an extra paragraph in it:

"The King William artwalk is being merged with the King William Destruction Project going on at the same time.
Brought to you by the good folks at LIUNA and fully funded by City of Hamilton taxpayers.
These two unique cultural tours will highlight everything that makes King William a great street.
Enjoy it while it lasts."

[matt602]

Destruction Project? One building has been demolished. There's no official plans to take any more down. I understand that was probably made in jest, but I don't think it's fair to jump to conclusions.

[raisethehammer]

yes, that was made in jest. not as funny as I thought I guess. lol.
however, to answer your question, they plan on taking down the one next to Reardons. They are fighting the designation of the Thomas building (in order to take it down).
And they want to bring down Lister.
They are destroying the street.

[highwater]

Many Canadian artists struggle to make a living

Emma Reilly
The Hamilton Spectator

(Feb 10, 2009)

By trade, Gary Santucci is a composer, musician and co-owner of the Pearl Company Art Centre on Steven Street.

By necessity, he's worked as a taxi driver, project manager, a renovator and a cemetery property salesman to support himself as an artist.

According to a new study by Hamilton-based Hill Strategies Research, he's one of 140,000 artists living in Canada, many of whom struggle to make a living.

The study, released last week, found that musicians, visual artists, dancers, craftspeople and other artists earn on average less than half the typical wages of all Canadian workers.

"We do a lot of things to cobble together a living, whether it's teaching or part-time work," he said. "Most of us find a way to scratch out a living, because that's what we love. It's something you can't let go of because that's who you are."

The study was based on data from the 2006 census and commissioned by Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.

It found the average artist makes $22,700 per year, compared with the $36,300 income of the average Canadian worker.

It also found that 62 per cent of artists make under $20,000, compared with 41 per cent of the overall workforce.

Six of the nine arts occupations have average earnings that are less than Statistics Canada's low-income cutoff for a single person living in a community of 500,000 people or more ($20,800).

Dancers had the lowest average income at $13,167.

"I think we should care about the salary of an artist as much as we should care about the salary of a steelworker," said Hill Strategies' president and founder, Kelly Hill. "People want to be part of a happening, vibrant community, so we need to make sure that artists are fairly paid."

At 42 per cent, the percentage of artists who are self-employed is six times the self-employment rate in the overall labour force. The average earnings of self-employed artists ($15,200) are 51 per cent less than the average earnings of all self-employed workers in Canada.

The figures don't take into account today's recession, Hill said.

"It may have gotten worse. These are tricky times in arts and culture," he said. "I'd be hard-pressed to think they'd be better off now."

The income of artists has been steadily declining for almost two decades. Between 1990 and 2005, the average earnings of artists fell by 11 per cent, with most of that drop happening between 2000 and 2005.

In the overall labour force, average earnings grew by 9 per cent during the same timeframe (after adjusting for inflation).

"These kinds of figures aren't really new to us," said Bryce Kanbara, a visual artist and the owner of you me gallery on James Street North. "People who don't do art have a hard time understanding what we do and why we do it, and it's not to make a lot of money."

The arts community is especially valuable in Hamilton, Santucci said, evidenced by the revival of James Street North in recent years.

"We go in, create the buzz, create energy. Then gentrification starts to happen," he said. "What we do is create that streetscape and create a mixed-use cultural community."

ereilly@thespec.com

905-526-2452

[highwater]

March 04, 2009
Jeff Mahoney
The Hamilton Spectator
(Mar 4, 2009)

Hamilton and Toronto have what you might call a "special" relationship. That means that if we were two human beings and not whole cities, the only place we'd be able to sort out our " stuff" would be The Jerry Springer Show, or maybe Montel.

Hamilton would sit there, a bit crazy looking, arms crossed, and Toronto, 10 times its size, would swagger in talking on its cellphone and sit right down on top of Hamilton, not even realizing it was there.

We're tempted to think that Toronto is a black hole whose enormous gravity sucks us in, even as we feel repelled. Or that we're a bird on the hippopotamus's back.

But it's more complex, the system of repulsions and attractions between us.

Toronto is starting to like our real estate prices, our neighbourhoods, our prices and our pace of living. Our character.

Artists especially. The arts in Hamilton happen largely in the shadow of the arts in Toronto. People flock from all over to be artists in Toronto, only to find they can't afford it. So they come to Hamilton to live.

As Jeremy Freiburger of the Imperial Cotton Centre For The Arts (on Sherman Avenue in Hamilton) points out: "In the Toronto papers there have been a rash of stories about Toronto artists flocking to Hamilton for the affordable rents and such."

And when they get here they find we have a vibrant and distinctive art presence of our own.

Kim Selman, like many Hamiltonians, shuttles between the two worlds, living in our downtown but getting on the 7:04 every morning to her job with MMPI Canada, which produces Toronto's famous One Of a Kind arts and craft show.

MMPI also produces The Artist Project, which is somewhat like One Of A Kind but dedicated to work of, for lack of a better phrase, the fine arts of painting, sculpture, mixed media, and so on. Selman is exhibition co-ordinator for The Artist Project.

The first edition of it was last year -- it was an enormous success, says Selman (born and raised in Hamilton) -- and the second, featuring 150 artists, is on this weekend, from March 5 to 8, at the beautiful Liberty Grand, 25 British Columbia Road, Exhibition Place, in Toronto.

OK, now here's the interesting part in terms of the Hamilton-Toronto dynamic. There have been Hamilton shows in the past that were dominated by Toronto artists. And while The Artist Project isn't exactly dominated by Hamilton artists, seven Hamilton artists have been chosen to show in it, which is a phenomenal representation, say both Freiburger and Selman.

"I like to think that maybe I had a hand in that," says Selman. "I've worked hard to connecting with artists here. I go to the galleries and love the art that's being produced here. It's my home and the place I love and I love being involved in the arts scene here."

Of course, the artists had to pass muster on their own. There is a rigorous external jury screening process and successfully coming through it are Hamilton artists Fiona Kinsella, Steve Mazza, Lori Skinner, Gordon Leverton, Lorraine Roy, Janusz Wrobel, and Susan Wilde. Congratulations to all of them.

The Artist Project runs Thursday, March 5 from 7 to 10 p.m. (opening night preview party); Friday, March 6 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 7 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, March 8 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

jmahoney@thespec.com

905-526-3306

[adam]

Very cool. Having spent 3 years in Toronto, I can say that Hamilton's character is just as interesting and fulfilling, if not moreso. Friends of mine from Toronto come to visit so they can rejuvenate and still enjoy an urban setting.

[SteelTown]

Public art program past rough sketch stage
Using tax dollars to transform city

April 27, 2010
Meredith Macleod
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/759154

A city initiative to bring more art to the streets of Hamilton is earmarked to spend more than $1 million in the next several years.

One public art installation is already complete, one is set for this spring, public consultation is completed for five more and planning is under way on an additional nine.

It all springs from the city's first 10-year public art master plan that was adopted in February 2009, which calls for investments of at least $250,000 each year.

The plan "ensures that public art installations make living in Hamilton and travelling through the city's streets, open spaces and parks, an engaging and more pleasant experience for residents and visitors."

Last year, the city spent $164,110 on public art projects, exclusive of a public art co-ordinator's post.

In recent budget deliberations, council approved a culture department staff request to preserve the $250,000 of block funding available to install public art and to add the co-ordinator's position, at a cost of $99,313, to the department's overall budget.

Patti Randazzo-Beckett, who chairs the Hamilton Arts Advisory Commission, acknowledged that public art may not be high on some people's agenda for spending tax dollars but she said it builds a sense of pride and community identity and is a catalyst for economic development and tourism.

"We're talking about the Pan Am Games now and we want to put our best face forward. ... People want to walk in this city, but you have to give them something to look at and enjoy."

Public art is widely defined. It includes one-of-a-kind park benches, murals, fountains, lighting, walkways, sculptures, multimedia and robotics, and landscape architecture.

It can be large or small, permanent or temporary, functional or aesthetic, stand on its own or be integrated into existing infrastructure.

It can sit on a busy sidewalk or be tucked away in a public building.

The master plan calls for public art to be included in budgets for capital improvement projects such as park redevelopments and road works.

And culture staff are reaching out to private developers to include public art in their projects.

The public is invited to offer ideas for themes or concepts for each installation. They can also make comments and vote on artists' proposals that have been shortlisted by a jury.

The final selection is made by the jury.

Public engagement has been really strong, said Jennifer Kaye, manager of arts and events for the city. An upcoming project on Locke Street drew 570 comments after the artists were shortlisted.

"Our process is a model for how it can be done," she said. "I think it finds a balance between artistic expression and public input."

Public art is profoundly important to a city, said Daniel Laskarin, chairperson of the visual arts department at the University of Victoria.

"Public art is a conscious attempt to build a visual presence for a city."

It has two roles: to affirm and comfort and to provoke and investigate, he says. The latter is often met with criticism and sometimes outrage, said Laskarin, a Grimsby native, because "people protest the unfamiliar."

That's why public input should be heard but shouldn't be the final decision, he said.

"Without expertise, you could end up with something that seems fine and dandy and that makes everyone happy at the time but five years from now it looks stale and dated and you're stuck with it forever."

Laskarin praised Hamilton's move to allot a yearly budget and to consider public art in capital projects.

A $250,000 yearly budget might be considered small but each year that could buy several modest projects or one big one, he says.

"In 10 years, that will make a real difference."



Completed project

Where: East Kiwanis Place, Ottawa Street

What: Dressmakers Mannequin with Drapery, Daniel Davelaar

Cost: $133,997

Projects under way

Where: Locke Street South between Stanley Street and Hunter Avenue

What: Concrete Poetry, Simon Frank

Budget: $50,000

Where: James Street North between Vine and Murray streets

What: Public consultation completed, call for artists planned for spring, installation planned for fall

Budget: $30,000

Where: Central Police Station/ART Walk, King William Street

What: Consultation completed in February. Call for artists this spring and installation planned for spring 2011

Budget: $55,000

Where: Dundas Driving Park

What: Public consultation completed, call for artists this spring, installation planned for spring 2011

Budget: $250,000

Where: Battlefield Park

What: Public consultation completed, waiting for completion of park master plan

Budget: $250,000 to $300,000

Where: MacNab Street at Hunter Street

What: Pedestrian underpass youth mural, pilot graffiti prevention project, spring 2010

Budget: $10,000

Projects being planned

Where: Northeast corner of James and Hunter streets

What: Public consultation planned this spring

Budget: $275,000 ($250,000 from Downtown and Community Renewal)

Where: Northeast corner of Main and Queen streets

What: Public consultation planned this spring

Budget: $75,000 ($50,000 from Downtown and Community Renewal)

Others:

* Hamilton Farmers' Market

* West Hamilton Rail Trail

* Gore Park

* West harbourfront

* King William ART Walk

* Red Hill Trails/QEW pedestrian bridge

* Gage Park

See hamilton.ca/publicart

[emge]

How about some public art on our MAIN streets... you know... ones people will actually see during the Pan Am Games and the like. It's nice to do the smaller areas and streets, but except for a few of these planned projects, they're not exactly in areas that will transform the city.

[SteelTown]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1649681/

[thistleclub]

Arts Advisory Commission (Tourism and Culture Division, Planning & Economic Development Department) presents:

Developing A New Approach to Arts Investment in Hamilton
Wednesday January 16, 2013, January 16, 2013, 7-9pm
Central Library, 55 York Blvd., Hamilton

Does the future of arts funding in Hamilton matter to you? The City of Hamilton’s Arts Advisory Commission will be presenting its ideas about the development of a new approach to arts investment in Hamilton. The event is open to the public so that the community can provide input that will shape the Commission’s funding recommendations and a presentation to City Council in spring 2013.

Further event details will be made available on this site in early January.

Questions? Please contact the staff liason to the Arts Advisory Commission:

Jennifer Kaye
Manager of Arts and Events
Tourism and Culture Division
Planning and Economic Development Department
City of Hamilton
T: 905-546-2424 ext. 4807
E: Jennifer.Kaye@hamilton.ca

[thistleclub]

Haven't seen a reminder but today is not just 4/20 but also Record Store Day.

Local participating record shops apparently include Dr. Disc, Cheapies, Records On Wheels, Hammer City Records, The Beat Goes On, Looney Tunes and Sunrise Records.

Here's a complete list of titles up for grabs. Selection varies by store.

The whole thing may make you nostalgic, depending on your age.

Maybe the same could be said of 4/20.

[thistleclub]

A snapshot of bookable local spaces/rooms/venues and respective capacities. Doubtless incomplete, so if anyone has some additions, please chime in.

3,000+
Copps Coliseum (Concert) 19,000 #

2,000-2,999
Copps Coliseum (Bowl) 3,000 #
Burridge Gymnasium (Ivor Wynne Centre) 2,250 #
Hamilton Place (Great Hall, Full) 2,193 #

1,000-1,999
Hamilton Convention Centre (Chedoke A, B & C) 1,541 #
Hamilton Convention Centre (Wentworth A, B & C) 1,540 #
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (Hangar) 1,400 #
Hamilton Place (Great Hall, Orchestra Level) 1,207 #
Central Recreation Centre, Burlington 1,100 #
Hamilton Convention Centre (Wentworth A & B) 1,040 #
McIntyre Performing Arts Centre 1,039 #
Hamilton Convention Centre (Chedoke A & B) 1,000 #
Club Seventy Seven 1,000 #

500-999
Dofasco Centre for the Arts (Auditorium) 750 #
Appleby Ice Centre 750 #
Burlington Performing Arts Centre (Main Theatre) 718 #
Sheraton Hamilton (Grand Ballroom) 600 #
Nelson Arena, Burlington 570 #
Hamilton Place (Molson Canadian Studio, Standing) 550 #
Hamilton Convention Centre (Chedoke C) 533 #
Hamilton Convention Centre (Webster B) 525 #
Hamilton Convention Centre (Chedoke B) 520 #
Skyway Arena, Burlington 510 #

300-499
Hamilton Convention Centre (Chedoke A) 479 #
Dundas Armory (Main Hall) 438 #
Hamilton Place (Molson Canadian Studio, Theatre-Style) 422 #
LIUNA Station (Grand Ballroom) 400 #
Carmens (Milano Room) 400 #
Absinthe 400 #
The Music Palace 390 #
The Casbah 350 #
Scottish Rite (Large Banquet Room) 350 #
L.R. Wilson Hall (Concert Hall) 350 #
Hamilton Place (Molson Canadian Studio, Cabaret-Style) 349 #
Downtown Arts Centre 300 #
TwelvEighty (Club Area) 300 #
Carmens (Venetian Room) 300 #
Lyric Theatre 300 #
Royal Botanical Gardens (Full Auditorium) 300 #
Laurie G. Branch Auditorium (Mainway Recreation Centre) 300 #
LaSalle Park Pavilion 300 #

100-299
Burlington Performing Arts Centre (Studio Theatre) 225 #
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (Dome) 190 #
Lyric Theatre (Cabaret Seating) 180 #
Art Gallery of Hamilton (Joey & Toby Tanenbaum Pavilion) 175 #
Pearl Company (Upstairs) 150 #
Royal Botanical Gardens (Camilla & Peter Dalglish Atrium) 150 #
Sheraton Hamilton (East Ballroom) 140 #
Art Gallery of Hamilton (Jean & Ross Fischer Gallery/Lounge) 125 #
Art Gallery of Hamilton (David Braley & Nancy Gordon Sculpture Atrium) 125 #
Dofasco Centre for the Arts (Studio Theatre) 125 #

[thistleclub]

Music/Movie Palace sold…again
(Hamilton Mountain News, Mark Newman, Oct 31 2013)

This will be a Halloween to remember for Christina Hampson and Jeremy Major.

The city residents have purchased the Music Palace (aka Movie Palace) on Concession Street with the deal set to close today (Thursday).

The business partners are looking to turn the former movie house near Upper Wentworth into a professional arts centre.

“We like the idea of doing a lot of creative arts under one roof,” said Major, who runs The Shooting Eye, a Mountain television and film production company.

Shooting Eye shares space on Upper James with Freedom Studios, a dance, film, acting and photography business that is owned by Hampson.

The arts entrepreneurs met back in the ‘90s when Hampson was president of the student council at Barton high school and Major was president of the student council at Sherwood.

Both come from arts and theatre backgrounds.

Major is a graduate of the media arts program, specializing in film, at SheridanCollege, while Hampson has a drama degree from McMaster University.

“We were definitely looking at Concession Street,” said Hampson, whose business roots can be traced to the Mountain’s oldest commercial district. She ran her first dance studio above the former La Favorita Bakery on Concession Street near East 21st about 10 years ago. “There’s definitely a good vibe there.”

The duo is contemplating some sort of vaudeville style shows at the theatre and if all goes well they could stage a variety show before Christmas.

While they are working on a new name for the arts centre, Hampson said they will likely keep the Movie Palace sign.

“It’s such a landmark on the street,” she said.

[thistleclub]

Opera Hamilton ceasing operations
(Hamilton Spectator, Leonard Turnevicius, Jan 9 2014)

The fat lady has sung, and the curtain has fallen on Opera Hamilton.

After years of constant financial difficulties, the board of Opera Hamilton has announced that it is ceasing operations.

The organization's annual gala, Popera, which was scheduled to open Saturday evening and continue next Thursday and Saturday have been cancelled as has the production of Bizet's Carmen scheduled for April.

In a press release, Peter Uffelmann, Opera Hamilton board co-chair and treasurer stated that, "we simply do not have the financial resources to continue. We had hoped a large donation from an individual would arrive in time, but regrettably it did not materialize, and in the absence of any other funding, the board had no choice but to cancel the rest of the season and cease operations."

Mayor Bob Bratina called the news "really regrettable" and said it was "a great cultural asset" for a city the size of Hamilton.

"There have been extremely high moments in the history of that company," he said, recalling that some critics praised Opera Hamilton's shows above those put on by the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto.

He wants to meet with the company's management Thursday "to see if there is a way that the city can respond" to their needs to keep Opera Hamilton going. He is also thinking about raising the issue at the special council meeting called for Jan. 13 to talk about the impact on the city from the ice storm.

"Personally, I would not want to be the mayor overseeing the loss of a cultural asset like Opera Hamilton. I am certainly going to try as the mayor to see what we can do help overcome the difficulties."

It's a sad end to an organization that over the years has featured some of this country's finest singers, established artists plus the up-and-comers as well as a number of international imports, but also conductors, directors, and designers, the names of whom would fill an entire page of this newspaper.

Opera Hamilton began with so much promise back in 1980 as an outgrowth of Festitalia which had imported operatic productions from Italy in the late 1970s.

In those early years, the company presented two productions each year, one of which was telecast by CHCH-TV. From 1989 onward, the company presented three staged productions per year plus Popera, an opera gala in all but name.

Between 1992 and 1994, the company planned to form a tri-cities opera company comprising Hamilton, Kitchener, and Mississauga, though the latter eventually backed out. Opera Ontario was formed as the parent company of Opera Hamilton and Kitchener-Waterloo Opera.

However, the Kitchener "experiment" never worked out, bleeding money to the tune of $160,000 and $200,000 a year.

In January 2008, Opera Ontario's seventy-nine creditors received a Notice of Intention to Make a Proposal from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy stating that the company had filed for protection from creditors.

By the next season, they had come through on the other side as Opera Hamilton, Inc., staging two productions per season along with Popera. In an effort to cut costs further, the company moved its productions from Hamilton Place to Theatre Aquarius in 2011.

In spite of that cost cutting measure, Opera Hamilton still has a large accumulated deficit.

"We've worked through our accumulated deficit over the last few years," said company co-chair Dennis Darby on Wednesday evening, a day after the board held a special meeting to decide the company's future.

"We've moved it from where it was well over $1 million dollars to less than $600,000 over the last few years. This whole issue is about cash flow. We don't have the cash to operate. We've gone to all of our great supporters, and we thank them all, but there's just no way. We don't have the cash to carry on."

Opera Hamilton has received funding from federal and provincial agencies, but also $126,928 from the city for 2013, as well as a $40,000 grant from BMO last fall.

"All of those are important," stated Darby. "It got us through a really good production of Falstaff (in the fall). To put on opera over the course of the year is about $1.5 million."

However, at least one sizable issue remains from that production of Falstaff. The 32 orchestral musicians are still owed $20,000. When asked how Opera Hamilton was going to resolve this issue, Darby said, "At this point, we don't know."

Darby also said he was not prepared to go into how the $40,000 grant from BMO was dispersed back in the fall.

"The reality in Hamilton is the corporate sector doesn't exist, practically anymore," lamented Darby, a Hamilton native.

"We've had some very generous individuals, but just not enough to put on this expensive art form (of opera). It's one I love dearly. We're thankful to the city and the provincial and federal (granting agencies). There's been an erosion in the

He said the company has staff still owed money.

"We're hopeful that maybe something will emerge in the next few months and we'll re-emerge. We're ceasing operations today because we do not want to accumulate any more debts any more liabilities."

At this point, it's unclear what will happen to those who hold tickets to the company's now cancelled productions.