Arts & Culture
JUMP AHEAD
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We use our libraries
The circulation of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library was 9.03 per capita in 2009 – about average according to the Canadian Urban Libraries Council. In comparison, the Markham Public Library had a per capita circulation of 17.88 while Windsor had a rate of 6.7. Our library system was average on expenditures per capita at $44.30 per person. Toronto spends $61.25 and Brampton Library $22.14 per person in comparison. Kingston was slightly better than average on the percentage of materials expenditures spent on Children's materials. It was also number two in Canada for hours of service per capita.
Source: Canadian Urban Libraries Council
Kingston Culture Plan
Approved by City Council in September 2010, the Kingston Culture Plan was launched to create a sustainable, long-term vision for cultural vitality in Kingston. It includes a total of 60 recommendations that identify opportunities for growth, the need for more diverse resources and possibilities for connections between cultural organizations and other stakeholders. For example, the Plan calls for a Civic Museum to tell the story of Kingston. Guelph, Brockville, Grey County and others have Civic Museums. It also identifies opportunities for increased collaboration among City departments to achieve a number of strategic objectives that support quality of life as well as wealth creation.
City of Kingston Arts Fund
In 2007, Kingston City Council created the City of Kingston Arts Fund. The fund was comprised of $100,000 from the existing Healthy Community Fund Program plus an additional $400,000 in municipal funds. The objectives of the Fund were to nurture the capacity and quality of the arts in Kingston while fostering artistic excellence, stimulating economic development related to the arts, enhancing Kingston’s quality of life for its citizens and its attractiveness as a community, and aligning Kingston’s arts funding with that of comparable cities. The Kingston Arts Council was hired to administer the new fund. Since 2007, the Fund has awarded more than $1.7 million through just over a hundred operating and project grants in our community.
Quick facts (based on 2008-2009 data)
- 578: Total number of public art activities offered by funded organizations and projects
- 138: New works created
- 68,428: Total public attendance at arts events offered by funded organizations and projects
- 704: Number of artists employed by funded organizations and projects
- 1725: Total number of people who volunteered for funded organizations and projects
2011 City of Kingston Arts Fund Grants
The 2011 City of Kingston Arts Fund awarded $335,000 in operating grants and $145,000 in project grants. As part of the Kingston Cultural Plan Kingston City Council awarded an additional $50,000 to the grants this year
Venues
Kingston has more than 8,000 theatre seats at six different venues, including the K-Rock Centre, Grand Theatre and more. The K-Rock Centre was the highest ranking Canadian facility under 10,000 seats in the Venues Today mid-year rankings. The rankings are based on concert and event numbers from October 2010 - May 2011. Construction on the new $63 million Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts is underway at Queen’s University. The Centre will feature a 560-seat concert hall, a 100-seat studio theatre and a 90-seat film screening room.
