It may be called Talk Is Free Theatre (TIFT), but a $190,000 injection from the provincial government came as welcome news Thursday afternoon for the Barrie-based independent arts organization.
The funding — through the Experience Ontario 2024 program and the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund — will support the Marry a Star Festival in Barrie and is part of $19.5 million being provided to communities in an effort to encourage Ontarians to “explore all that these communities have to offer,” stated a news release. To date, this brings the total Ontario government funding support to the local theatre to more than $2 million since 2018, the release noted.
“Any investment we make in local culture and theatre, like we did today, not only is great for the cultural scene in our community but it also has ripple effects in all of our business. It’s bringing the whole community in and it’s bringing hope to the people who want to get into the business,” Barrie-Innisfil MPP Andrea Khanjin told BarrieToday. “It really changes the perspective of how we do arts and culture in the city. Any dollar invested in arts and culture is really big for our community and pays dividends …”
Funding such as that announced Thursday, added Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MPP Doug Downey, is “an investment in the soul of the city.”
“Arts really do bring people together in a way that nothing else can. Not only are we doing that, but it’s with a tried and true entity who can deliver and does deliver… and I am excited to see what is next,” he added.
When asked how the funds will be spent, TIFT founder and artistic producer Arkady Spivak responded enthusiastically: “Gloriously.”
“We are very grateful and lucky to be receiving support from (any) provincial program,” he said. “We are very good at taking a dollar and stretching it over $5 through invention and through doing things that are a little bigger than they cost. I think this community needs something unusual because people love bragging rights. They go to a major festival and … here we are trying to attract them with as minimal of an investment as possible to something unique that they cannot get anywhere else. It’s not always easy but it’s possible.”
