The Creative Development Fund is intended to help the Pontiac’s artists focus on their work by alleviating some of their investment costs and financial stress.

$5,000 of the MRC’s shares will be divided into eight $625 grants, with half to be distributed in the . . .

spring and the other half in the fall.

This is the second year that the MRC has run the program. Visual artists, musicians and writers all qualify for the grant.

This spring, the MRC will offer four grants of $645, with the remaining $2500 to be divided in the fall. Applicants must be considered a professional in their field of practice.

Recipients get 70 per cent of the grant immediately and the remaining 30 per cent once their project has reached completion.

Caitlin Brubacher was a previous recipient of the grant. She runs her framing business, Elephant in the Attic, in Portage du Fort.

Brubacher has always wanted to explore her creativity beyond Elephant in the Attic. Before moving to Portage du Fort, Brubacher would host one-on-one performance art pieces at Elephant in the Attic’s former Toronto storefront.

This grant has helped her create a successor to her previous performances that involves a small audience.

Elephant in the Attic has been the main stage for Brubacher’s past projects, so this grant allows her to create independently from her business. “Getting a grant to just write allows me the space to do my art in a non-commercial setting,” she said. “It’s a beautiful invitation to do the creative work that I am called to do.”

Warden Jane Toller was inspired to create the Creative Development Fund after attending the Pontiac Artists Association’s annual general meeting. “I could sense that there was some frustration in the artist community about having some seed money to move forward and to be able to establish themselves,” said Toller.

The MRC’s economic development commissioner, Sabrina Ayres, has led the program from the administrative end. “Right now, we’ve been getting a good response,” she said. “Art to me is the backbone and blood of a culture and a community.”

Culture aside, Toller feels that the Pontiac’s art scene is also a financially beneficial attraction for the region. “It’s not only the mark of a healthy community, but it serves as an attraction for tourists, visitors and businesspeople.”

Artists must submit their application by May 13 at 12 p.m.

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