CCNL Updates
January 6, 2021
NOTE: Due to an issue with Constant Contact we had to delay the bulletin until Thursday morning, so enjoy this pop of craft with your morning coffee!

Happy first Thursday of the New Year!

We hope you had a warm, safe and loving holiday with loved ones, whether it was in your bubble or via a virtual family gathering.

In this newsletter you will find the following:

  • CARFAC National recently shared a letter to artists regarding the recent CERB repayment.

  • You’ll find the new winter hours for the Shop + Pantry

  • Gallery Opening next Friday, January 15, 2021

  • Our Craft Conversations is kicking off again in Winter 2021! We have had a great response to the upcoming January 2021 Artist Talks! So that you! You can register online for the entire series!


  • and finally, JACOBEAN Craft Chocolate has won third place in the AoC Awards held in the UK. More on that below!
Reminder to Members:
  • As of MAY 1, 2020 the Council has switched to Direct Deposit. We want to get you your payment ASAP so please download the Direct Deposit Form and send back your banking information to Lisa or Rowena to ensure we can pay you as quick as possible!

  • You can apply to the Craft Council Loan Board if interested. We currently have funds available to help members who may be in need of funds. For more information you can send inquiries to Lisa, she'll provide the paperwork needed.
CARFAC National
RE: CERB Repayment Update
Dear Members and colleagues,

We are writing to provide an update on the ongoing situation regarding the recent letter (the Eligibility Letter) that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) sent to over 400,000 Canadians questioning their eligibility for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).

On December 17th, CARFAC--joined by twenty representatives of artist and cultural worker associations from across the country, including ACTRA, the Canadian Federation of Musicians, and Canadian Actors Equity Association, collectively representing over 75,000 artists and cultural workers--met with MP Julie Dabrusin (Toronto-Danforth), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and policy advisors from the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Department of National Revenue.


MEETING SUMMARY 

Our associations had requested clarity and a change of policy regarding CERB eligibility expressed in the Eligibility Letter. While the meeting did not result in a commitment from the government to change policy or a clarifying public statement, there were several clarifications that the government was able to provide during the meeting:
 
  • Canadians should know that the CRA letter is not a determination of eligibility, rather it was an early warning sign that the government did not yet have enough information to confirm their eligibility for CERB.

  • The government always said that recipients’ eligibility would be verified after the program’s conclusion. CRA is at the beginning of this process, which will unfold over the coming months. 
 
  • Recipients who received the CRA letter may be eligible for the CERB, and in fact 2020 tax return information will help determine eligibility in many cases, but the CRA has not yet received that information. 

  • The CRA issued the letters to allow recipients an opportunity to return amounts in case they find themselves ineligible for one or more CERB periods for which they received the benefit. 

  • The timing of the letter and the December 31, 2020, target for returning funds were chosen to prevent impacts on 2020 tax returns and on other benefits such as the Child Care Benefit or GST/HST tax credit. It is not a repayment deadline.

  • There will be no interest or penalties assessed as a result of a CERB recipient not repaying ineligible amounts by December 31, 2020

 
CARFAC’S POSITION 
 
While these clarifications are helpful, they ultimately do not improve the situation for those who applied for and received CERB in good faith, based on information provided by the Government of Canada’s website, or CRA agents by telephone. Canadians who applied for the CERB knowing they were ineligible should of course return the funds. However, the core issue affecting many self-employed artists and cultural workers remains unaddressed:
 
When CERB was launched, there was no official guidance as to whether eligibility was based on gross or net income. Some artists filed an application for CERB based on their 2019 gross income, which is the amount of money you earn before tax or other deductions. They believed they were eligible, based on the information available at the time of application. Further information has now been provided that eligibility should be based on net income.
 
This change in policy poses a serious threat to many Canadians. While we appreciate that the Federal Government will not impose penalties on those ultimately deemed ineligible, demanding that some of Canada’s most vulnerable low income workers return emergency relief funds is unconscionable, especially when the arts sector is amongst the hardest hit by the pandemic.
 
We are well aware of the severity of this situation, and what it means to the financial and personal well-being of so many of our members, and members of the broader arts community. We will continue to work hard and advocate for you.
 
 
ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE 
 
  1. Write to your MP. CARFAC has provided a form letter, available here, and you can include a personal message. Alternately you can write your own letter, telling your MP what this issue means to you. You can find the name and email address of your MP here.
  2. Whether you are personally affected by this issue or not, we encourage you to stay informed and share information with your networks.
  3. Exercise caution when determining your next move. We know that many are seeking advice on the best way to remedy this situation. Unfortunately, experts in the field have conflicting opinions on what course of action to take, and everyone’s personal tax situation is unique. Therefore, we cannot provide recommendations for steps artists should take at this time. We hope that we will soon be able to provide more clarity as these conversations continue.
 
We know that this update does little to alleviate the stress and anxiety that receiving the Eligibility Letter has likely caused. We hope to have new information to share in the near future. In the meantime please know that we remain in active conversations with the Federal Government and the CRA, and will continue to work with other artist associations across the country to make sure your voice is heard. This is a difficult situation, but you are not alone.

In solidarity,
CARFAC
The voice of Canada’s professional visual artists.
SHOP + PANTRY
We want to extend a thank you again to all of you who shopped and shared Local Craft this Christmas. Now that the dust has settled from the holiday madness Shop staff are in serious cleaning mode.
Tune in Next Week for a message from Shop Manager, Shannon!

New Shop Winter Hours
Tuesday to Saturday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sunday: Closed
Bring Handmade Home
GALLERY
New Shows Opening: January 15, 2021
Main Gallery

Continuos
Monique Martin

Continuous is a multi-sensory art installation augmented by the scent of beeswax and the sound of buzzing bees that comments on the steady decline in honeybee populations and the devastating effects of their collapsed colonies. Through ceiling-suspended panels, the artist creates an interactive experience where visitors are immersed in a “live” beehive.
LAB Gallery

Mascuerade
Lucas Morneau

Mascuerade is a series of seven photographic diptychs and three head-to-toe crocheted outfits seen in the photographs.

Through an expressionist interpretation of (mostly) villainous archetypes, Mascuerade delves into gender performativity and queer embodiment, specifically with relationship to enforced codes of masculinity.
Annex Gallery

PreCambrian Braille
Jennifer Morgan & Don McKay

This show focuses on the most rare of our fossils (Haootia
quadriformis) and the most common (Aspidella
terranovica), and is a meditation by poet, Don McKay and printmaker, Jennifer Morgan of what a body communicates over deep time.
CRAFT CONVERSATIONS WINTER SERIES

Next Conversation
Intellectual Property with John Drover (Jan 20)

We are over the moon to be hosting our Craft Conversations series again! This time some live artist talks to get you through those cold and long winter days ahead!

We will be hosting these talks live every second Wednesday of the month with the final video recording uploaded on the following Friday morning of that week.


Craft Based COVID-19 Financial Relief Resources
The Canadian Crafts Federation has gathered and summarized the most recent news and relevant financial support for craft artists and organizations as the government continues to refine emergency programs to support the cultural sector. 
 
This document outlines the continuation and expansion of Canada Recovery Benefit, Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, Canada Emergency Business Account, Regional Relief and Recovery Fund and a newly adapted Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy. As well, there are two newly announced programs: the Lockdown Support and the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP). Without the full program details of HASCAP, the funding may or may not support artist and arts organization. However, we felt that you may be interested in learning about the announcement of this program.

Please review the information to see if you or your organizations qualify for the new or expanded support.
JACOBEAN wins BRONZE
Craft Council NL member JACOBEAN Craft Chocolate Studio has won third place in the Academy of Chocolate Awards* with two of their submission to the White Bean-to-Bar Category:

  • Gingerbread Row: Spice bar
  • Heart’s Content Strawberry Delight bar

*The Academy of Chocolate Awards is a yearly event that is held in the United Kingdom. They are an independent membership body that promotes real chocolate and the submissions are opened once per year seeking to identify and showcase the world’s most talented chocolate producers and their products.  Since 2005, they have been jurying the creations of Bean-To-Bar chocolate artisans from around the world. In their first year 12 submissions were received. The artisan craft movement has grown incredibly fast since then with 2019 seeing over 1600 entries from 45 countries. In 2020, the entry numbers were similar in size with the entries coming from 65 countries. More than 100 expert chocolate judges make up the evaluation team and they blind test the submissions across several categories.

Just being recognized at this early stage by AoC from amongst the 1600 entrants would have been amazing, but achieving third place on the world’s chocolate podium across 65 countries is incredible for JACOBEAN and Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Congratulations to Darryl and his team!
Upcoming Webinars and Opportunities
Call for Submissions: Beaux Arts : A celebration of the sculptural form in metal
Deadline: January 15, 2021

Vancouver Metal Arts Association in partnership with the Italian Cultural Centre Gallery will host a juried metal arts group exhibition for April of 2021. The Vancouver Metal Arts Association and the ICC Gallery are seeking metal artists who are willing to explore (figuratively and literally) the stylistic theme of Beaux Arts. 

Beaux arts strive to merge classical forms with non-traditional use of materials, methods and technologies. In essence, this exhibition seeks metal artists who are willing to bridge, and meld, the world of the traditional with the new and innovative. The year 2021 marks the 150th birth anniversary of Italian-Canadian artist Charles Marega, whose work is characterized by his devotion to this artistic practice and perspective.

Update (November 9, 2020): While the theme of Beaux-Arts goes hand-in-hand with the legacy of Marega, who is one of its most celebrated exponents, VMAA and the Italian Cultural Centre recognize that some of his works, which include the iconic lions of Vancouver's Lions Gate Bridge and the statue of George Vancouver outside Vancouver City Hall, were raised as monuments on traditional, ancestral and unceded Indigenous land, and may serve as unwelcome symbols. This a catalyst for dialogue, and we would like to invite artists inspired by these themes, and who have explored it in their work, to likewise submit them for exhibition. 

We hope the extended deadline of January 15 gives artists some more time and space to explore our exhibition themes. The 2021 exhibition will take place from April to June 2021. Please join us for this festival dedicated to the sculpture form, big and small, in celebration of an art movement that has inspired landmarks and monuments the world over. 
International Artists Residency located in East Haddam, CT (U.S.A)
Deadline: January 18, 2021

This three week residency will run from August 30 to September 20, 2021 and will culminate in a public opening of the Biennale on September 18, 2021. The residency will be devoted exclusively to the 6-7 artists/designers invited to create new works for the exhibition. I-Park views site-responsive art as a multi-disciplinary, multi-sensory field- at its most impactful when the installations are developed and experienced in-situ.

An artist’s stipend of $3,500 will be awarded to each invitee, along with economy travel costs. Collaborating teams are welcome to apply but the team leader is responsible for all aspects of participation, including communications and allocation of the artist’s stipend.

 Artists/designers from the following creative disciplines are encouraged to apply: visual arts, music composition/sound art, language arts, architecture, new media and landscape/garden/ecological design. 
For 2021, all works must include a substantial physical installation that will remain in good condition through the autumn of 2022.

Private living quarters, a meals program and limited local transportation services will be provided to participants. Workshop space and a wide selection of tools, equipment and materials are readily available. 

Applications are processed online through SlideRoom. A $35 application fee is required to help defray the costs associated with the application and curatorial processes. The application deadline is January 18, 2020.
Trans Support Group NL: Call for Submissions
Deadline to Submit: February 15th, 2021 (written description deadline Jan 15, 2021)

Calling all trans, non-binary, Two-Spirit, and gender diverse folks across Newfoundland & Labrador to participate in the creation of a Trans Tapestry!

About this Project:
This project is a partnership between TSNL, Quadrangle NL, and Safe Harbour Outreach Project, and hopes to celebrate the diversity of trans communities beyond a single notion of who trans people are.
Heritage NL & The Rooms: Covid-19 Oral History Project

In partnership with museum colleagues at The Rooms, Heritage NL is launching an oral history project to document the stories and memories of Newfoundland and Labrador during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are inviting Newfoundlanders and Labradorians living in the province or away to self-record your memories and thoughts about what is happening in your community during the Covid-19 (novel coronavirus) pandemic, and to submit them to be part of a permanent online archive for future generations of students and researchers.

Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador

Offers a variety of webinars for small business as well as Wellness Wednesdays: View their Calendar of Events for more info.
Designing Websites for Artists eCourse
Self-directed (member price $25, $50 for non-members)

Are you an artist or arts administrator in need of a website but you’re not a coder? Sign up for this self-directed online course to learn how to properly plan your artist site.
Online Communities for Craft

Dale Jarvis and local weaver Jessica McDonald have started an interesting new group for weavers and spinners within the province. If you are a weaver or spinner in Newfoundland & Labrador and know a thing or two about weaving/spinning history (oral or physical history) you are encouraged to join!


The Craft Alliance has created a discussion group for Atlantic Canadian craftspeople, artists, retailers of craft, galleries, and others who identify as part of the craft community. The group is a place to share resources, opportunities and engage with other Craftspeople in Atlantic Canada.


The Craft Council of Newfoundland & Labrador has a separate page for its Clay Studio users and students, which all are welcome to join. We share tips, projects, have discussions and just general support within this little clay community!


The Alone Together Residency is an initiative created by the NBCCD and the NB Library of Craft & Design as a chance to focus energy on a creative pursuit. No application form and costs you nothing! It's completely self-directed. Join the community now!



I Lost My Gig Canada, a space for creative industries and other vulnerable freelance and gig economy workers to connect and share stories in response to growing income precarity in Canada.

They have their own survey as well linked at the bottom of the page, as well as their own bulletin if you are interested in following along with their survey results and other news related to arts/culture sector impact and supports.