H’art Centre Receives Ontario Arts Council Operating Grant to Support Inclusive Arts Workshops, Training and More
[Kingston, Ontario] — H’art Centre, Kingston’s award-winning inclusive arts hub and dedicated non profit charity, is excited to announce that it has received an operating grant of $24,500 from the Ontario Arts Council. This funding will enable H’art to deliver and enhance its programs and services, furthering its commitment to individuals with diverse abilities and experiences in KIngston, Ontario.
The funding will support H’art Centre’s operations, allowing the group continue to offer uninterrupted inclusive arts workshops through its H’art Studio program while relocating to Providence Village in 2025. The operational funds will also support the continued growth of the MixAbiities Inclusive Arts training pre-program and will help H’art artists prepare for works for the Connecting Canadians National Conference to take place in October 2025. With this financial support, we will continue to provide artists with disabilities and those facing barriers with opportunities to create, study and produce works in the arts and collaborate with qualified, trained community artists.
“I’m happy to see that the H’art Centre will be able to expand its operations thanks to this Ontario Arts Council grant, so they can continue to break down barriers for artists with disabilities. Kingston is a creative, innovative hub thanks to organizations like the H’art Centre that continue to inspire the community, ” said Ted Hsu, MPP for Kingston and the Islands.
“We are incredibly grateful to the Ontario Arts Council for their support,” said Katherine Porter, Executive Director of H’art Centre. “It will help us focus on delivering our high-quality programs while we move, train the next generation of inclusive arts leaders, and plan to bring like-minded groups together. It affirms that our province values the important work we are doing in our community, and we look forward to having an even greater impact in the exciting year ahead..”
H’art Centre would like to express its gratitude to the Ontario Arts Council for the support. H’art’s staff, volunteers, and board will continue to work hard to facilitate its relocation, build new relationships, host a national conference and introduce new initiatives that will further benefit our community.
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About the Ontario Arts Council
The Ontario Arts Council is a government of Ontario agency. For more than 60 years, the Ontario Arts Council has played a vital role in promoting and assisting the development of the arts for the enjoyment and benefit of Ontarians. The OAC reached 27.4 million people through events and arts education activities across the province in 2021-22. In 2023-24, OAC invested its grant program budget of $53.3 million in 219 communities across all 124 Ontario ridings, providing 2,149 grants to individual artists and 1,043 grants to organizations.
