many years ago, local Toronto artist and activist Devon Ostrom started Beautiful City to get more funding for the arts in Toronto and since then the project has grown to be quite large. This week they saw their dream realized and now Toronto is using a new tax on billboards (which are a visual blight) to fund more outdoor arts in the city.
Under Crawford’s plan, another $17 million would be phased in gradually over the next four years until Toronto reaches its oft-stated goal of increasing its per capita spending on the arts from $18.30 to $25.
All this represents a dream come true for a spirited and resourceful group of young artists who have kept up the pressure for years for a billboard tax that could be used to solve woeful underfunding from the cash-strapped city, which had fallen behind other major cities in its investment in the arts.
This is a great idea and it looks like it is starting to pay of for your city.