2023 Mayoral Arts Debate
Wednesday, May 24, 2023 from 10:00 – 11:30 AM
Moderator maxine bailey
Young People’s Theatre, 165 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario
The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) is producing the 2023 Mayoral Arts Debate as part of the lead-up to the Toronto Mayoral By-Election to provide an opportunity for candidates to engage with the arts community and discuss their vision for the future of the arts in Toronto.
The Mayoral Arts Debate will be moderated by maxine bailey, and is produced by TAPA with the goal of providing a space for leading candidates to discuss the critical role that the cultural sector and its 200,000 artists and artsworkers play as a driver of social cohesion and economic growth in the city of Toronto. The Debate will be focused on the arts and culture sector and will cover a range of topics, including funding for the arts and culture sector, affordable work space and housing, cost of living, and community engagement.
The candidates invited are the top 6 polling candidates as shown on the Toronto Star’s Mayor Byelection Poll Tracker, which shows the result of polling by Forum Research, Mainstreet Research and Liaison Strategies polls for the National Ethnic Press and Media Council.
Invitations have been sent to the following mayoral candidates:
Ana Bailão, Brad Bradford, Olivia Chow, Mitzie Hunter, Josh Matlow and Mark Saunders
Admission is FREE, but space is limited and reservations are required.
TAPA is a leading arts service organization in Toronto that also produces the annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards, Canada’s largest and oldest professional theatre, dance and opera award show. 0ther programs and services provided by TAPA include: Annual Arts Day at the City, hipTIX (offering $5 tickets to students between the ages of 14 and 29), citySPECIAL (offering free tickets to newcomers and communities at risk), the Ray Ferris Sustainability Grant, the Commercial Theatre Development Fund, the Travel Retreat Initiatives Program – TRIP, and ongoing professional development with the TAPA Trade Series.
The 2023 Mayoral Arts Debate is supported by:
