Yukon artists say they're thrilled with a new fund to help them present their work nationally and internationally.

Yukon Culture Minister Elaine Taylor unveiled a $100,000 touring fund last week for artists and ensembles who create and produce original work. Artists and arts groups can apply for up to $10,000 for each project.

Individual artists, ensembles and companies who create and produce work in theatre, dance, music, visual arts, film, storytelling, literature or a combination of art forms are eligible.

"I think it's a great start and we're so happy that the money's there," Celia McBride, co-artistic director with Sour Brides Theatre, told CBC News.

McBride said it was a lot of work raising money to send the cast and crew of her play So Many Doors to an arts showcase in Ottawa this year.

But that trip cost $40,000 and she wonders if the money the territory has allocated is sufficient.

"What I would love to do is continue to encourage the government to increase that fund because there are a lot of artists now in the Yukon who are looking to take our work outside and if the max is 10,000 bucks then really that leaves only 10 artists per year to access the maximum," she said.

McBride said the trip paid off and her company now has bookings for the play in Ontario and in the Maritimes.

Fills a need

Whitehorse visual artist Nicole Bauberger said the fund fills a real need.

"One of the places where there has been a lack is figuring out how to support us getting our work outside the territory," she said.

It cost more than $2,000 to transport Bauberger and her paintings to a solo show in Montreal last fall, so she has to sell a lot of pieces to cover expenses, let alone make a profit.

She is already getting ready to apply to the fund for another solo art show and workshops in May in Yellowknife.

"So that's a sort of an interactive artist residency and people can come and play with me ... building those relationships with people across Canada is a big part of the jump between being a local artist and being a mid-career artist with a more national profile."

Taylor said Yukon regards its artists as "ambassadors" who can create tourist interest in the territory and develop new markets for their work with the help of the touring fund.

It's also a chance for other Canadians and world citizens to experience Yukon culture.

Such funding will be more critical in the coming year if Ottawa goes ahead with its plans to cut funds for international and nationwide arts tours.

The federal government plans to end the Exhibit Transportation Services, which funds transportation costs for touring shows by museums and art galleries, on April 1, 2008.

The Canadian Museums Association continues to lobby against that decision.