Some of the country's best known artists are in Ottawa paying tribute to the Canada Council for the Arts on its 50th anniversary and sharing stories about how the agency helped them get to where they are today.

The ballet performance that inspired Karen Kain to become a ballerina was funded by the Canada Council for the Arts.
(CBC)

"If you look at most of the major artists in the country … if you look into moments of their careers, especially in the beginning, you will probably find that at some point, they received some help from the Canada Council," former prima ballerina Karen Kain told CBC News in an interview from Ottawa Wednesday.

The council has influenced the lives of all manner of artists, "the authors, the singers, the dancers, the choreographers, the visual artists, the list goes on and on and on," said Kain, currently the council's chair as well as artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada.

In the past, Kain has often attributed her introduction to and love of ballet to a National Ballet of Canada tour performance she saw as a child in Hamilton, Ont.

Kain, who was also celebrating her birthday on Wednesday, said she only recently discovered that the ballet performance she watched as an eight-year-old had been funded by a Canada Council grant.

"We need the Canadian public to better understand the huge and invaluable investment that has been made and what the return on that investment has been. I'm just a small example," Kain said.

Artists help council celebrate birthday

To help celebrate its anniversary, the council invited 50 artists it has supported over the years — representing each year of its existence — to Ottawa for two days of celebrations. The artists range from Quebec theatre icon and former council chair Jean-Louis Roux to young Halifax violinist and chamber musician Marc Djokic.

Jean-Louis Roux, seen here receiving the Governor General's performing arts award from former governor general Adrienne Clarkson in 2004, is among the artists celebrating the council's 50th birthday.
(Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

Also participating is former National Librarian of Canada Roch Carrier, renowned for his writing — most prominently his famed short-story The Hockey Sweater. At one point, Carrier recalled, he was just a road worker who dreamed of being an author.

Funding from the Canada Council helped him pursue his goal, he told CBC News Tuesday evening.

"Suddenly there was the possibility of getting some money from somewhere in Ottawa," he said. "And my dream was to stop working on the gravel road and go somewhere and write."

Heritage Minister Bev Oda was among those who gathered for a council reception with the artists on Tuesday night. She praised the council for its efforts over the years and reiterated the federal government's recent budget pledge of $60 million over two years to fund local arts and heritage activities.

However, artists say more is needed.

"That's $30 million for one year," said award-winning author Yann Martel. "That's $1 per Canadian. I'm sure Canadians spend more in one week for parking."

Kain echoed the call for additional funding in order to focus on building the country's arts and culture sector for the future.

"It's a different era. Our job now is to show leadership and vision and to help the next generation of artists," she said.

The 50 artists will be recognized in the House of Commons on Wednesday and will also meet and mentor aspiring artists from high schools, colleges and universities at a conference.

Created on March 28, 1957, the Canada Council for the Arts promotes public awareness of the arts and offers a broad range of grants and services to professional Canadian artists and arts groups.

Among a host of other activities, it administers the prestigious Governor General's Awards for literature, performing arts, visual and media arts and the Killam Program of scholarly awards.