By Declan Finucane. Published February 16, 2023 at 11:42 am

“Mississauga councillors hope they’ve hit the right note by pumping nearly $100,000 into a first-ever effort to increase the number of homegrown live music events in the city.

The decision to provide $90,000 in grant money via a two-year pilot program to promote local music came Wednesday as City council approved a total of $4.6 million in grant funding to support 88 community and cultural groups in Mississauga.

The Live Music Grant Pilot Program will be overseen by the City of Mississauga’s Culture Division and represents “the City’s first music strategy to support the local music sector,” Mississauga officials said.

The program “is a two-year pilot intended to increase the number and frequency of live music events in Mississauga,” the City said in a news release detailing the dozens of grants that will support Mississauga groups in 2023 and beyond.

The grant will provide $45,000 each of the next two years.

“This grant stream is the first City Culture Grant open to for-profit businesses with the potential to increase tourism and cultural growth,” City officials noted.

Meanwhile, the remaining $4.5 million in grant funding was distributed among the 80-plus community groups via Mississauga’s grants program.

It helps Mississauga-based, not-for-profit community groups by providing multi-year, annual operating and project grants to improve the quality of life for residents, City officials say.

“Creating a welcoming, inclusive city by fostering pride in Mississauga is an area of focus for us,” said Jodi Robillos, Mississauga’s commissioner of community services. “One way we support this is by providing community groups in the arts, culture and community space with the funding they need to develop community programs and projects that support our local talent and neighbourhoods, which in turn helps make Mississauga a vibrant, welcoming city.”

Among groups receiving the most funding are:

  • The Riverwood Conservancy ($369,859)
  • Mississauga Arts Council ($340,000)
  • Art Gallery of Mississauga ($325,000)
  • Heritage Mississauga ($295,000)
  • Safe City Mississauga ($224,127)
  • Visual Arts Mississauga ($200,000)
  • Mississauga Symphony Orchestra ($180,000)
  • Sampradaya Dance Creations ($150,000)
  • Mississauga Sports Council ($120,500)
  • Ecosource ($109,863)
  • Sawitri Theatre Group ($105,000)
  • Chamber Music Society Mississauga ($100,000)
  • Canadian Arabic Orchestra ($90,000)
  • Crane Creations Theatre Company ($90,000)
  • Frog in Hand ($90,000)
  • The Dam ($80,000)
  • Creative Hub 1352 ($75,000)
  • Mississauga Choral Society ($62,000)
  • Erin Mills Youth Centre ($58,000)
  • Volunteer MBC ($40,000)

Mississauga’s various annual festivals also received significant grant funding for 2023 and beyond.

Visit the City’s website for information on all grants.”