|
Toronto,
Ontario.....June 4, 2010: Sheila Mitchell was presented with the 2010
Urban Hero Award Winner trophy in recognition of her volunteer work
and efforts on behalf of visual artists in this community. See online articles:
http://northyork.urbanheroes.ca/
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/local/article/826719--award-winning-painter-brings-art-to-the-people
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you all for your kind messages :
I saw your
photo in the North York Mirror, and the info about the above award,
and congratulate you on this important recognition of what you do in
the art field. I often think of the artists I know (at Willowdale
Group of Artists, Toronto Watercolour Society, etc.) and wonder what
interesting things they do with their art when they aren't at the
meetings. You obviously keep very busy, and it is great that you are
able to share your passion for art with so many people.
Marian Holmes.
Thank you for your dedication to
Art and for your hard work to help us. I am glad that this award
is a good recognition of your work. True in art,
Ivo Arnaudov
I wanted to
congratulate you on winning the Urban Hero Award. It is well
deserved. All the best,
Arlene Babad.
Well done Sheila! Congratulations
and much deserved.
Crystal Beshara.
We are so
glad you won the Urban Hero award. You have done a lot of good
things for all artists that you have come in contact with. All your
hard work has paid off! We are proud of you
and keep your high level of excellence always! Best Wishes,
Jeff Bardeau
and Carol Ryan.
Congratulations, Sheila Mitchell,
Urban Hero,
Bruce Bushey.
Congratulations
Sheila. I finished my first Encaustic Painting after watching
the demonstration at the convention. Thank you,
Josy Britton.
Congratulations, and well done,
Sheila. Recognition well deserved!
Barbara Chappelle.
Let me add my
congratulations again - obviously well deserved. I'm very
happy to be involved in Art For All Canada, Inc.
Ruth Devor.
Congratulations on your Urban
Hero appointment! Always nice to see people recognized for their time
and contributions.
Susan Dimitrakopoulos, Scarborough
Arts Council.
Congratulations
on being our urban hero.That is awesome! Thanks from all of us for
all you do!!
Helen Duplassie.
Congratulations on your award! It
is truly well-deserved. You do so much to promote art and artists and
it is wonderful to see it noticed and publicly acknowledged.
Sue Ennis.
It was great
to hear about your award, you certainly deserve the recognition and
acknowledgement for all the hard work and efforts you have put in
over the years for the local arts community. Enjoy the
accolades and carry on with your great work!
Sharon Erlichman.
My congratulations on your
award. It is well deserved. You do an incredible amount
of work on behalf of all artists. I wish you all the success
possible. Jane Fick.
Congratulations
Sheila on this recognition of your work and contributions to the
exhibition of Canadian art!
Ruth Hartman.
Please give Sheila my
congratulations for all her accomplishments. Well deserved!
Jennifer Hinrichs.
Congratulations
Sheila. Well done, there is much to be done helping artists
get exposure, marketing their work and finding buyers. My own
experience is that people want to see my work and talk to me and are
thrilled that there is no Gallery commission or taxes. Once
again a well deserved award.
Margie Hunter Hoffman.
Congratulation on your achievement,
winning the "Urban hero award". You deserved, you worked so hard.
Gigi Horvath.
Congratulations
Sheila. It is nice to be recognized for your generous gifts of time
and enthusiasm that benefit so many.
Julia Kane
I wanted to thank both of you for
the splendid opportunities that you have provided, as well as keeping
us informed about tax issues and so much more.
Congratulations, you truly are an Urban Hero and so deserving of the title.
Lynda Kelly.
I just would
like to say "Congratulations" to you, Sheila. I am not
familiar with Urban Hero award, but its honor looks great with a
wonderful trophy. You look very happy. Congratulations again.
Henna Kim.
Congratulations on your winning of
that award and I wish you well.
Malcolm Leach.
CONGRATULATIONS
Sheila on winning the Urban Hero Award in the Arts &
Culture category for her work and efforts to help visual artists to
develop and market their work. BRAVO!!!
Eva Lewarne.
Congratulations Sheila on your hard work!
Claudette Losier.
Congratulations
on your Urban Hero Award! It was great to learn that hard work in
the arts is recognized.
Alina Lloyd.
My congratulations to Sheila for
her hard work! You both did a great deal. All the best.
Soudabeh Majidi.
So happy to
hear the news about your award, Sheila. Although I have not
used the facility of Rainbow Gallery as yet I appreciate all the work
that you and your organization Art for All Canada have done
to promote visual arts and artists in the Toronto area.
Congratulations on your Urban Hero Award! Well-deserved!
Joan Levy
Earle, Artist and Author
Congratulations to Sheila
Bea-Yeh E.
Congratulations,
Sheila, thanks for your efforts - you earned this!
Camille Martin.
Sheila we are very proud of you,
most impressive, way to go, a round of applause.
Quin McColgan.
Very
impressive and many congratulations on this award. It is indeed
a handsome trophy and so well deserved. Its good to see this
recognition going to you especially because your efforts
and ideas are unique in their practical, hands-on helpfulness in
offering artists alternative ways to go.
Eileen Menzel.
I just wanted to say
congratulations to you Sheila for your well deserved award. The both
of you do so much for us starving artists.
Dan Monaghan.
How
wonderful, Sheila. Congratulations. Had I known this was
happening, I most certainly would have voted for Sheila. She
has done incredible work over the years for Art for All Canada. I
take my hat off to her.
Sue Nelson.
Congratulations to Sheila, a Past
President & current Executive Publicity Co-Ordinator for her
achievement in winning the Urban Hero Award for achievement in the
arts community. WELL DONE SHEILA..
John Nussbaum, Pres, NYVA.
Congratulation
Sheila!
Ludwika
Ogorzelec, France
Congratulations, Sheila.
Valorie Preston.
Thank you so
much for the information. My heartfelt congratulations to you on
winning the Urban Hero Award. You been working tirelessly and deserve
the award. Keep up the good work.
Bernice Rambert.
I also join to congratulate
Sheila for that important award. One day
we will do some cultural activity together, thank you.
Luis Ramirez, Director of
Fundarte Latinoamerica.
I have just
been informed of your prestigious award "Urban Hero".
Sincere congratulations - you most certainly deserve this award for
all of the hard work you have done, and continue to do, for all
artists. Well done!!
Valerie Russell.
Congratulations to you dear,
Rivka Shomer.
Thanks for
sharing this wonderful news. Kindly say "CONGRATS!"
to her, Alwyn!,
Josephine Tam.
CONGRATULATIONS ! Sheila. Wow,
you are awarded the Urban Hero award and we are so proud of
you. You truly deserve it. Thanks a million for what you
have done on our behalf. Have a good summer.
Julia Cheng Van Dine.
Yes, I do
join you in congratulating Sheila, who seems utterly tireless.
Well done, Sheila!
Pat Vicari.
BRAVO Sheila!!!
Sheila Victor.
What
wonderful news! Congratulations for well deserved recognition
of your persistent efforts and work on behalf of artists.
Ed Yaghdjian.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Petition Letter sent on behalf
of visual artists to Ontario Ministry of Revenue regarding HST tax:
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Attn: Senior Policy Advisor ...
Office of the Honourable John Wilkinson
Minister of Revenue ...
Dear Sir,
Further to our recent discussions
about how visual artists in Ontario will be affected by the new
Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) which comes into effect on July 1st, 2010,
I am writing on behalf of nearly 5,000 Ontario visual artists who are
on our email communications list.
We hereby petition the Ontario
government to increase its income threshold values for required HST
taxation registration from the current level of $30,000 to at least
$50,000 of income per year. Such an increase will bring allowance
up-to-date and better reflect the realities of artist incomes in 2010
while produce a greater degree of fairness in the treatment of these
small businesspersons whose opportunities for creativiity are
hampered by the necessity of having to deal with the burden of record
keeping and form filling for numerous small amounts.
We recognise that visual artists
will still have the choice of registering for HST at any income
level, however the obligation to do so should not start until artists
for an income level of at least $50,000.
Yours in art,
Sheila J. Mitchell ...
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
April 8th, 2010
Tax Information for Visual Artists
On your behalf, AFAC will be
sending the Ministry of Revenue a letter requesting that the tax
collection threshold of annual sales for artists be raised from the
current $30,000 to at least $50,000 to reduce the number of artists
who may have to deal with this paperwork (see above).
Retail Sales Tax
Under the current Retail Sales Tax,
Purchase Exemption Certificates (PECs) are completed by persons
entitled to claim an exemption on the purchase of taxable goods and
services. Examples are persons purchasing goods for the purpose of
resale or a manufacturer buying production equipment.
Artists may buy exempt from RST
items that are incorporated into “works of art” for sale
such as paint, canvas, wood, pottery clay and like materials by
issuing valid PECs to their suppliers.
Artists are required to charge,
collect and remit RST on sales of works of art unless the purchaser
is entitled to a conditional exemption.
An artist who creates “works
of art” is not considered to be a manufacturer for retail sales
tax purposes and is not eligible for the exemption for production
equipment and processing materials. Therefore, artists must pay RST
on their purchases of items such as brushes, easels, lighting
equipment, etc.
Artists must also pay RST on other
items such as computers, office supplies, furniture,
telecommunications, etc. used in the course of their business.
Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)
Registered businesses selling
taxable or zero-rated goods and services will be able claim input tax
credits (ITCs) on their purchases, as under the federal GST, with
limited exceptions. These credits would reimburse businesses for the
tax they pay in the course of commercial activities. This approach
would reduce business costs, most noticeably in sectors that use
inputs that are taxable under the current RST system, and would
support business investment.
Artists with sales under $30,000
per annum (small supplier) will not be required to register for the
HST. They will not have to collect the HST on their sales but will
not be entitled to ITCs on their purchases.
An artist who is a small supplier
may voluntarily choose to register for the HST. In this case, an
artist would collect HST on its sales and pay HST on its inputs.
However, the artist would be entitled to claim an ITC on purchases of
items used in his/her commercial activities such as paint, canvas,
wood, pottery clay, brushes, easels, lighting equipment, computers,
office supplies, furniture, telecommunications, etc.
Revenue Site
www.ontario.ca/taxchange
Qs & As (including whether a
business needs to register for the GST)
http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/taxchange/faq.html#q27
Former rules around the RST
http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/guides/rst/204.html
Additional personal benefits that
artist may qualify for:
http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/taxchange/families.html
Additional benefits to businesses
that artists may qualify for:
http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/taxchange/business.html
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Art Show at
The Scarborough
Hospital ~
a "thank you art show" to our AFAC Conference Volunteers"30th - May 11, 2010
the following artists are
showing their paintings:
~
Joanne
Braganza ~
Jane
Fick ~
Encarnita Gardner ~
Ann Katz ~
Soudabeh
Majidi ~
~
Sheila Mitchell
~
Sue Nelson
~
Jean Rodak
~
Avril Siddle ~
Attendee Comments about: Art For
All Canada's 2nd annual Conference for artists, 6-7 March, 2010, Toronto.
I came home inspired and thinking
about new ways to create. Lori K.
Thoroughly enjoyed the conference.
Allen H.
The food, (selection and quality
and quantity) was AMAZING! Just superb! Thank you! Tthe variety of
sessions was very good and the location worked very well (easy to get
to, parking close by) it was nice to have prizes and to have a goodie
bag. Marion A.
Unfortunately I was ill for the
second day - BUT I feel I got my money's worth even from just
attending the first day. It was fabulous!! ... learned so much!
Fantastic! Food was perfect thanks so much. Jane B.
Bigger and better extended to 2
days, lunch on site was great, convenient / time saving. On site
product reps were of great value for first hand information. Linda T.
I greatly enjoyed the day at the
AFAC conference, and found the exchanges with fellow artists most
energizing. Keep up the good work. Ed. Y
Thank you for putting together an
excellent conference weekend. What I've learned will be invaluable.
Lauren F.
It was warm, welcoming, easy,
casual informal, familiar. Carrying bag with goodies and prizes -
very nice touch! Julita W.
Food was great and again easy
COLORFUL and great variety! It was time well spent and i got my
inspirations!!! I was painting Sunday evening and browsing internet
to explore ideas and infos i got through the networking or from
sessions. I love the initiative and enjoyed the conference very much!
Thank you. Julita W.
The conference fufilled its promise
in all respects as far as I'm concerned and I completely enjoyed
myself in a total art talk place for 2 days I'm so glad I went.
Eileen M.
This was a wonderful conference.
Location - excellent. Catering - excellent I really enjoyed my time.
Thank you for your hard work. Hilda H.
Thanks for an amazing conference,
all the very best to you and Alwyn, you are one of the most amazing
couples I know. Keep on doing what you are doing. Barbara A.
I like the conference very much.
All speakers were very interesting. Olena B.
AFAC 2010 was a great experience,
thanks Sheila & Alwyn. Bea-Yeh E.
Congratulations on a well-organized
and interesting conference! Anne N.
Thank you for organizing the
conference. It was very interesting to me. Magdalena R.
This summer join Art For All Canada at its
Summertime 2010 indoor and outdoor art shows!
Show your art work indoors
at the CNE (the 'Ex') Canada's largest show (1.3 million visitors)
20th August - 6th September 2010. (see
who's exhibiting)
The Canadian National Exhibition - CNE
Our indoor location in the
CNE, Canada's largest event, is in the Arts & Crafts
building, near the west end of the event. For our second year at the CNE
our booth had doubled in size and
we are sharing this space with almost 40 artists showing over 100
paintings, sculptures and other formed works of art to create an
exciting, innovative art show for the many thousands of CNE visitors.
Each day at least two artists will be on the booth to demonstrate
their skill and talent.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Buskerfest Toronto ~ Join
us each year the last weekend of August for our outdoors art show at
Berczy
Park, Front Street,
(opposite Canadian Stage Theatre) beside the Main
Entertainment Stage.
To view this year's artists who are exhibiting
click on
Buskerfest Toronto
Here's an example of one of our shade
tents setup (outdoors only). We have just a few tents for rental.
   
If you are interested in showing
your work to a large audience for a small fee contact
sheila@artforallcanada.org or call (416) 756-3221.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Invitation to Host an Art Gallery
I'd like to invite you to add an
art gallery to your work place. It could be at no cost to your
organization, too!
"Art For All Canada brings
works of art to workplaces and public spaces". See www.artforallcanada.org
We work with local artists and
private / public sponsors to produce and maintain original art
collections for display in workplaces for the pleasure of staff and visitors.
These art collections, which can
vary in size and theme provide a changing supply of beautiful images
to adorn selected walls / display cases.
Those interested in buying an
object of art can contact the artist directly and save on commissions.
If you would like to be a supporter
of the arts and are interested in having an art display at your
organization please email:
sheila@artforallcanada.org or Tel:
(416) 756-3221 to discuss.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PRESS RELEASE - SoftMatchART
launches new web site
Toronto,
4th March, 2008..... SoftMatchART is pleased to announce the launch
of it's new web site at softmatch.com to help artists exhibit their
work to audiences at the lowest cost.
The web site, designed in
earthy brown and sky blue tones, lists the painters, sculptors,
photographers and other visual artists who have already booked to
exhibit their art since the SoftMatchART service was launched in January.
The web site already has it's
artist / exhibition schedule stretching to 2009 with photos of each
artist currently exhibiting and full contact details for each artist
including links to their web sites.
Also, the new web site has
listings of SoftMatchART marketing opportunities and Press
announcements in the "In The News" section.
According to Sheila J.
Mitchell, artist and curator at SoftMatchART, "Artists are
always looking for places to show their work but often gallery space
is hard to find or commission fees high. This service is great news
for artists who want to get their work exhibited at modest cost.
"We only officially
launched our service in January and artists are flocking to it...
SoftMatchART is a "win-win" for both the artists who get
their work in front of wider audiences and for those who host
SoftMatchART collections and enjoy viewing beautiful images".
SoftMatchART charges no
commissions to artists and arranges for their work to be seen and
enjoyed by tens of thousands of people every month in business and
public settings in the Toronto area.
For more information contact:
Sheila J Mitchell
VP and Curator of SoftMatchART
SoftMatchART - the lowest-cost,
commission-free way to show and sell art.
Tel: 416-756-32221
sheila@artforallcanada.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P R E S S R E L E A S E
for Artists
Toronto, 14th
January, 2008..... SoftMatch.com is pleased to announce the
launch of it's innovative new service for artists: "SoftMatchART
brings works of art to workplaces and public spaces".
The idea for this new and unique
service comes from Sheila J.
Mitchell, artist and Vice President
at SoftMatch.com where she has been in charge of IT event logistics
since 1989. Sheila is in her 4th year as President of North York
Visual Artists and is a member of various other art groups and
associations in Toronto, Canada.
According to Sheila, "Artists
are always looking for places to show their work but often gallery
space is limited and commission fees too expensive. SoftMatchART
charges no commissions to artists and arranges for their work to be
seen and enjoyed in business and public settings.
"Our company has been matching
buyers and sellers in business markets for 25 years and now we are
providing artists with a much wider audience thanks to corporate
sponsors who are delighted to host galleries in their workplaces and
public spaces".
SoftMatch works with local artists
to produce and maintain changing original art collections for display
in sponsor workplaces for the pleasure of staff and visitors. These
art collections, which can vary in size and theme, provide a
continually changing supply of beautiful images to adorn selected
walls or display cases.
Sheila says, "SoftMatchART is
a "win-win" for both the artists who get their work in
front of a wider audience and those who host SoftMatchArt collections
and enjoy viewing beautiful images".
january
newsletter
|
