Thank you, MP Dzerowicz. You're a big champion of the arts. We all really appreciate it.
Currently, our overall public funding is hovering at about 20%. In conversation with my biennial colleagues around the world, that is probably one of the lowest contributions. Most biennials in major cities around the world—Berlin, Liverpool, Sydney, Guangzhou—see investment at 50% and up in their biennials. That's because of the impact biennials have on these cities and their communities.
We've been super grateful for the support we've received from the Canada Council for the Arts through project grants at the federal level. We receive operating funding from the City of Toronto every year. This year, for the first time, we received a one-time operating grant from the Ontario Arts Council, which was really fantastic. The CEO, Michael Murray, said that they felt they needed to support us: no more $10,000 or $15,000 project grants; they wanted to support the great work and the impact we were having on the city and for Canadian artists.
The only level of government that we do not get any operating funds from is the federal government. It would be a real game-changer for us to receive some stable funding from the government just so that we could work more sustainably and create stability within our organization. With this ask of $1.5 million, we feel like we can move forward, close off this incredible edition, move towards 2026, plan 2026, and work in a way that is not like we're painting the plane while it's taking off all the time. We would have that kind of stability where we could deliver more art for more people, and more jobs, bringing the city and the country together through free and accessible programming.