CoBALT Connects.
724 Barton Street East L8L3A8 Hamilton, ON, Canada

We're getting narrowly close to our 20th anniversary - say what!? At our 5th anniversary we had. party and gave out little kits like this > The Art of Renovating the Hammer. Each kit had a hammer engraved with our logo, a level, paint brush and a photo set of Hamilton facades by Jeff Tessier. For our 10th we made a 12-page insert in the The Hamilton Spectator about all of our buildings and tenants and a 3D DIY cut-out model of the Cotton Factory. What should we do for our 20th?

Hamilton Winterfest is proud to present MONOWHALES! Exploding onto the scene with a DIY ethos and unforgettable live show, MONOWHALES have been making waves in Canada and abroad. With a string of chart-topping singles, headliner spot at Yellowknife PRIDE and international attention from appearing in the NETFLIX series Spinning Out, MONOWHALES are putting the finishing touches on a new record that should be out just in time for Winterfest. Renowned as one of Toronto’s most ...refreshing and energetic live bands, MONOWHALES takes no prisoners by blending the genres of pop, alternative, rock, and punk to crank out hit after hit. - Canadian Beats Join us online at 8pm on Saturday February 27th for a one time only experience. Log onto our Facebook, Youtube or Instagram to tune in for MONOWHALES. This concert is made possible by Marz Homes, OLG, Collective Arts Brewing and Sound Box Productions, and can be viewed on their social media as well!

TODAY! MONOWHALES finishes off our #afterparty this evening at 8pm EST. Splish Splash Log on for a #saturdayeveningevent that will wrap up #hamiltonwintefest2...021!!! What a way to finish with the whale of a band! https://hamiltonwinterfest.ca/event/concert-monowhales/ Thank you to our sponsors who showed up for an exceptional year: OLG Today Collective Arts Brewing Marz Homes Soundbox Productions.

Brought to you in partnership with Marz Homes, Collective Arts Brewing, OLG, Sound Box Productions and The Music Hall.

Cobalt Connects is proud to become a new member of the Canadian Live Music Association. Looking forward to connecting with other venues, producers and music professionals across the country.

The fourth and final Tiny Escritoire Concert features Heather Valley performing at the stunning Auchmar Estates on the Hamilton Mountain.

Only one more week to get your nominations in for the 2021 Hamilton Arts Awards! Luckily the nomination process is quick to complete - basic nominee info and a ...short statement is all that you need. Nominate an artist, arts leader or volunteer - someone you know or someone you don't! The City of Hamilton Arts Awards are a citizen-led process and depend on your nominations - now is your chance to express your appreciation for the artists and arts workers in our community. Nomination deadline is January 22, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. Visit www.hamilton.ca/artsawards to access the forms and for detailed program information.

Excited to see one of our studio tenants launching their newest community project. Check our Downtown Sparrow! https://downtownsparrow.ca/about/

Themes and Trends of 2020 by Beyond James. Huge thanks to Gunner Smith for diving into the world of online performance with us so early.

Cobalt Connects operates kind of differently than many arts organizations. We rarely access government funding - except for when we have a great idea to develop that we feel merits the support. Most of our core work is program delivery and research and development of cultural ideas on a fee-for-service basis. We then take the proceeds from those well paying activities, and turn that into local or regional programming of various types. We're very nimble and versatile, and not ...locked into a strict mandate. It has not been easy acting in this way - but we felt if we could sustain ourselves without tapping the granting system it would leave more for others to access - building the sector we work with and for. It also means that our clean books and solid track record can be leveraged in the granting system to pull in support for projects when needed. Hamilton Winterfest is great example. Until this year Hamilton Winterfest has received no grants. The City is a co-producer and provides some base funding, but growth beyond that is in our hands. We're really pleased this year to have received government support from multiple levels of government and a few specialized programs this year which has increased our small festivals budget substantially. This means that this year the festival will spend almost $50,000 on fees to local artists to create content, almost $50,000 on local business as suppliers, fabricators and promotional partners, and pennies shy of $30,000 hiring staff to help run the festival in everything from site management and marketing, technical operation and design - all jobs well above the living wage level. Very thankful to our funders, sponsors and partner for enabling us to drive dollars back in the hands of the creators in our industry.

Great news, we heard you loud and clear and you can now NOMINATE emerging artists for their own award (in the new Creators category) - they will be adjudicated ...on their own work rather than being tied to an established artist. #whoohoo Know a #HamOnt emerging artist you'd like to recognize? Nominate them here: https://www.hamilton.ca/city-aw/arts-awards/nominate-artist Contact us at [email protected] or 905.546.2424 x7612 with any questions!

Call for Painters and Musicians!!!

Great to see the new City of Hamilton Arts Awards program getting some local press. https://www.thespec.com//hamilton-arts-awards-2021-now-acc

INSPIRED BY ICEBERGS Hamilton Winterfest is in full-on production mode. Each year we commission a series of inflatable sculptures by local artist Tanis Sydney M...acarthur This year she's taken her inspiration from Group of Seven paintings in the @Art Gallery of Hamilton collection by Lawren Harris. This series of three massive icebergs will be lit with LED lights and on display at the Winterfest Hub. They're sure to be an Instagram hit with coves and features made for capturing great moments with our guests. The fabric is provided by our sponsor Fabricland - and we're still seeking sponsors to support this incredible installation. Reach out if you or your company are Inspired by Icebergs!

Today is the deadline for the Hamilton Winterfest Video Projection and Music Collaboration Call. Get your submissions in by 2pm today!

Cobalt Connects is considering creating a large collective storage space for local artists and arts organizations. The space will have a lift, active security system, washroom, and will be well lit, warm, dry and organized. Cobalt will hire a part-time manager for the space to assist with occasional loading/unloading, inventory management, and collective renting/bartering of selected items tenants wish to include in such a program. We're curious if this is a service you or... your organization would need - and whether there are any amenities you think we could add to make it more impactful. In our current models spaces would rent for $100 a month, for a 10 foot by 10 foot space.

We're looking to print our Hamilton Winterfest 2021 Volunteer SWAG, and we're thinking classic toques this year. Should we go with Heather Blue or Bright White? Do you know a local promotional items company we should use? Tag them in this post.

Just another reminder that hiring public art professionals is worth every penny

Who's excited for tonight's presentation of History & Mystery 7pm? We'll be learning writing tips from the masters of mystery! Be sure to get your questi...ons ready because Sylvia McNicoll and Jennifer Maruno will be joining us live to chat! Get all the details here --> https://tellingtales.org/presentations/history-and-mystery/