Testimonials

“The help from The AFC made me feel much less vulnerable. ”

– Kristin Hoff
Mezzo-Soprano

In August 2018, I hit my head quite hard and got a concussion. The injury to my brain was significant and I had rather severe symptoms for several months and milder symptoms for the better part of a year.

The AFC was incredibly helpful to me (and thus to my family) through their financial assistance. They covered two of our mortgage payments and also paid for several biodynamic osteopathy treatments that helped immensely to speed up the healing process.

Brain injuries are terrible; we use our brains for everything! Life just had to stop for me for several months. My symptoms were severe enough that I could not drive for several weeks, I could not be in front of a computer screen and I had to cancel a few singing contracts. My husband was working a lot to try to compensate, but we also had a one year old at home, so I was the primary caregiver for her at this time. That took everything out of me. It was a very discouraging and financially stressful time.

I only learned of The AFC at the time of my concussion. I had assumed that in being a self-employed artist, I am automatically alone and insecure in a situation of a health crisis. It was such an encouragement to me to find out that there is an organization ready and happy to help. It made me feel much less vulnerable.

Art brings life and joy and comfort in our world. But there is definitely a vulnerability and risk that comes with the terrain of pursuing this line of work. The more we have an infrastructure in place that can support Canadian artists, the more art will continue to flourish in our country and nourish our citizens and our overall cultural life. We need The AFC to continue to help provide this safety net to contribute to keeping the arts alive and well in Canada!