Tempo Foundation
Founded in 1978, with programming beginning in 1979 with the first Local Heroes celebration, "Welcome Home Billy Bishop", Tempo created "Welcome Home Dr. Norman Bethune" in 1980 and "Welcome Home Agnes Macphail" in 1986, thus launching the modern era of local hero recognition in Grey-Bruce. This was the beginning of many interdisciplinary cultural programming, cultural policy and cultural planning initiatives by Tempo Foundation.
Tempo fostered the development of a unique heritage/arts, cultural/commercial, museum/interpretive centre business model, solving the problems of combining not-for-profit and for-profit operations in a unified operating and financial enterprise.
From 1986 to 1990 created and operated the Dr. Norman Bethune Arts + Science Centre as the largest paying tennant at the Old Courthouse Arts Centre, which Tempo also participated in saving, designating and adapting assistiong the Grey-Bruce Arts Council and Hans Albarda. When the City refused a grant required to enable the Centre to qualify for a major federal grant, the Centre was closed. Tempo is continuing to work on plans to redevelop the Dr. Norman Bethune Arts + Science Centre in Owen Sound.
Tempo Foundation provided leadership in the formation of both Community Arts Ontario (CAO) 1987-1991, the organization of the community arts councils of Ontario, and Community Heritage Ontario (CHO) 1988-1995, the organization of the LACACs (now Municipal Heritage Advisory Committees) of Ontario.
In 2002 -2003, Tempo programmed and co-hosted Environmental Forum Grey-Bruce for Community Foundation Grey-Bruce as part of The Great Lakes Community Foundations Environmental Collaborative.
Since 2004, Tempo Foundation has been a Partner in the Municipal Cultural Planning Partnership of Ontario.
In 2004-2005, Tempo Foundation programmed much of the Community Arts Ontario 2005 Provincial Conference: Telling Our Stories, in Owen Sound.
