The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal instrument for funding public arts, as well as for fostering and promoting the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. The Canada Council fulfills its mandate primarily through providing grants and services to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations in dance, interdisciplinary art, media arts, music, opera, theatre, writing, publishing, and the visual arts. In addition, the Canada Council administers the Art Bank, which operates art rental programs and an exhibitions and outreach program. The Canada Council Art Bank holds the largest collection of contemporary Canadian art in the world. The Canada Council is also responsible for the secretariat for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and the Public Lending Right Commission. The Canada Council for the Arts reports to Parliament through the Minister of Canadian Heritage and is governed by an 11-member Board. The Board consists of a Chair and a Vice-Chair—currently Jesse Wente and Marie Pier Germain, respectively—along with nine other members from around the country. Along with the Director and CEO Simon Brault, they are appointed by the Governor-in-Council for fixed terms. Organization The Canada Council for the Arts is an arms-length agency based in Ottawa, Ontario, that reports to Parliament through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Its endowment income is supplemented by annual appropriations from Parliament, donations, and bequests. Its main duty is allotting grants and prizes to Canadian artists based on the merits of their applications. The Canada Council also funds and administers many of Canada's top arts awards, including the Governor General's Literary Awards and the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts. The Canada Council is called from time to time to appear before parliamentary committees, particularly the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. Its accounts are audited by the Auditor General of Canada and included in an Annual Report to Parliament. Canada Council for the Arts Act History of the Act "In 1977, the Canada Council sets up the Payment for Public Use Committee to discuss the creation of a Public Lending Right (PLR) program. The following year, the federal government created the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, adopting responsibility for the humanities and social sciences from the