Current Clients & Projects
The Royal Conservatory / Koerner Hall
The Royal Conservatory presents a concert season of more than 90 world music, roots, classical, and jazz concerts, as well as the 21C Music Festival and many special projects, in three venues (Koerner Hall, Mazzoleni Concert Hall, and Temerty Theatre) and online. Koerner Hall is “magnificent in its acoustics, as much as in its design.” “The greatest venue in this city” – Toronto Star.
- HKC Marketing provides strategy, advising, media planning & buying, coaching and other support for the marketing manager and performance (concerts) division team members.
- (1996 – 2022) Directed and oversaw all brand, profile, public and audience communications for Koerner Hall and all concert presentations: concert hall launch and audience development, marketing strategies, social media strategies, media planning and buying, ticket buyer communication messaging, destination marketing, outreach communications, partnerships, tourism marketing, audience development, promotions, community engagement, guest experience crafting, copywriting, media sponsorships, budget management, staff management and team building.
The AFC Reactivation Program provides direct financial assistance to independent and self-employed workers in the live performance sector who are experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding provides short term financial relief for independent, self-employed, and gig workers in the performing arts, such as technicians; production professionals; theatre, comedy and circus performers; and other live performance professionals. The program is run by The AFC, and funded by the Government of Canada, Canadian Heritage, Performing Arts Workers Resilience Fund (CPAWRF).
- HKC Marketing named the program, is directing national outreach, marketing, and communications to inform performing arts workers of this funding support and encourage applications. The national campaign is in English and French, and includes organic and paid social media, digital advertising, partnership collaborations, and outreach via organizations, networks, and individuals.
MOCA Toronto (Museum of Contemporary Art)
MOCA Toronto is motivated by the principle that museums and their programmes are culturally and socially beneficial to the diversity of the communities they serve. MOCA supports and promotes forward-thinking artistic experimentation and provides a space for enrichment, discourse, collaboration and creativity.
- HKC Marketing oversees all of MOCA’s exhibition and museum marketing, including marketing campaign development and implementation: media planning and buying; media partnerships; copy writing and editing; local outreach and promotional activations; collateral production and distribution; design management; social media advertising management; advising and collaborating with internal staff members; and budget management.
- Created and directed marketing for Greater Toronto Art 2021 (GTA21), on view September – December 2021.
- Directed marketing for Winter/Spring 2022 Exhibitions: Shirin Neshat: Land of Dreams, Jeffrey Gibson: I AM YOUR RELATIVE, Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Summer. March 10 – July 31, 2022
- Directed marketing for Fall 2022 Exhibition Season: Thomas Demand: HOUSE OF CARD. September 16, 2022 – January 8, 2023.
- Currently directing marketing for Spring/Summer 2023 Exhibition Season: Kapwani Kiwanga, Athena Papadopoulos, Susan for Susan, Serkan Özkaya, and Seeing the Invisible exhibitions, February 24 – July 23, 2023
- Currently restructuring and marketing the MOCA Membership program
Bloor St. Culture Corridor, Toronto’s most diverse arts and culture district, is a partnership between 22 non-profit culture organizations. Located on Bloor St. West (Bathurst to Yonge St.), the partner organizations offer libraries, professional museum experiences, films, art exhibitions, music concerts, culture talks, classes, education programs, and some of Toronto’s most accessible cultural diversity.
Partners include: the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema; Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir; The Toronto Consort; A Different Booklist Cultural Centre; the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre; the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto; Alliance Française de Toronto; the Istituto Italiano di Cultura; the Bata Shoe Museum; The Royal Conservatory; the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM); the University of Toronto Faculty of Music; the Gardiner Museum; Japan Foundation Toronto, 918 Bathurst Centre; Museum of Estonians Abroad; The Music Gallery; Soundstreams; the Randolph Centre for the Arts; Women’s Art Association of Toronto, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, and the Toronto Reference Library.
- Consortium creation and development, organizational leadership, facilitating information sharing and collaboration.
Glass has an almost magical ability to transform the light and space around it. Exploring the possibilities of color and light with glass is a joyful obsession for artist-beadmaker Carol Ann Savage.
- Marketing strategy and plan, business identity, online store website development and management, social media strategy, copywriting, online content creation and implementation, marketing promotions.
“Heather assisted my business in developing a detailed advertising and social media strategy. The work Heather completed both in preparing our package as well as researching and learning our unique industry was invaluable. Meeting with her via virtual calls, she was able to efficiently and effectively share the plan with us and ensure our understanding to implement. I highly recommend Heather to any businesses looking to greatly improve the marketing strategies and processes.”
– Griffin Simony, Shift Accessibility Contractors
Heather Kelly is a seasoned and highly skilled communications specialist. For ten years, she worked with our team to establish and develop the brand identity of the Ryerson Image Centre and promote our exhibitions and other programs here in Toronto and internationally—via traditional and digital media, as well as beneficial press partnerships, robust tourism marketing, and well-placed advertising. Heather’s a perceptive advisor, she’s really well connected, and she’s a total joy to work with. She is, without a doubt, one of the finest professionals I’ve worked with in my career.
– Paul Roth, Director, Ryerson Image Centre
Heather Kelly is a fantastic person to work with. She is quick to respond, always super positive, and full of both practical and creative ideas. Heather recently drafted an online presence inventory and a social media content strategy which were both impressive in their scope, clarity and concision. Over a short period of time she has become indispensable to me. She is always ready and fully capable to answer those nagging questions about how to best be visible before going on stage.
– Eve Egoyan
“When we identified the need for a new strategic communications plan and a major programmatic relaunch campaign, approaching Heather was the obvious choice. She delivers equally strong messages towards the public as well as to industry audiences in the cultural field. Especially, the ongoing consultancy and support she gave made all the difference. But most importantly, she is a sheer pleasure to work with, overflowing with creative energy.”
– Jutta Brendemühl, Goethe-Institut Toronto
“Her strategy read like a customized “how to run a successful campaign” hand book – it was brilliant! It was so well received by the Director and Heads of Department that it was sent to the Steering Committee in Geneva and became the AKM’s basis for our Marketing Department and future hires.”
– Pascale Wilmot, Aga Khan Museum
Heather Kelly is the best in her field, supported by years of experience.
– Ron Robert, Canadian Aboriginal Festival & Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards
Heather Kelly fulfilled all of the goals. She clearly achieved the messaging and positioning objectives, delivered a total marketing value of more than 2.5 times the original budget, and generated media value worth millions of dollars.
– Doina Popescu, Ryerson Image Centre, Ryerson University
Heather is always very positive, professional and creative and she continually demonstrates great leadership and strategic marketing skills.
– Warren Salmon, First Fridays
Heather completes projects on time and on budget and achieves the desired results. She is innovative, industry-savvy, works well independently and as part of a team and is as generous with her time as she is with her outgoing personality.
– Bruce Hutchinson, Harbourfront Centre
Heather’s strategy proved effective in garnering international attention.
– Stephen Bulger
A Few of Our Past Clients
Aga Khan Museum
Art of Time Ensemble
Art Museum at University of Toronto
Artists’ Health Centre Foundation
Ashkenaz: A Festival of New Yiddish Culture
Asian Heritage Month
Audiogram Records
Bata Shoe Museum
Bravo Niagara!
Buffalo Jump Artists Collective
Canadian Aboriginal Festival & Pow Wow
Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards (CAMAs)
Canadian Multicultural Council
CanAsian Dance Festival
Craft Ontario
Dance Umbrella of Ontario
Design Exchange (DX)
Eve Egoyan
Faith and the Common Good
Flick the Switch Artist Studios
Folk Music Ontario
FrancoFete
Fujiwara Dance Inventions
Gallery TPW
George Brown College
German Arts Festival
Goethe-Institut Toronto
Grant MacEwan University, Centre for the Arts
Guelph Arts Council
Guild of Canadian Film Composers
Harbourfront Centre Courses & Workshops
Harbourfront Centre Summer Festivals
Images Festival
Irie Festival
Janak Khendry Dance Company
Key Porter Books
Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC)
Lula Lounge
Mabuhay! Philippine Arts, Culture & Tourism Festival
Mi-Young Kim Dance Company
Modern Times Theatre Company
Museum of Estonians in Canada / VEMU
Musideum
National Film Board of Canada: Mediatheque
New Music Concerts
OBJECToronto
Ontario Arts Council
Ontario Association of Art Galleries
Ontario Culture Days
Pages Books & Magazines
Pleiades Theatre
Putumayo World Music
Rebecca Singh – Producer, Actor, Singer, Theatre Creator
Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
Ryerson Image Centre
Ryerson University Faculty of Communication & Design (FCAD)
Ryerson University School of Image Arts
Shift Accessibility Contractors
Six String Nation
Small World Music Society
Small World Music Festival
South Asian Heritage Month
St. Philips the Apostle Anglican Church
Superior Description Services
SympaticoMSN – Digital Advertising Summit
Tangled Art + Disability
Toronto Blues Society
Toronto Festival of Storytelling
Toronto International Art Fair
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
Toronto School of Art
Toronto Summer Chamber Music Festival
Toronto Wildlife Centre (Wild Ball)
University of Toronto Galleries
Various Musicians, Storytellers, Curators, Artists, and Authors
Virgin Music Canada
Workman Arts
