Saint John’s arts community is celebrating after a big funding boost from BMO.

The Saint John Theatre Company (SJTC) says the financial institution has committed $150,000 in sponsorship money over the next three years.

The contribution not only continues a long-standing relationship between BMO and the SJTC, it ensures the arts organization is secure as it heads into the next few years.

“(Since) they started supporting the theatre company back in 2006, we are literally about 15 times bigger an organization today that we were (then),” says Stephen Tobias, SJTC’s executive director.

“So this is really designed to help the theatre company continue to build capacity (and) to shore up our administrative capacity, our management teams, all of that so that we can continue to grow the company.”

Tobias says one of the ways this commitment from BMO will help is in securing the organization as it continues to develop the old courthouse on Sydney Street into a 250-seat venue and the future home of the Atlantic Repertory Company (ARC).

“We’ve got about a three to four year window now to really increase the management and operational capacity of the company to be able to absorb that new venue into our inventory without getting into trouble as we start to manage the extra programming, extra staffing, extra everything that will come into play as we add this venue,” explains Tobias.

According to its website, SJTC currently averages over 180 performances each year of over 40 creative works, making it one of the most prolific theatre-makers in Atlantic Canada.