Call for Proposals: B.C. Buds: a Spring Arts Fair January 11, 2008

Call for Proposals:

B.C. Buds: a Spring Arts Fair

The Firehall Arts Centre is pleased to announce the fourth annual B.C. Buds:
A Spring Arts Fair to be held May 16th thru 18th, 2008 at the Firehall.
For three days in May, the Firehall will present theatre, dance, music and
interdisciplinary artists in performances which will take place in the theatre, on the
outdoor stage, in the courtyard, studio, stairwells, offices and the many nooks and
crannies of the heritage arts centre.
BC Buds provides an opportunity for artists to try out new works and re-cultivate existing works while giving audiences an opportunity to explore and experience the arts in informal and unorthodox settings. All performances will be free.
B.C. Buds will pay a fee to artists for their work and will provide travel and
accommodation for out of town artists. A programming committee will work with
those applicants selected to determine the best on site location for their proposed
work.

What kinds of work are we in search of?
•    Works from all performing arts disciplines will be considered.
•    Works in length from five minutes to twenty minutes.
•    Works that can be staged in non-traditional ways in non-traditional
theatrical locations. For example: stairwells, offices, outdoor courtyard
area, on the fire pole.
•    Some programming suitable for children / families

Who can apply?
Applicants must be residents of British Columbia and must be actively pursuing a
Professional career in their artistic discipline. Individuals, companies, collectives
are all eligible to apply.

Application Forms are available by request
through the Firehall Arts Centre:
firehall@firehallartscentre.ca
Or call 604-689-0691
Deadline for receipt of application:   March 1st, 2008

Call for Papers: Conference for Creative Economy in Canada November 24, 2007

Call for Papers: Conference for Creative Economy in Canada Deadline – December 7 The conference Board of Canada and The Department of Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada, are pleased to announce a Call for Papers for the International Forum on Creative Economy. Papers are welcome in either of Canada’s official languages, French or English. This International Forum will include keynote speakers, presentations, lectures, and other activities aimed at examining recent evidence on the arts and cultural sector as an important engine of economic growth. Papers must address one or more of the four Forum themes listed below.  1. Creative Economy in Transition: Arts and Culture in Domestic and Global Markets

2. Measuring Arts and Culture as an Economic and Social Engine of a Country’s Wealth

3. Consumption Dynamics: Consumers Driving Change

4. Innovation and Research: Mobilizing New Practices

All abstract submissions should be provided by email to Barbara Fennessy at fennessy@conferenceboard.ca.

Whose voice is this, anyway? Exploring Artistic Control and Issues of Ownership in Community Arts Practice July 26, 2007

Whose voice is this, anyway? Exploring Artistic Control and Issues of Ownership in Community Arts Practice by Douglas David Durand

“If I had been more present when Liz asked us to make a few comments by way of
introduction, I would have said: ‘My mom died (at age 89) in my arms yesterday. I can’t
think of a place I’d rather be than included in a circle of dancers.’”
The sincerity and intimacy of this testimonial perturbed me. The email message was
sent as a note of appreciation, by a woman who recently had participated in a dance
workshop that I organized in May, 2004. It was led by the award-winning American
choreographer Liz Lerman, widely recognized as a pioneer for her work in settings such
as nursing homes for seniors and innovative collaborations between artists and
community. This workshop had brought together a disparate group of dancers and
community members, and was one of many that I have coordinated in my capacity as
Community Outreach Director of the Victoria Dance Series in Victoria, British Columbia…

Whose voice is this, anyway? Exploring Artistic Control and Issues of Ownership in Community Arts Practice

Thanks Doug, you’re fabulous.

Robyn

ARTS AND SOCIAL CHANGE Workshop in Toronto May 27, 2007

ARTS AND SOCIAL CHANGE
June 16th and June 17th, 2007 10:00 to 5:00 Margo Charlton and Tristan Whiston.

Art-making can create waves that ripple out, changing individuals and communities. Participants will share their ideas and discuss ways that art can create social change. Workshop participants will creatively examine the tensions that swirl around community-engaged art making. Some questions for examination include the balance of process and product; insider and outsider dynamics; aesthetics and ethics; and ways to achieve personal, political or social transformation. On the second day the group will visit community arts sites and events in Toronto or create an arts intervention in a community setting. The activity will be determined by the group.

This workshop is organized by the Knowing through the Arts Program of ISIS-Canada; the Toronto-based organization runs training courses and is a member of the International Network of Expressive Arts Therapy Training Centres that interconnect institutes in North America, Europe and the Middle East.

Margo and Tristan are ISIS-Canada graduates with extensive experience in group facilitation, professional and community-based theatre creation.

Fee: $80 for both days. $50 for Saturday only.

To register: Please email heartyproductions@gmail.com

First Nations training program in B.C. May 14, 2007

APPLICATIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR FULL CIRCLE FIRST NATIONS PERFORMANCE 2 YEAR ENSEMBLE TRAINING PROGRAM/ 2007-2009

Developing innovative, professional Aboriginal performing artists who can create powerful contemporary artistic practices from, and with, strong traditional connections. Deadline for applications is July 15th,2007

More Information & Applications may be found on our website: www.fullcircleperformance.ca This is a two-year, four-term, subsidized program that runs from September thru April. This program is generously funded through the National Arts Training Contribution Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage. The Ensemble Training Program provides an opportunity for participating artists, both professional and pre-professional, to learn a variety of skills and become part of

Full Circle’s Ensemble–ideal for Aboriginal artists who wish to develop and practice their art in a way that appreciates cultural traditions. This exciting collaborative work aims at developing Aboriginal artists and practices that embody, celebrate, and share an understanding of their peoples’ traditions.

The program allows participating artists to develop skills that will assist them in both the evolution of forms for their own personal artistic practice, as well as for group creation. Training is grounded within the context of an Ensemble focus. This methodology supports the development of individuals with a commitment to creating a cohesive, connected, and unified “voice” within themselves; and a desire to apply that “voice” towards the creation of Contemporary Aboriginal Arts practices that embody, celebrate, and share understanding of Aboriginal perspectives and principles within the community. This two-year, subsidized Ensemble Training Program was created in 2002 by Margo Kane, Artistic & Managing Director of Full Circle: First Nations Performance, and based in Vancouver, BC. This program is generously funded through the National Arts Training Contribution Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

The Canada Council for the Arts launches special 50th anniversary web site February 9, 2007

2007 is the 50th anniversary of the Canada Council for the Arts. For five decades, the Council has given Canadians access to their own stories through the imagination of artists in every corner of the country.

Want to know more about Canadian artists?

Check out the artists stories and historical timeline.

Looking for arts events in your area?

The Council has up-to-date information on arts events, including over 100 events across Canada dedicated to the Council’s 50th anniversary.

The 50 for 50 Arts Challenge!

Seek out 50 special arts experiences this year that will put you in closer touch with the artistic life of your community.  Tell us about your experiences at 50@canadacouncil.ca. You may see your contribution on the web!

Enjoy our 50th anniversary web site. Share this information with friends and colleagues.

www.50.canadacouncil.ca

B.C. Buds: a Spring Arts Fair February 9, 2007

Firehall Arts Centre

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

B.C. Buds: a Spring Arts Fair

The Firehall Arts Centre is pleased to announce the third annual B.C. Buds: a Spring Arts Fair to be held May 18th thru 20th, 2007 at the Firehall.

For three days in May, the Firehall will present theatre, dance, music and interdisciplinary artists in performances which will take place in the theatre, on the outdoor stage, in the courtyard, studio, stairwells, offices and the many nooks and crannies of the heritage arts centre.

Modelled after the very successful spring arts fair created by Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, the event will provide an opportunity for artists to try out new works and re-cultivate existing works while giving audiences an opportunity to explore and experience the arts in informal and unorthodox settings. All performances will be free.

B.C. Buds will pay a fee to artists for their work and will provide travel and accommodation for out of town artists. A programming committee will work with those applicants selected to determine the best on site location for their proposed work.

What kinds of work are we in search of?

Works from all performing arts disciplines will be considered.

Works in length from five minutes to twenty minutes.

Works that can be staged in non-traditional ways in non-traditional theatrical locations. For example: stairwells, offices, outdoor courtyard area, on the fire pole.

Some programming suitable for children / families

Who can apply:

Applicants must be residents of British Columbia and must be actively pursuing a professional career in their artistic discipline. Individuals, companies, collectives are all eligible to apply.

Application Forms are available by request

through the Firehall Arts Centre:

firehall@firehallartscentre.ca

or call 604-689-0691

Deadline for receipt of application:

February 15th , 2007

Meaning? Seek, cultivate and connect with diverse audiences November 16, 2006

McGauley, in her review of the Canada Council’s Arts and Communities Collaboration Fund, makes some salient points about the state of dance art today, and references many relevant books, articles and publications.  The entire report is worth checking out as a snapshot overview of our situation; here is a teaser, and one of my favourite sections of her report:

“A recent internal Expenditures and Program Assessment Review exercise (EPAR), titled Enhancing Public Engagement with, and Access to, the Arts and Improving Dissemination and Audience and Market Development begins:

 

For a work of art to mean anything, someone must experience it, be moved by
it, even, we hope, be changed by it. The future of the arts lies in its
ability to seek, cultivate, and connect with diverse audiences, whether in
Canada or around the world. The Council has a central role to play as
enabler of these contacts.

 

Artist community collaborations are proving to be key components in developing infrastructures that support many forms of public engagement and facilitate audience development. When art becomes relevant again to the everyday lives of Canadians, when they are included in the conversation, these connections are more likely.”

For the rest of the report, click here.

Call for nominations, Canada Council’s 2007 Molson Prizes November 16, 2006

Call for Nominations: Canada Council for the Arts 2007 Molson Prizes
The Canada Council for the Arts is seeking nominations for the 2007 Molson Prizes. The Molson Prizes of $50,000 each are awarded annually to distinguished individuals to encourage continuing contributions to the cultural and intellectual heritage of Canada. Nominations and related documentation must be submitted directly to the Canada Council for the Arts. Deadline for nominations is December 1, 2006. For information on the nomination process or to obtain nomination forms, please visit www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes <blocked::”>http://www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes> <http://www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes> .

Vancouver: On the Road (A touring workshop for performing artists) November 16, 2006

On the Road: A touring workshop for performing artists
A three-day workshop (in January 2007) organized by the Canada Council for the Arts in partnership with the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver, BC. An intensive workshop expands on the on-line how-to material <http://www.canadacouncil.ca/development/ontheroad/touringhandbook/kf127729250448311227.htm> with a focus on international touring for artists who are already actively touring but want to consider developing new market potential in the international arena, in particular Asia and the US. The workshop will be held over three days featuring knowledgeable guest instructors who will share their perspectives, expertise and real life experiences.

Here is the link for the workshop
http://www.canadacouncil.ca/development/lf127964966599509580.htm
The info and registration forms are online. The deadline is 1 December.
Capacity Building organizations: please contact the Equity Office if you require travel assistance to attend

Melinda Mollineaux

Equity Coordinator / Coordonnatrice du Bureau de l’équité
Canada Council for the Arts / Conseil des Arts du Canada
1-800-263-5588 ext. 5221 / poste 5221
Fax / Télèc. (613) 566-4409
www.canadacouncil.ca <http://www.canadacouncil.ca> / www.conseildesarts.ca <http://www.conseildesarts.ca>

Toronto Life deadline alert November 16, 2006

TORONTO LIFE DEADLINE ALERT – FEBRUARY/07 – A SHORT MONTH!
Because Toronto Life works in advance, the DEADLINE for FEBRUARY PREVIEWS, 2007 is NOVEMBER 18.
(Do not copy your material to the editor. She only forwards it back to the writer. There is also no need to send photographs. Should TL want a photograph, you will be contacted. In short –send text material to the appropriate writer only .)

INSTRUCTIONS
Toronto Life is more than a listing; it is a PREVIEW, and the more details about the performance/exhibit/event that you send, the more exciting the writer can make the event sound. (This element needs to be beefed up in particular.)

Each time you send details about a performance/exhibit/event, remember to include the following data AT THE BEGINNING OF THE INFORMATION, AND IN THIS ORDER:

DATES of run
TIMES of show
TICKET PRICES (lowest to highest)
VENUE (with exact street address)
BOX OFFICE number
WEB PAGE address (if available)
CONTACT PERSON and PHONE NUMBER (for fact-checking purposes).

Please submit event info to your appropriate Toronto Life writer as listed below. Please describe the event in as much detail as you can. IF THERE IS A CONFLICT OF DEPARTMENTS, SEND TO BOTH WRITERS AND FLAG THAT YOU HAVE DONE SO. TL WILL WORK IT OUT.

THE WRITERS
Art: Betty Ann Jordan, bajordan@sympatico.ca
Classical Music: Rick MacMillan, r.macmillan@rogers.com
Dance: Paula Citron, pcitron@sympatico.ca
Diversions (events, literary readings, lectures, film etc): Brent Ledger, jbl@interlog.com
Jazz: Stuart Broomer, broomer@sprynet.com
Pop Music/Nightlife: Jason Anderson, janders86@rogers.com
Theatre: Stephanie Verge, sverge@torontolife.com

If you wish to send a hard copy press kit, please address it to the appropriate writer at Toronto Life, and it will be forwarded on.
(Writer’s Name)
Toronto Life
111 Queen Street East, Suite 320
Toronto
M5C 1S2
This was found on the Dance Umbrella Ontario website http://www.danceumbrella.net/newsletter.htm#Announcements 

Canada Council’s Arts and Communities Collaboration Fund November 12, 2006

The Canada Council has some rather cool ideas about community dance. Not bad, for a big funding agency – in fact, they should be (and have been!) applauded for setting some of the hottest trends in the field.

There is the Arts and Communities Collaboration Fund (ACCF). “Artists and community collaboration is an arts process that actively involves the work of professional artists and non-arts community members in creative and collaborative relationships.” The ACCF has recently been favourably reviewed. To read the full review by Laurie McGauley click here (if you’re not up for the entire document then read the Executive Summary – it’s quite fun) . The report is called An External Review of the Canada Council for the Arts’ Artists and Community Collaboration Fund. The ACCF has now been rolled into the permanent funding practices of the Canada Council (for more info on this click here), and is available in dance and other disciplines.

- R

Defying definition November 12, 2006

 

Community dance, at its best, defies current definitions.

The concepts, language and theoretical frameworks that we use should not remain static – we must continue to move in directions, and continually search for appropriate ways of describing what we are up to. Our work, by nature (if it is truly cutting edge and ‘contemporary’) will baffle current conceptual frameworks, and we must accept the communication hurdle willingly and audaciously.

Here is a section of Laurie McGauley’s report on review of the Canada Council’s Arts and Community Collaboration Fund that is astute in its articulation of our situation in Canada (this is on page 8 of the review):

“The scope and breath of the work being done throughout Canada confirms that these are practices that extend boundaries and defy clear definitions. This work is truly multi and inter disciplinary, including disciplines in humanities, social and political sciences. Some of these approaches are more familiar, following in the traditions of residencies, art education, audience development, advocacy or dissemination. But the ‘newer’ collaborative practices have been identified as unclear and confusing by some sections at the Canada Council. Since the Council’s own definition and assessment criteria put such weight on collaboration, this section focuses on current concepts, language and theoretical frameworks that deal with these artistic practices.”

This topic is inexhaustible – so many questions are raised here about the role of the artist in society, the role of language in power relations, and the politics of frameworks. I am seeing more and more of this information be dealt with in a variety of ways around the world. Check out my blog posts on the new framework for community dance in the UK, the strategies for dance in Australia and New Zealand, the audience development initiatives in Scotland, and the research on community participation from the USA and some picture that hints at unity remains as unattached puzzle pieces.

- R

Role of the artist in community? November 12, 2006

This is an excerpt from Laurie McGauley’s review of the Canada Council’s ACCF program (pages 8-10):

“Cultural democracy implies openness to other understandings of what art is, and of the role of the artist in community. The sometimes tortured longing for connection and relevance is a particularly Western phenomenon; other cultures can demonstrate alternative collaborative approaches to art making. There is a growing awareness that we need to listen and learn from First Nations and other communities that have art traditions outside of signature culture and commodity culture.

There is a predictable resistance to a shift in this direction as it threatens the Western paradigm. We use language like inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary as if these are unusual, innovative concepts, other cultures don’t understand how we’ve fragmented life into so many ‘disciplines’ to begin with. Artists working in non-Western traditions are getting impatient with our lack of vocabulary to describe and understand other approaches. In a recent issue of FUSE magazine, Melanie Fernandez’ article Reflections of a former Community Arts Officer is a response to some of these questions. She provocatively calls for the re-evaluation of the ‘professionalization’ of art, and for a genuine openness to the diverse possibilities of art:

“It is clear now, in hindsight, that while a shared definition is still important for community arts, we cannot foreclose on the importance of understanding the ways in which community arts are grounded in their cultural contexts”. (14)

These issues help to explain why there is a palpable resistance to narrowing the Council’s broad definition; outside of the focus on collaboration, the language and concepts are still evolving. A commitment to cultural democracy necessarily leads to this questioning of some of western society’s foundational principals about aesthetics, the role of the artist, our ways of understanding and evaluating art. As noted by dance artist Maureen Shea, we’re “starting to realize that context is everything”.

For me, this is part of a large discussion about community dance in the colonized (and colonizing, and recolonized) world. It involves uncomfortable questions of ‘relinquishing power’ to people (in the very relinquishing of power there is a power play), of engaging others (in ways of our choice, not of theirs), of encouraging ‘diversity’ (and who decides how this is identifiable). These are questions that hover about us in our work. We need to be brave in so many ways when working in community dance: we need to listen and learn, pose questions with interest and curiosity, and we need to not know and remain not knowing. Instead we need to aspire to inquire, and continually open the channel for more and greater inquiry. We need to realize, as Maureen Shea states above, that context is everything and to take this seriously.

- R