Advancing Pluralism – Developing A Shared Service To Support Aboriginal And Ethno-Racial Arts’ Organizations

ADVANCING PLURALISM – DEVELOPING A SHARED SERVICE

TO SUPPORT ABORIGINAL AND ETHNO-RACIAL

ARTS’ ORGANIZATIONS

DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY

MAY 2014

1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction 3

2. Guiding Principles 3

3. Why Project Is Needed Now 4

4. The Project’s Framework 5

5. Consultation Focus 7

2

1. Introduction:

This document puts forward a framework to discuss the development of a project entitled Advancing Pluralism – Developing A Collaborative Community of Practice to Support Aboriginal and Ethno-Racial Arts’ Organizations. This process will explore the feasibility of the proposed CPAMO project, including ways to establish it and to attract the funding to sustain it.

CPAMO has been in operation since 2009 and has worked in partnership with a number of organizations to promote pluralism in the arts and to support Aboriginal and ethno-racial artists and arts organizations. This has been done through workshops, collaborations, public forums, research, publication and knowledge-sharing. As part of CPAMO’s growth, a survey of its members was taken in December 2012. This survey indicated that many CPAMO members had similar strengths and needs.

This survey was followed up with interviews of a number of CPAMO members to explore in more detail the survey results and to discuss ideas on best ways of moving forward 1. As a result, CPAMO submitted proposals to implement a mentoring project and now CPAMO is putting forward this discussion document to gain input into the development of its next project, i.e., providing a range of shared services to a group of Aboriginal and ethno-racial artists and arts organizations.

To support and assist in the development of this project, CPAMO has also established an Advisory Committee. The CPAMO survey and Advisory Committee Terms of Reference are appended. The process will be guided by the Advisory Committee providing their experience and knowledge to the project and its implementation.

The project is described below. The purpose of this document is to receive feedback from CPAMO members and other interested organizations on this project proposal. This will assist CPAMO in preparing for its next phase of activities.

2. Guiding Principles:

Since its establishment in 2009, CPAMO has been guided by a commitment to equity and shared learning in the arts. With the involvement of Aboriginal and ethno-racial artists, CPAMO works to build relationships, capacities, cultural competencies and understanding of pluralism in the arts to enhance the profile of Aboriginal and ethno-racial artists, build the interest and capacities of presenters and enable audiences

1Both the CPAMO Project Lead and Consultant met with a total of 15 individuals to discuss a draft strategy based on the survey and other data, and entitled “Collaborations in the Arts – A Partnership Between Aboriginal and Ethno-racial Artists and the Majors (CHECK TITLE). This document is on file with CPAMO and is available on request.

3

across Ontario to access high quality artistic expressions from diverse communities on a regular basis.

Through its initiatives, CPAMO has identified several challenges that are impacting the broader goal of equity and pluralism in the arts. CPAMO has convened numerous workshops, Town Halls, conducted research and issued reports on these matters. Several of these can be viewed on CPAMO’s website (http://cpamo.wordpress.com) which has documented these sessions, many of which have been conducted with CPAMO members as workshop resources and performers. CPAMO has also included art services organizations and major funders in the planning and implementation of these activities.

In developing the Advancing Pluralism project, CPAMO seeks to continue its work in this process of capacity building, shared learning and contributing value within the arts ecology.

3. Why Project Is Needed Now:

In the numerous CPAMO public forums and in the 2012 CPAMO survey, Roundtable members and others have noted that there are several challenges to developing and sustaining their arts organizations and promoting their artistic practice. In many instances, this has become quite the crisis, causing a need for immediate action. Some of these challenges include:

Canada And Pluralism. Demographic changes, particularly the growth of Aboriginal and ethno-racial communities, and the influence on/contributions to globalization, has led to the development of diverse stories and artistic traditions and the impact of these on Canadian cultural identity;

The Current Funding Environment. The history of arts funding in Canada and the era beyond historical exclusion of Aboriginal and ethno-racial artists still plays a significant part of the support provided to artists as is evident in disparities in artists' incomes and funding. In an environment with little growth in public funding dollars for the arts, there is an almost exponential growth in applications for funding from Aboriginal and ethno-racial artists which exacerbates this challenge;

The 'Shared Platform' Conversation and Its Relevance to the Arts. There is a dialogue now being promoted following the release of the ‘Shared Platform’ report by Jane Marsland for the Metcalf Foundation and the growth of this dialogue amongst foundations (e.g., Laidlaw, Metcalf, Trillium) and arts groups (e.g., SKETCH)

The Growth of Aboriginal and ethno-racial artists. There is a seemingly

4

exponential increase in Aboriginal and ethno-racial artists and arts organizations and the disciplines they are active in;

Challenges Faced By Artists And Presenters. There are challenges articulated in various reports and forums examining how artists and presenters are making efforts to address demographic changes and developing an understanding of diverse artistic expressions. This is also evident in dialogue on community engagement and in efforts to attract new audiences to the diverse artistic expressions of Aboriginal and ethno-racial artists;

Individually and cumulatively, these and other factors have significant influence on Aboriginal and ethno-racial artists and arts organizations. In an effort to reduce these factors, this CPAMO project calls for increasing collaborative activities between interested Aboriginal and ethno-racial artists and arts organizations. It is anticipated that such collaboration may reduce their costs in several ways, increase access to diverse communities and audiences, and establish a range of shared resources, e.g., volunteers, marketing and promotional activities,

4. The Project’s Framework:

There are several examples of collaborations in the arts that have had a number of arts organizations work together for a common cause in which their own visions and creative outputs benefit, e.g., they receive higher attendance at their events and share outreach and communications with other artists and arts organizations, while at the same time they support the work of other artists and arts organizations.

To address this, there are several possible aspects to this that will involve selected arts’ organizations and CPAMO Roundtable members in:

a) working together to share successful strategies and to implement collaborative approaches to developing and promoting their work; and

b) sharing with presenters to enhance mutual understanding, community engagement, curatorial competence and resource sharing.

In terms of (a), the limited resources available from arts funders requires new ways of developing and promoting artistic creation and performance. Given the disparities in funding and how they impact on Aboriginal and racialized artists and arts organizations, it may be useful forsome interested individuals and organizations to engage in developing collaborative approaches to supporting their individual and collective efforts. This might include:

i. resource sharing to promote the value and importance of the collective interest of participating arts organizations;

5

ii. developing an annual calendar and promotional materials involving participating artists;

iii. coordinating volunteers to assist participating organizations as needed, e.g., for front of house and other activities;

iv. sharing audience data bases in order to develop and produce shared marketing and promotional materials;

v. sharing venues for performance purposes to enable participants to stage work for longer periods of time, enhance access to diverse audiences and reduce costs for rental and promotional/marketing activities;

vi. assessing ways to provide space to CPAMO Roundtable members who need such for rehearsals and workshops.

There may be other ideas that come forward through this consultation. This project will engage project participants in peer-to-peer information sharing and brainstorming on approaches to collaborative activities.

In addition, the project will continue to enhance relationships with presenters by convening two sessions per year to assist project participants in creating an effective sponsorship package to enhance the organization’s ‘pitch’.

Both of these sessions will include:

(i) Project Participants and CPAMO Roundtable members. Over the past years, CPAMO Roundtable members such as REELAsian Film Festival, Manifesto, KasheDance, FuGen Asian Theatre, Sampradaya Dance Creations, IMAGINATIVE Film Festival, Red Sky Performance, South Asian Visual Arts Collective, Why Not Theatre and others have made successful ‘ptiches’ to Luminato, Richmond Hill Theatre, University of Toronto Scarborough, Hart House, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Rose Theatre (Brampton) and other venues. Such a session would pair the aforementioned CPAMO members with the ‘major’ organization(s) they have worked with.

(ii) Engaging Presenters. CPAMO has worked successfully with several presenters who are interested in supporting the CPAMO Roundtable members. Some of these presenters include: Oakville Theatre, Markham Theatre, Ontario Contact, Prologue to the Performing Arts, CanDance Network. This session will be delivered by presenters who would provide insight into their decision-making processes and curatorial perspectives.

Based on the feedback received through focus groups, a survey of and interviews with a random sampling of CPAMO Roundtable members, a project proposal will be developed to address:

6

The 'Advancing Pluralism' Program Theme Areas. This will be done to articulate the elements of the project’s service offerings, their relevance to Aboriginal and ethno-racial arts’ organizations and the viability of the development and roll-out of such services;

Shared Platforms and Collaborative/Co-op Models. This will address current models of shared services and the feasibility of these models to support the proposed 'Advancing Pluralism' program. This area will also assess the appropriate organizational structure needed to support this Program e.g., arts incubator, collaborative/co-op model or 'Shared Platform' and how this dovetails with current models promoting pluralism in the arts;

Eligibility Criteria And Selection Process. This will assess the criteria for entry into the 'Advancing Pluralism' program and the process for selecting Aboriginal and ethno-racial arts’ organizations to participate in this program;

Efforts to Promote Pluralism in the Arts. This will review what is taking place in the arts ecology to support pluralism in the arts. For example, arts councils, e.g., the Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts as well as the Canadian Association of Public Arts Funders, have been actively supporting and exploring mechanisms to support pluralism in the arts. Parallel to this, arts organizations have been actively engaged in this. For example, CPAMO has established several public programs, i.e., Town Halls, building relationships between artists and presenters, conducting research and sharing knowledge, and supporting public engagement activities to promote pluralism in the arts. As well, other arts organizations have been involved in such endeavours, including the Neighbourhood Arts Network, Vancouver International Dance Festival, Canada Dance Assembly, Prismatic Theatre Festival, IMPACT Festival, FlatoMarkham Theatre and others.

Resources (Human And Financial) Needed. This will review the 'Advancing Pluralism' project and the funding, human and technological resources needed to support it;

Funding Sources And Implementation Options. This will look at the sources of funding to support the 'Advancing Pluralism' program, the process required to receive the funding needed and the methods of accountability for funds received.

5. Consultation Questions:

This consultation document offers several shared service possibilities to support CPAMO Roundtable members and other interested Aboriginal and ethno-racial artists

7

and arts organizations. While these ideas have been suggested in several CPAMO forums and in the CPAMO 2012 survey, they have not been the subject of an open forum; nor has there been any indication of artists and arts organizations that might participate in such a platform.

The seven issues noted immediately above are the basis for the consultation with CPAMO Roundtable members and others who are interested. The consultation will take place through a series of focus groups, a survey of and interviews with CPAMO Roundtable members.

The process and timelines to move forward on this consultation will be:

Convening 3 focus groups in May; Conducting a survey of CPAMO Roundtable members in May; Interviewing a random sampling of CPAMO Roundtable members in May and

June; Assessing feedback from these activities in June and July; Reporting to the Advisory Committee in August; Convening final consultations in September Preparing grant applications to the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Canada

Council for the Arts in October.

The focus for the surveys, focus groups and interviews will assess the merits of CPAMO establishing a shared platform to:

i. Share resources to promote the value and importance of the collective interest of participating arts organizations;

ii. Develop an annual calendar and promotional materials involving participating artists;

iii. Coordinate volunteers to assist participating organizations as needed, e.g., for front of house and other activities;

iv. Share audience data bases in order to develop and produce shared marketing and promotional materials;

v. Share venues for performance purposes to enable participants to stage work for longer periods of time, enhance access to diverse audiences and reduce costs for rental and promotional/marketing activities;

vi. Assess ways to provide space to CPAMO Roundtable members who need such for rehearsals and workshops.

8

vii. Enhance relationships with presenters through ‘pitch sessions’ and other knowledge-sharing activities.

Those engaged in the consultation process will be asked to comment on the following concerns for each area:

1. Does this service(s) meet your needs? If so, how would it/they help?

2. Are you willing to work with other artists and arts organizations to share resources and services? If so, what would you like to receive from such a shared platform? What would you be willing to contribute to such a shared platform?

3. Are there other services that you think should be considered for inclusion in such a shared platform?

4. Should there be an application process for artists and arts organizations to indicate their interest and commitment to joining in such a program? If so, what should the criteria be for this?

9