SPARC Symposium - Subsidies & Schedule
Image Description: The SPARC logo is at the centre of this poster. Above it reads “Together Again: Rural & Remote Performing Arts” and below it ‘October 13-16, 2022; Prince Edward County”. At the bottom are the logos for Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts. A gold border surrounds everything.
Great news! There are a now a limited number of subsides available to attend Together Again: Rural & Remote Performing Arts, SPARC Symposium 2022. Applying for a subsidy is easy, just fill out the form linked below and within a few days Rachel will let you know whether your application has been approved. What are you waiting for? Oh yeah, the link ;) Here it is: https://forms.gle/t1BWdYQNBDqBLu1i8
And…. Drum roll please, if you haven’t seen it in our newsletter - the schedule is now available! We’re very excited about the workshops and performances that will be happening over Symposium, and there’s also lots of time for Peer to Peer sharing and, of course, having fun!
Before we get tot the schedule, just a reminder - Symposium takes place in Prince Edward County from Thursday October 13 - Sunday October 16. To register you can go to our eventbrite page: https://SPARCSymposium2022.eventbrite.ca
And now, with no further ado - the schedule!
Thursday October 13, 2022
7-8:30pm - Opening Reception - includes Traditional Welcome, SPARC Welcome, live performance by Kashka and passed hors d’oeuvres
Friday October 14, 2022
7:30-8am - Breakfast
8-8:20am - Welcome
8:20-8:40am - Mindful Movement with Carol Anderson
9-10am - WORKSHOP BLOCK 1 (pick one)
Describing Rurality in Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons - Frédéric Julien - CAPACOA - In the era of algorithmic recommendation, descriptive metadata drives what music, books and movies are discovered and consumed. Performing arts productions and performances follow the same logic. As our sector begins to build back, providing this information is key in helping audiences – local arts-goers and travelers alike – make informed decisions about their entertainment and destination choices.
So, how does one make such descriptive metadata available?
In this workshop, you will learn how to input essential information and photos in Wikidata and in Wikimedia Commons about local cultural venues, organizations and performing arts productions. Particular attention will be given to geographic information that can help locate your cultural offerings, and express all of the appealing aspects of their rurality.
Sparkin’ Art with a Purpose: Digital Inspiration - Warren Bain & Kit Boulter - Sparkin’ Art - Sparkin' Art is a digital inspiration studio created during the COVID-19 lockdowns to combat increased isolation that rural artists experience, and offers space to create with others in safer ways. Bain and Boulter have developed programming where participants and audiences feel connected and experience an ease trying new things, opening up, and navigating vulnerable and meaningful communications. How did they do it?
Focused Fundraising - How to Craft a Strong Case for Support - Lindy Finlan - 4th Line Theatre - Are you a reluctant arts fundraiser, a new and terrified arts grant-writer, or an artist who could use some tips about how to raise funds to support your art? Register to attend Focused Fundraising—How to Craft a Strong Case for Support, an interactive workshop led by 4th Line Theatre's General Manager Lindy Finlan, designed to inspire participants to tackle fundraising goals innovatively and to connect with other participants to network, chat, problem-solve and get inspired about your own fundraising projects.
10-10:30am - Break
10:30-11:30am - WORKSHOP BLOCK 2 (pick one)
Breathing New Life into Traditional Tales - Daniel Recollet-Mejaki & Samantha Lynn Brennan - Debajehmujig Storytellers - No matter who your ancestors are, connecting with your traditional stories (and hearing those of other cultures) is vital to creating a shared culture of understanding and unity in a world that is so desperately divided.
Debajehmujig artists share their methods of sourcing, animating and updating traditional Anishnaabe stories for modern audiences that maintain and honour the spirit of the stories.
Growing the Next Generation: Youth Theatre in a Rural Setting - Peggy Raftis, Megan Raftis & Dan Bieman - Grey Wellington Theatre Guild - Cliche as it might be, youth are our future in theatre as much as eveytlwhere else, so join us as we discuss ways to incorporate this notriously hard to reach group into your theatre! We'll share tips, strategies and lessons we've learned from more than ten years of Summer Youth Theatre productions.
From Competition to Collaboration - Stephanie Draker (WorkInCulture) & Fanny Martin (Art of Festivals) - From Competition to Collaboration: Fanny Martin of Art of Festivals and Stephanie Draker of WorkInCulture will provide artists, presenters and producers an opportunity to reflect on what it takes to find common ground and create strong, nurturing and mutually beneficial collaborations with their peers and partners.
11:30am-12:45pm - Lunch
12:15-12:45 - Open Stage (come and play with us in this acoustic open stage)
12:45-1:45pm - Facilitated Peer to Peer Sharing
1:55-2:55pm - Youth Arts Panel - a facilitated panel of Youth Engaged Arts Practitioners
2:55-3:15pm - Break
3:15-4pm - Funders Panel - representatives from funding agencies share success stories from rural and remote applicants
4:15-5pm - Facilitated Peer to Peer Sharing
6:30-8pm - Dinner
8-8:20pm - Shatterbox Theatre performance
8:30-8:50pm - Short Attention Spa performance
9-10:30pm - DJ Hri Neil will create a fun, upbeat party atmosphere for us (cash bar available)
Saturday October 15, 2022
7:30-8:40am - Breakfast
8:40-9am - Brain & Body Warm-up with Arwyn Carpenter
9-9:45am - Network Presentation
9:55-10:35am - Facilitated Peer to Peer Sharing
10:35-11am - Break
11am-12pm - WORKSHOP BLOCK 3 (pick one)
Kingsbridge Centre - A Community Together - Jennifer Miltenburg & Marianne Hogan - St. Joseph’s Kingsbridge Centre - When St Joseph’s church closed in 2012, it left a vibrant rural community isolated. The nearest public building is over 15 km away; there was no venue for public gatherings, meetings, performance or rental options. Kingsbridge Centre is now a multi- use facility run entirely by volunteers with a mandate to provide a building for community gatherings, performance opportunities, rural education and rental options.The real strength of Kingsbridge is its diverse set of individuals, businesses, public and private organizations sharing the goal of rural revitalization with a community-based agenda. This session will share how they took the church from closed to vibrantly open and serving the community.
Collaborations: Just Do It! - Jack Langenhuizen & James Croker - MOTUS O dance theatre - Based on recent experiences, James and Jack from MOTUS O dance theatre will share and inspire individual artists and organizations to start thinking of non-conventional ways to get their art back 'out there' through community collaborations. From Covid's disastrous cancellations, to inspiring brand-new ideas.
Empowering Rural and Remote Creators with Climate Action Tools - Devon Hardy & Ian Garrett - Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts - This session will be a collaborative exercise to help participants identify their key values and priorities when it comes to taking environmental action in their communities. In addition to empowering participants to take action on the climate crises, we hope to identify ways in which Creative Green Tools Canada can be improved to bring greater utility and representation to arts and culture organizations from rural and remote communities.
12-1pm - Lunch (bagged lunch on this day)
1-5:30pm - Excursions! Excursions have been staggered so that you may attend more than one and include - Walking with Thunder on the Millennium Trail; a private, guided tour of the new Base 31 arts complex; a self-guided tour of Picton; and more! (details to be released as we get closer to Symposium)
6:30-8pm - Dinner - a traditional and locally sourced Indigenous meal
8-8:30pm - Presentation
8:45-10:30pm - Performance and party atmosphere by That’s What She Said - That's What She Said is a female-centric band of music industry professionals that like to get together and play music that makes them happy. Mostly from the 80s and 90s. (cash bar available)
Sunday October 16, 2022
8-9am - Breakfast - a heavy cooked brunch to start our day off right!
9-10:30/11am - SPARC Annual General Meeting & close of Symposium 2022
