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CPPAMO

CPPAMO

Welcome to the sixth Cultural Pluralism in the Performing Arts Movement Ontario (CPPAMO) newsletter. This is a regular digest that will introduce you to, and keep you updated on CPPAMOs initiatives, and act as a portal to relevant research in the field of pluralism in the arts, innovative artists, and links to interesting talks about pluralism in the arts. The newsletter is intended to be your go-to resource for information on cultural pluralism in the arts. You have received this e-mail because you are a member of the CPPAMO listserv. Please let others who share our professional and artistic interests know about this listserv and encourage them to subscribe by sending an e-mail to cppamo@gmail.com. The listserv is moderated and is for sending out newsletters and CPPAMO updates. You may unsubscribe at any time. 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) Newsletter contents What is CPPAMO? Update on Magnetic North Update on Audience Building Workshop Research into Cultural Pluralism Future Events Who We Are Contact Us

What is CPPAMO?
Cultural Pluralism in Performing Arts Movement Ontario (CPPAMO) is a movement of Aboriginal and ethno-racial artists working with presenters to empower the performing arts communities of Ontario. CPPAMO seeks to open opportunities for Aboriginal and ethno-racial performers to engage with presenters across Ontario and to enable presenters to develop constructive relationships with Aboriginal and ethno-racial performers. CPPAMO is supported by Aboriginal and ethno-racial artists who are involved in theatre, music, dance and literary arts. They are members of CPPAMOs Roundtable and include representatives of Sampradaya Dance, Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Little Pear Garden Theatre Collective, Centre for Indigenous Theatre, Kaha:wi Dance, Sparrow in the Room, b-current, why not theatre, urban arts and backforward collective, Teyya Peya Productions, Culture Days, Canada Council Stand Firm members, Obsidian Theatre, the Collective of Black Artists, CanAsian Dance and others. With the involvement of artists from these organizations, CPPAMO is working with Community Cultural Impresarios (CCI) and its members to build their capacities, cultural competencies and understanding of pluralism in performing arts so that CCI and its members engage performers from these communities and, thereby, enable audiences

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CPPAMO

CPPAMO

across Ontario to access artistic expressions from diverse communities on a regular basis. CPPAMO gratefully acknowledges the funding support it has received for its activities from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus and the Ontario Ministry of Culture

Update on Magnetic North

On Tuesday, June 15, 2010, in collaboration with the Collective of Performing Artists (COPA) of Kitchener-Waterloo CPPAMO held its second Town Hall as a key part of Magnetic Norths Industry Series. Involving over 100 representatives at Mag-North, this session discussed how the Canadian cultural community has spent years talking about diversity and the importance of addressing it presentation practices, e.g., casting shows and filling performance spaces. Building on the foundations laid in K-W at The MT Spaces IMPACT 09 conference, this session addressed how to make concrete plans and implement them. One of the topics for this session were focused on the notion of Presenting Paradigms in Globalized Canada. As Canadas population grows and changes, and with respect to Aboriginal peoples and their lands, this component of the afternoon addressed programming strategies to better reflect who really lives here. The session aimed to facilitate learning and relationship building between creation-based culturally specific performing artists and presenters, and focused on creating homes and audiences for performance both within and without the conventional presenting networks and festival circuits, for artists from Canada and beyond our borders. The panelists for this session were: Majdi Bou-Matar (The MT Space/IMPACT, KitchenerWaterloo), Shivani Lakhanpal (Toronto International Film Festival), Eric Lariviere (Markham Theatre for Performing Arts), ahdri zhina mandiela (b current, Toronto) and Helen Yung (Culture Days, Montreal). The session was facilitated by charles c. smith (CCPAMO, Toronto) and provided an announcement by Martin DeGroot of COPA regarding its collaborative work with CPPAMO for the summer and fall of this year. This will involve establishing a community of practice in the K-W region for performing artists and presenters interested in deepening their work on pluralism in performing arts. Ideas into Action: a Workshop for Presenters Building on the above-noted plenary session, a hands-on workshop offered ways to renew presenting practices and attract new audiences. While it is crucial to bring in work that appeals to the cultural communities in our neighbourhoods, a key focus of this workshop was the importance of not making curatorial assumptions that create ghettos for intercultural art. This session provided real strategies for serving and challenging

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CPPAMO

CPPAMO

audiences while promoting pluralism, with excellence, relevance and the bottom line in mind. Shivani Lakhanpal (Toronto International Film Festival), Eric Lariviere (Markham Theatre for Performing Arts), Helen Yung (Culture Days, Montreal) charles c. smith (CCPAMO, Toronto). Presenting Art Like the Art You Make The second workshop focused on teaching an audience what to expect from artist presenters and how they search out the work of others. This session was led by Majdi Bou-Matar (The MT Space, KW), Brenda Leadley (Presentation House, North Vancouver), ahdri zhina mandiela (b current, Toronto), Janet Munsil (Intrepid Theatre, Victoria) and Marcus Youssef (neworld theatre, Vancouver). Funding for this Town Hall was received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Equity Office of the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and the Ontario Ministry of Culture.

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Update on Audience Building Workshops

CPPAMO held its first audience building workshop on Aboriginal and ethno-racial audiences and audience segmentation on June 29th at Hart House. The event was well attended by over 65 members of presenting bodies, artists, performance companies and funders. Some of the organizations participating in this session included: Markham Theatre, Rose Theatre, Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts, Meadowale and the Living Arts Centre of Mississauga, the Toronto International Film Festival, the NIA Centre for the Arts, Sampradaya Dance Creations, the Collective of Black Artists, the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus, the Ottawa Art Gallery, IMPACT (Toronto), the Dance Umbrella of Ontario, MT Space, Centre in the Square, Sheridan College, Hart House Theatre (U. of T.) and many others. The first in a series of six workshops that explore the topic of building diverse audiences, the workshop was designed to lay the groundwork for future discussions, focusing on the demographic changes in Canada and the GTA that really draw attention to the need in programming and marketing practices that reflect this new reality. The day began with presentations on these demographic shifts and their attendant socio-economic characteristics by Ryerson University professors Myer Siemiatycki (Department of Politics and Public Administration), Sandeep Agrawal (School of Urban and Regional Planning), and Shuguang Wang (Department of Geography). The talk moved from historical perspectives on demographic change and immigration to Canada, to the ethnic, educational, and economic backgrounds of immigrants, to specific case studies of Indian and Chinese immigrants to Canada, a discussion of ethnic enclaves in the GTA, and the cultural impacts of these trends. The breakout sessions involved small-group discussion on case-studies of diversity bestpractices in Canada, and sharing of the attendees own successes and challenges in programming for diverse audiences. Group sharing at the end outlined the specific

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CPPAMO

CPPAMO

barriers to access, programming, and performance that both presenters and artists face in this changing demographic terrain, laying out the points to consider in future CPPAMO workshops. CPPAMO is now planning the next in this series of six workshops. These sessions will be held toward the end of September, end of October, mid-November in 2010 and in February and March of 2011. For more information about the series of audience building workshops, or if youd like to be involved, please e-mail cppamo@gmail.com.

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Research Into Cultural Pluralism

Arts Research Monitor: Diversity, Immigration and the Arts (vol. 6.2, May 2007) http://www.hillstrategies.com/docs/ARM_vol6_no2.pdf A focus on research into diversity, immigration and the arts, including a major British report on cultural diversity and the arts, a Canadian survey of arts participation and attitudes towards the arts of diverse groups, a Canadian study of immigrants literacy skills, and a report on the social and civic participation of immigrants to Canada. Canada Council for the Arts: Aboriginal Arts Research Initiative http://www.canadacouncil.ca/publications_e/research/art_abo/uy128716664297918944. htm This document is a report on a series of consultations that were held in 2007 with Aboriginal artists, arts administrators, elders, youth and other community members. It is part of the Aboriginal Arts Research Initiative (AARI) which has been established in order to plan and undertake research which will support and inform the Canada Councils Aboriginal Arts Action Plan (AAAP). Rising to the Challenge: Developing an International Diversity Agenda for the British Council Fiona Bartels-Ellis http://www.britishcouncil.org/home-diversity-articles.htm This article outlines the steps the British Council is taking to implement a diversity and equality policy, and the challenges of such an undertaking. Arts Council of England: Decibel Evaluation, Key Findins http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/publication_archive/decibel-evaluation-key-findings/ This summary looks at the impact that decibel (ACEs diversity project aimed at raising the voice of culturally diverse arts in Britain and informing future policy in the field, specifically from post-War African, Asian and Caribbean immigration) had on the development of culturally diverse artists, arts professionals and arts organizations, and the impact on the overall market. TED Talks: Newton Aduaka tells the story of Ezra http://www.ted.com/talks/newton_aduaka_tells_the_story_of_ezra.html

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Filmmaker Newton Aduaka shows clips from his powerful, lyrical feature film "Ezra," illuminating one of the most harrowing consequences of war: the recruitment of child soldiers. Luminato Lunchtime Conversations: George Elliott Clarke and Rinaldo Walcott http://www.luminato.com/2010/tv/106/113 Engaging Canadian author George Elliott Clarke in conversation with fellow scholar Rinaldo Walcott about issues of race, access, and history in Canadian politics and culture at Luminato 2010.

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Future Events
Toronto Singapore Film Festival, July 16-17 TSFF is returning for the 5th season in 2010. The two-day film festival is being held at Revue Cinema July 16th and Innis College on the 17th. We selected a variety of features, shorts, and documentaries made by some of the most inspiring independent Singaporean film-makers. The films are in several languages including Cantonese, French, Mandarin, and Tamil. All have English subtitles. http://tsff.org/2010/

What Is Classical? August 6-8 Returning for the second time at Harbourfront Centre from August 6-8, 2010, What Is Classical? will explore classical music through music, dance and workshops from the "globalocal" perspective. This is particularly resonant for Classical music as not only has the field of vision of this genre grown to include indigenous art forms that were historically fervently local in scope, but it also includes the re-imagination of traditional interpretations to reflect the global identity of music in general. The festival will put a spotlight on the evolution of the instrumentation of Classical music, paying close attention to how the intersection of the West, East and everything in between has come together to create new roles within the genre, including the human voice. Instruments will also be looked at from the perspective of how they often have various identities across forms of classical music and how, in many ways, they are re-invented. http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldroutes2010/classical.cfm From The Soul Art Exhibition, July 23-August 13th, Bronfman Gallery, Level 2 On display during and after the Scotiabank Caribana Festival, the exhibition represents the largest single juried display of works of art by African Canadian artists. More than 160 works on canvas, several Caribana parade costumes, three dimensional bronze sculptures and award-winning ceramic pieces will be on display. Curated by renowned African-Canadian artist and activist, Joan Butterfield, the exhibition is produced by the Association of African Canadian Artists, in conjunction with Scotiabank Caribana and the ROM. http://www.rom.on.ca/exhibitions/special/caribana2010.php

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CPPAMO
Who We Are
CPPAMO COLLECTIVE MEMBERS

CPPAMO

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As a resource to plan and coordinate the Town Halls, CPPAMO has set-up a Roundtable comprised of individuals involved in the performing arts from ethno-racial and Aboriginal creation-based arts organizations and those involved in performing venues. The members of the Roundtable are: Anahita Azrahimi, Sparrow in the Room Farwah Gheewala, Education Coordinator, Soulpepper Theatre Denise Fujiwara, Canasian Dance Charmaine Headley, Collective of Black Artists Bakari Eddison Lindsay, Collective of Black Artists Lata Pada, Sampradaya Dance Creations Andrea Baker Helen Yung, Canadian Arts Coalition and Culture Days, Stand Firm Wayne Dowler, Cultural Pluralism in the Arts/University of Toronto Scarborough University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Dan Brambilla, Chief Executive Officer Sony Centre for the Performing Arts Phillip Akin, Obsidian Theatre Mae Maracle, Centre for Indigenous Theatre Brainard Bryden-Taylor, Nathaniel Dett Chorale Emily Chung, Little Pear Garden Theatre Collective Spy Denome-Welch, Aboriginal Playwright Sedina Fiati, Obsidian Theatre Danielle Smith, urban ink productions and backforward collective Ravi Jain, why not theatre Shannon Thunderbird, Teya Peya Productions Santee Smith, Kahawi Dance Menaka Thakker, Menaka Thakkar Dance Company Kevin Ormsby, Kashedance Mark Hammond, Sony Centre for Performing Arts

Contact Information Charles C. Smith Project Lead of CPPAMO Lecturer, Cultural Pluralism and the Arts/University of Toronto Scarborough charlescsmith@sympatico.ca Angela Britto Project Assistant

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CPPAMO
cppamo@gmail.com Facebook: Search CPPAMO Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cppamo Word Press: http://cppamo.wordpress.com Mailing Address: 32 Costain Avenue Toronto, ON M4E 2G6 416-686-3039 cppamo@gmail.com

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