The Gathering Divergence Winter 2026

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A Multi-Arts Day Focusing on Black Arts in the Creative Sector

February 24, 2026 via Zoom

The Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival and Conference is a dynamic and supportive convening of arts practitioners, dedicated to sharing strategies that advance the work of Indigenous, racialized, Deaf, disabled, mad, women, and other historically marginalized artists and communities.

For its February 2026 edition — WINTER 2026 | Black Arts in a Time Like Now — the festival centers the current realities of Black arts in the creative sector. This one-day mini-festival will both examine the landscape facing Black artists and arts organizations today and actively support those developing or envisioning projects seeking future funding. The winter session is designed to foster sustainable systems that strengthen and support thriving Black-led artistic practices and organizations.

Festival Highlights

1) PANEL DISCUSSION – The State of Black Arts in Canada | 1pm – 2:15pm

How are Black artists and  organizations coping, operating, and progressing in 2026? This timely conversation responds to the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent, extended through 2034, and its call to action around recognition, justice, and development. Panelists will explore the impacts of marginalization and underfunding, while also highlighting success stories and resilient practices within Black art-making communities in Ontario and across Canada. The discussion will foreground Black culture and cultural practices as essential sites of artistic and social value.

2) WORKSHOP  – Visioning Workshop for Black Creatives | 2:30pm – 4pm

This interactive workshop supports Black artists and organizations in developing and envisioning projects for future funding. Participants will work with experienced arts consultants in breakout sessions focused on strategy-building, funding pathways, sustainability, and fundraising. The workshop balances big-picture visioning with practical tools participants can immediately apply to their work.

Tickets: $10 each panel/workshop or $20 for the full day. 

Please note: If ticket prices are a barrier to attending, please let us know and we will provide a complimentary ticket.

Register Today!

About the Festival

Now in its 8th year, the Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival and Conference is a space to gather, diverge, and intersect across disciplines, practices, and perspectives within the performing arts and the broader arts sector. We are invested in the intersections of thought, conversation, and performance.

Our February mini-festival specifically amplifies and supports the advancement of Black artists and Black-led organizations.

Our Funders & Supporters:

Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO) is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, Sun Life, Azrieli Foundation, Metcalf Foundation, City of Toronto, and Barrett and Welsh.

Save the date: The Gathering Divergence Winter 2026

Posted on by

A Multi-Arts Day Focusing on Black Arts in the Creative Sector

(TORONTO, ON – February 2, 2026) The Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival and Conference is a dynamic and supportive convening of arts practitioners, dedicated to sharing strategies that advance the work of Indigenous, racialized, Deaf, disabled, mad, women, and other historically marginalized artists and communities.

For its February 2026 edition — WINTER 2026 | Black Arts in a Time Like Now — the festival centers the current realities of Black arts in the creative sector. This one-day mini-festival will both examine the landscape facing Black artists and arts organizations today and actively support those developing or envisioning projects seeking future funding. The winter session is designed to foster sustainable systems that strengthen and support thriving Black-led artistic practices and organizations.

📅 Save the date! February 24, 2026 via Zoom

Festival Highlights

1) PANEL DISCUSSION – The State of Black Arts in Canada | How are Black artists and  organizations coping, operating, and progressing in 2026? This timely conversation responds to the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent, extended through 2034, and its call to action around recognition, justice, and development. Panelists will explore the impacts of marginalization and underfunding, while also highlighting success stories and resilient practices within Black art-making communities in Ontario and across Canada. The discussion will foreground Black culture and cultural practices as essential sites of artistic and social value.

2) WORKSHOP  – Visioning Workshop for Black Creatives |  This interactive workshop supports Black artists and organizations in developing and envisioning projects for future funding. Participants will work with experienced arts consultants in breakout sessions focused on strategy-building, funding pathways, sustainability, and fundraising. The workshop balances big-picture visioning with practical tools participants can immediately apply to their work.

About the Festival

Now in its 8th year, the Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival and Conference is a space to gather, diverge, and intersect across disciplines, practices, and perspectives within the performing arts and the broader arts sector. We are invested in the intersections of thought, conversation, and performance.

Our February mini-festival specifically amplifies and supports the advancement of Black artists and Black-led organizations.

Stay tuned for more details and registration information!

Media Contact:
Kevin A. Ormsby
Co-Director / Curator of Programming and Engagement
programming@cpamo.org 

Request for Proposals: Evaluation of CPAMOPOC V

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Alt text: on the left on a blue background text: Request for Proposals Evaluation of CPAMOPOC V. On the right a photo of an open notebook, a pen and a cup of coffee on a table and CPAMO’s logo.

 

Introduction:

In 2016, CPAMO designed and delivered its first Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Pluralism Organizational Change Project (CPAMOPOC).  CPAMO has developed and delivered this project to 5 cohorts of diverse arts organizations – arts services, creation-based small, medium and large – involving between 9-16 organizations per cohort.

This project, consistent with CPAMO’s values, promotes a transformation in arts practices, and demonstrates the importance of inclusive arts practices in a rapidly shifting arts eco-system. 

While the core structure and delivery model of CPAMOPOC has remained consistent, each cohort has benefited from improvements informed by external evaluations conducted at the end of the project cycle.

Built on the premise of a ripple effect, the overall goal of the program is to make change with participants, their organizations and the arts/culture sector as a whole.  This recognizes that wide-scale change is needed to shift attitudes and behaviours which takes time for participants to both unlearn what are considered standard Eurocentric approaches to arts and culture and to learn new models based on methodologies that are decolonial, anti-racist, anti-oppressive and pluralist.

About CPAMOPOC Cohort V

Cohort V, launched in winter 2023, includes nine participating organizations. These organizations have not only undertaken internal transformation but have also built the capacity to deliver anti-racism, equity, pluralism, and organizational change sessions to their member organizations.

Several organizations in this cohort also participated in previous cohorts. During this iteration, participants further developed and delivered training—sometimes in collaboration with one another—enhancing shared learning and sector impact.

CPAMO is now seeking an external evaluator to assess CPAMOPOC V and gather insights to inform future program development.

Past evaluations have focused on:

  • Identifying program strengths, challenges, and recommendations for future cohorts
  • Assessing participant experiences and the relevance of program content

Scope of Review:

The evaluator will be responsible for a comprehensive assessment of CPAMOPOC V, including:

  • Understand CPAMOPOC’s Goals, Objectives, Methodologies, resources provided and staffing;
  • Assess the Attendance, Structure And Scheduling of the various sessions, including materials provided by project participants, and CPAMO;
  • Assess Session Design, Tools And Content;
  • Assess Program Impact on participants’ knowledge, commitment and change work supported by CPAMOPOC, including implementation and planning for sustainability.

Timeframes:

The evaluation is expected to take place between February and May 2026.

Applicants should submit a proposal that outlines how they would carry out this evaluation, with particular attention to time required for each section of the review. 

CPAMO is based in Toronto, Ontario; however, the evaluation can be conducted remotely from anywhere in Canada.

The total budget for this project is $12,000 (exclusive of HST).

Proposal Deadline: January 31, 2026
Start Date: Mid to late February 2026

Please submit your proposal to education@cpamo.org with the subject line: “CPAMOPOC V Evaluation”

About CPAMO

Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO) is a movement of Indigenous and racialized artists engaged in empowering the arts communities of Ontario. CPAMO seeks to open opportunities for Indigenous and racialized professionals and organizations to build capacity through access and working relationships with cultural institutions across Ontario that will result in constructive relationships with Indigenous and racialized professionals and organizations. https://cpamo.org