The Gathering Divergence Day 2

Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival & Conference Spring 2023

May 16 & 18 online | May 19 in-person 

Location: Winchester Street Theatre
80 Winchester St, Toronto, ON M4X 1B2 

Register today!

The Gathering Divergence Interdisciplinary Festival & Conference is a festival and conference with a specific focus on Indigenous, racialized, deaf, disabled and mad, women and other historically – marginalized arts communities. Held over 3 days, GDMAF/C features performances, literary readings, panels, workshops and creative investigations from diverse practices.

Join us for Gathering Divergence Day 2 tomorrow (May 18) via Zoom. Featuring:

SESSION: Understanding Managing Money And Investments In The Arts 
Date: May 18, 2023 at 11:10 am via Zoom

In the arts, we know that financial precarity impacts our livelihood and families. We often work later, harder and consistently without benefits. Where do artists / organizations learn and understand managing money or possibly investing through a career.

  • Are there things we should be thinking about that will mean better financial security?
  • Are there ways we can think about investments even facing financial precarity
  • What are some measures though facing increased financial security can we begin to take into consideration?
  • How do artists begin to think about saving for retirement?

WORKSHOP: Grant Writing with Jessica Singh 
Date: May 18, 2023 at 1:00 pm via Zoom

In an ideal world, as artists and arts professionals the projects we conceptualize would paint the blue sky in all the hues possible. But in reality, it is limited by budgetary constraints and in many cases, we don’t even have the seed money to start building on our ideas. It takes months, often years to make these projects financially sustainable. The Canadian government supports the arts, artists, and arts-based organizations primarily through grants.

Using experience gained in grant writing specifically in the arts and culture sector. Jessica Singh will conduct a workshop on Grant Writing for Artists and Arts organizations and share her learning with attendees with specific focus to the needs of the IBPOC Artists / Arts  Organizations

SESSION: Networking Session with Programmers / Presenters  for IBPOC Artists 
Date: May 18, 2023 at 2:00 pm via Zoom

CPAMO started as an organization that catered to the needs of artists offering workshops based on responses from surveys and convenings. Geared towards IBPOC artists and companies, the session is an invitation to meet various organizations that support the work of artists; from presenters, festivals, arts service organizations to companies who work with artists. Its also a session to hear from the IBPOC arts communities about their emerging needs coming out of the pandemic.

ARTIST SHOWCASES:  

Gauri Sharma | Time: 12:40 pm

Faith Jade | Time: 3:00pm 

Register today!
General admission (per day): $15
Accessibility pricing (per day): $5

The full schedule is available here.

buy tickets

The Gathering Divergence: Exhibition Opening Reception & Book Release on Dec.8

photos of 4 artist and text: The Gathering Divergence  Multi-Arts Festival and Conference Fall 2021    Art in the Time of Healing: The Importance of IBPOC Arts in Planetary Renewal

Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts
Festival & Conference Fall 2021

This year, Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival & Conference Fall 2021 | Art in the Time of Healing: The Importance of IBPOC Arts in Planetary Renewal will explore the role of IBPOC artists and organizations in the time of healing and renewal as our society emerges and reopens from the COVID-19 pandemic.

We aspire to explore the many ways in which the arts and healing will support cultural impact, civic engagement and deeper understanding of emerging digital frameworks with a focus on planetary renewal. This exhibition will feature work by Quentin VerCetty, Gustavo Artigas and Alysa-Beth Engel.

We are excited to release our new publication Living in the Skin I am In: Experiential Learnings, Approaches and Considerations Towards Anti-Black Racism in the Arts edited and compiled by Kevin A. Ormsby and charles c. smith.

Exhibition Dates: Dec. 7-16
Free to attend | No RSVP required.

Opening Reception and  Book Release: Dec. 8 at 7:15pm
Ticket: $10 | RSVP required | Cash Bar 

Location: Daniels Spectrum Hallway Galleries
Daniels Spectrum (2nd Floor)
585 Dundas Street East
Toronto, Ontario M5A 2B7

Daniels Spectrum is open to the public Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm. Saturdays and Sundays closed. Wheelchair accessible.

Please note: Due to Covid-19 regulation, NO walk-in are allowed for the exhibition opening and you must register and meet Covid requirements for entry: https://tinyurl.com/GDprotocol2021
Proof of double vaccination is required when entering the exhibition opening.
Exhibition opening tickets are $10. Register here for exhibition only OR register at Aki studio’s online box office for exhibition and evening performances (6pm).

CPAMO acknowledges the support provided by Toronto Artscape Inc for this exhibition.

Interested in attending the conference Dec.  8-10?
Visit our website for more details: https://wp.me/p3jYa5-bVuMh
Register for In-person in-person event register at Aki studio’s online box office.
Tickets: $10 for an evening. Covid-19 regulation for entry: https://tinyurl.com/GD-2021-protocol
Register to attend online via Zoom (FREE):
https://the-gathering-divergence-fall-2021.eventbrite.ca

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us by email info@cpamo.org

Artists Bios: 

Quentin VerCetty

Winner of the 2010 Governor’s General Bronze Medal award and the 2020 Joshua Glover Memorial competition, Quentin VerCetty is a multi-award-winning, multidisciplinary visual griot, artpreneur, educator, artivist, and an ever-growing interstellar tree. As one of the world’s leading Afrofuturist a-r-tographers, an artist-researcher-teacher practitioner, he coined the terms “Sankofanology” and “Rastafuturism” as well as co-editing Canada’s first contemporary art book on Afrofuturism, Cosmic Underground Northside: An Incantation of Black Canadian Speculative Discourse and Innerstandings (2020).

Through his work, he hopes to continue to honour his ancestors, engage minds, inspire hearts, and help to make the world a better place.

Gustavo Artigas 
| Born in Mexico City in 1970 | Lives and works in Toronto and Mexico City |

Over the last 25 years, Artigas has experimented with different media and visual art modalities such as Sound Art, Site-Specific Installations, Performance Art, Relational works, light pieces, and painting. Some of his most recognizable works relate ludic structures to disaster situations. His pieces dialogue with a with a wide variety of issues, from the political to the social identities and became part of the booming group of contemporary Mexican artists that emerged in the 90´s and made an important impact in the international art scene.  He considers his work habit as “a constant intent to tie a good knot using loose ends.”
Artigas’ vision took his work to the Venice Biennale, the Liverpool Biennial the Havana Biennial and other important international art forums.
Alysa-Beth Engel is a visual artist and writer. Her work explores Jewish identity, vulnerability and tikkun olam (healing the planet). Alysa’s art is informed by the rise in antisemitism and a hidden threat to her spinal cord. She draws her brain MRI images and hides messages of peace and healing. Alysa is an artist member of Print London, and Open Studio Contemporary Artist Centre, where she was previously the archivist and sales manager. Alysa was a contributing writer for D.A., published by the Porcupine’s Quill. She worked at Sotheby’s (London, UK), trekked solo in Nepal, and summited Mount Kilimanjaro. Alysa’s art is in corporate, public, and private collections nationally and abroad.

The Gathering Divergence: Dec. 8-10

photos of 4 artist and text: The Gathering Divergence  Multi-Arts Festival and Conference Fall 2021    Art in the Time of Healing: The Importance of IBPOC Arts in Planetary Renewal

Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts
Festival & Conference Fall 2021

 December 8 – December 10, 2021
In-person at Aki Studio (Toronto) and via Zoom

The Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival and Conference has been a powerful, positive and supportive convening of arts practitioners geared towards sharing strategies in the engagement of indigenous, racialized, deaf, disabled and mad, women and other historically – marginalized artists and communities. This year, Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival & Conference Fall 2021 | Art in the Time of Healing: The Importance of IBPOC Arts in Planetary Renewal will explore the role of IBPOC artists and organizations in the time of healing and renewal as our society emerges and reopens from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Held over three days, the festival and conference will feature panel discussions, showcase performances, workshops and networking opportunities for arts organizations, artists and arts sector professionals asking the same questions about anti-black racism in the arts, digital technology, its intersections with one’s artistic / organizational practices all grounded within the EDIP (Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity towards Pluralism). The sessions will be aimed at investigating systemic challenges, providing professional development while building organizational and artistic capacity.

We aspire to explore the many ways in which the arts and healing will support cultural impact, civic engagement and deeper understanding of emerging digital frameworks with a focus on planetary renewal.

As part of this Gathering Divergence, we have a visual art exhibition Dec. 7-16 at Daniels Spectrum Hallway Galleries (2nd floor at 585 Dundas Street East, Toronto, On M5A 2B7). Daniels Spectrum is open to the public Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm. Saturdays and Sundays closed. 

To view the schedule: https://tinyurl.com/ScheduleGD2021

For more information about sessions: Program Day 1 | Program Day 2 | Program Day 3

In-person: 
For the in-person event register at Aki studio’s online box office.
Tickets: $10 for a section.
For the exhibition Opening Reception only on Dec. 8 register here.
Covid-19 regulation for entry: https://tinyurl.com/GD-2021-protocol
Please note we have separate registration for the in-person event and for Zoom streaming. Due to Covid-19 regulation, NO walk-in are allowed and you must register and meet Covid requirements for entry: https://tinyurl.com/GDprotocol2021

Online: 
Registration to attend online via Zoom (FREE):
https://the-gathering-divergence-fall-2021.eventbrite.ca

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us by email info@cpamo.org

We are looking for event volunteers both in-person and online, for more details visit: https://tinyurl.com/GDV2021