opportunities | Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO)

The Gathering Divergence Interdisciplinary Festival & Conference (GDMAF/C) 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, visual arts exhibition, panels, workshops and creative investigations from diverse practices.

Geared towards meaningful conversations, professional development, sharing strategies, it encourages divergence across arts practices and collaboration. This year’s theme for Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival & Conference SPRING 2024 | Visioning Canada’s IBPOC Artistic Transformation: Navigating Beyond Precarity Towards Stability

We facilitate
– an interactive space where arts organizations artists and attendees share
– dedicated to advancing, visual arts and performing arts , while advocating for pluralism in the arts
– dialogue on common interests, experienced and strategies towards a better more equitable and inclusive arts sector.

We believe
Systemic change is more effectively achieved through collective, creative action, and seeks to:
– create, support and learn through open-source resources and toolkits
– advance strategies to understand how we are influenced by issues of equity and digital technology in and out of
– amplify the artistic practices and administration of IBPOC individuals

We aspire?
We hope that everyone arrives at a better understanding of the many ways in which we support, create from and within the Arts sector as indigenous / ethno-racially identified artists with a pluralist lens.

APPLY NOW! Deadline: March 29, 2024

When is the festival and conference?
Week of May 13 – 17, 2024

Location: Online / In-Person events
Nia Centre for the Arts 524 Oakwood Ave, Toronto, ON M6E 2X1

What we offer:
Opportunity to display / showcase / facilitate a workshop or performance ( performances should be No more than fifteen minutes in length)

Required for consideration:
– Explanation of how your proposed work relates to the Conference’s Themes:
a) Broadening capacities for IBPOC Arts makers
b) Implementing creative process for the future
c) Advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Learning
d) Critically understanding IBPOC Artists & Organizations and their work

– Works where contributors / artists or those self identify as IBPOC
– Works created by IBPOC artists and Organizations
– Artist / Organization Website URL, Social Media Info, Biography (150 words)
– Headshot / Company Image / Bio Image 300 dpi
– Links to previous work(s) or work proposed.

For Performances or Workshop Proposals include:
– Set up and installation requirements
– Estimated time for set up and striking
– Whether assistance is needed or included
– 300 words explanation on how your work applies to the CPAMO Call for Submissions

Compensation range varies:
– Dance / Theatre / Music Honorariums between $1000 – $2000
(based on the number of artists)
– Literary Readings between $500 – $700
– Workshops $350 (1 hour maximum)

Selection Process:
Administered by a Selection Committee (CPAMO Board member(s), Curator of Programming, Convenor, and Pluralism in Organizational Change (CPAMOPOC) members.

Submission Link:
https://forms.gle/LRaZrvjqrfNNtvSW7

Please note: Please make sure all submitted links are functional and include accessible links to a headshot and your support materials.
Personal links from your computer / laptop should not be sent. Please upload all required

Questions?:
Contact: Kevin A. Ormsby programming@cpamo.org

Applicants will be notified by April 14, 2024

Introduction:

In 2016, CPAMO designed and delivered its first Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Pluralism Organizational Change Project (CPAMOPOC – https://cpamo.org/equity-education-in-the-arts//). CPAMO has developed and delivered this project to 4 cohorts of diverse arts organizations – arts services, creation-based small, medium and large – involving between 10-16 organizations per cohort for a total of 60 organizational participants.

CPAMOPOC’s structure and delivery methods have remained somewhat the same for each cohort. However, changes have been introduced for each cohort based on external evaluations conducted at the end of each project.

CPAMO’s current cohort is in collaboration with the Saskatchewan Association of Theatre Professionals (SATP – https://sasktheatreprofessionals.ca). This cohort began in the winter of 2022 and will conclude in May/June 2023. At this stage, CPAMO and SATP are looking to engage an external resource to evaluate CPAMOPOC 4 (https://cpamo.org/equity-education-in-the-arts/cpamo-poc-cohort-4/)

Background:

CPAMOPOC evaluations have been conducted to:

identify program challenges and strengths and capture recommendations for future cohorts; and
assist in determining participant experience as to its relevance.

While previous cohorts have expressed appreciation of CPAMOPOC, some have noted that it asks a significant time commitment from participants, and while participants expressed that the program duration was a “long time”, the majority felt the time was required to become immersed in the program objectives. Other areas of previous participant concern include:

the desire to have more opportunities for sharing and networking within the cohort and more support for developing and implementing their Action Plans;
the need to plan how to sustain this focus within their organization post-program completion.

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.

Scope of Review:

CPAMOPOC runs for 18 months with participants meeting for between 8 and 3 hours per month. It has 3 major components:

Understanding where each participant organization is at on these issues. This is done by having participants make 20 minutes presentations on their related initiatives and receiving comments/feedback using the Critical Response Process (CRP);
Convening 2 4-hour facilitated sessions every other month with external expertise on the 5 main issues CPAMOPOC addresses in its goals and objectives: Organizational Leadership/Personal Accountability; Community Engagement; Programming and Decision-making Involving IBPOC arts; Conflict Resolution; Employment Equity; and
Convening 3-hour action planning sessions involving CPAMO Program Associates and external facilitators to support/guide program participants. CPAMO Program Associates also meet with selected participants in-between sessions

Along with presentation materials provided participants and by external facilitators, all sessions are video recorded and the materials and recordings are shared with participants for their own review, to share with those in their organization and/or to make connections with other organizations pursuing similar outcomes.

In addition, participants are invited to attend CPAMO’s bi-annual Gathering Divergence: Multi-Arts Festival (https://cpamo.org/the-gathering/). Some have participated as panelists for various sessions.

To conduct an effective evaluation of this program, interested applicants will be required to:

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, CPAMO and external facilitators;
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:

It is anticipated that the evaluation will occur between February and May of 2023. Interested consultants are to submit a proposal indicating how they would carry out this evaluation, with particular attention to time required for each section of the review.

The total budget for this project is $12,000, exclusive of HST. Interested applicants should submit proposals by February 10, 2023. The selected applicant should be ready to engage by February 23.

Proposals should be submitted to:
executive@cpamo.org and markc@sasktheatreprofessionals.ca

Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO)

Tag Archives: opportunities

Call for Submissions: The Gathering Divergence Spring 2024

Request for Proposals: Evaluation of CPAMOPOC IV