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
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.
Alleah Erica Clarke is a Business Strategist and Development Coach who founded AJ Cultured, a rapidly growing organisation that provides a wide range of services for small business owners. She is a business developer that holds a portfolio of companies including Culturnique, a full-service and digital design firm, and Alcreance, a bookkeeping and accounting firm. Having been a solopreneur herself, she understands the responsibilities and struggles of solopreneurs that strive to see their visions through. AJ Cultured and its sister companies allow Alleah Erica to guide solopreneurs to where they want to be, help propel their organisations to higher heights and newer sights, hold businesses accountable for their growth, and ultimately influence change. Alleah intends to create a powerhouse of small business development assets and organisations, becoming a facilitator and agent of change in business, culture, art, and community.
As artistic director of Citadel + Compagnie for nearly two decades, Laurence Lemieux has established herself as a leader within Toronto’s dance community. Her multi-faceted experience as a dancer, choreographer, teacher and presenter has guided the company’s mandate of community outreach and engagement and given rise to C+C’s distinctive artistic voice. (Photo by Aleksandar Antonijevic) 
Neena Jayarajan is an independent dance theatre artist with extensive experience in Bharatanatyam and Odissi dance techniques. Her primary training was under the tutelage of Dr. Menaka Thakkar, and Sujatha Mohapatra. She served as the Assistant Artistic Director of Menaka Thakkar Dance Company for 7 years, as well as assistant teacher at nrtyakala for 20 years. She currently is an Associate Artist at Nova Dance involved in both creative and organizational roles. Neena completed her MA in Dance from York University and was a 2016 recipient of the Chalmers Arts Fellowship Grant. She made her theatrical debut in Theatre Smith’s Gilmour’s Metamorphosis. Neena currently sits on the board of CADA west and The Dance Current Magazine and is currently on her own choreographic journey of exploration using her classical roots to fuel a contemporary outlook. 
April Britski is the Executive Director of CARFAC, Canada’s national association for visual artists. She has worked and volunteered as an arts administrator since 1998, and joined the staff of CARFAC National in 2005. She is a co-founder of Artists’ Legal Services Ottawa and the Visual Arts Alliance, and she has served on several boards of cultural policy and artist-run organizations. April’s primary responsibility at CARFAC is the development and implementation of organizational policies and strategies related to artists’ legal and economic rights. She is actively involved in all of CARFAC’s advocacy efforts, including CARFAC’s Artist’s Resale Right campaign, as well as building Imprimo, a new digital platform for visual artists. She assists with negotiating collective agreements for visual and media artists under the Status of the Artist Act, as well as other national voluntary agreements with presenters. Originally from Saskatchewan, April currently resides on the traditional unceded territories of the Coast Salish Nations including the Kwikwetlem, Musqueam, Skxwú7mesh, and Tsleil-Waututh Peoples.
Kevin A. Ormsby, Program Manager, CPAMO 
Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO) 