The Gathering Divergence
Multi-Arts Festival & Conference Spring 2025
Now and for the Future: Steps Towards Dismantling Inequities in the Arts
May 21-23, 2025
Online and at East End Arts (Toronto, ON)
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, visual arts exhibition, panels, workshops and creative investigations from diverse practices. Join us online on May 21 and May 22-23 in-person at East End Arts (St. Matthew’s Clubhouse, 450 Broadview Avenue, Toronto, ON M4K 2N3).
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 2025 | Now and for the Future: Steps Towards Dismantling Inequities in the Arts.
Upcoming Panels:
- Who’s Talking About Advocacy in the Arts?: It’s Continued Importance (in partnership with Canadian Arts Coalition) – Wed. May 21 online via Zoom
- Wellness for IBPOC Artists and Arts Organizations in a Sector of Continued Inequities – Thu. May 22 @ East End Arts
- Stories / Strategies to Address Aging as an IBPOC Artist: What do we need to Consider? – Thu. May 22 @ East End Arts
- Now and for the Future of the Arts Sector: Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Towards Pluralism (EDIP) in Action – Fri. May 23 @ East End Arts
- Advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: A Reunion of CPAMOPOC Organizations – Fri. May 23 @ East End Arts
Plus! Keynote speakers, workshops, exhibition and performances by Ana Luísa, Camille Fontaine, Bakari I. Lindsay, Robert Ball and more!
Tickets are $15 general admission and $5 accessibility pricing.
CPAMO is supported by the Canadian Heritage, Ontario Arts Council, Canadian Arts Presentation Fund, Canada Council for the Arts, Toronto Arts Council, English Testing Canada, Barrett and Welsh, Sun Life and LeSage Arts Management.
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.
Nicole “Nico” Taylor (she/her) is a performance and digital artist, curator, and scholar with a Master of Arts from Concordia University. She is also the co-founder and co-lead of Oddside Arts, a not-for-profit cultural arts organization that merges art, technology and wellness. Through her work at Oddside Arts, she has contributed to the creation and curation of exhibitions, public art projects, STEAM programming for youth, and cultural events centering Afro Diasporic communities.
Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO) 
You must be logged in to post a comment.