Help IBPOC artists—and their art—survive the pandemic.
89% of Torontonians believe that the arts make life in Toronto better.
95% of Ontarians believe that the success of Canadian artists generates national pride.
Yet, despite its value, artists make very little money. At $24,300, the median annual income for artists is well below the poverty line (1). Arts and culture workers have one of the highest rates of poverty of any sector. Things are starker still for IBPOC artists — their median income is 28% less than white artists’(2).
Before the pandemic, the arts sector had already been gutted by budget cuts. Ontario cut funding to the Ontario Arts Council by $10 million (3). A $5 million Indigenous Culture Fund was cancelled. The Ontario Music Fund? A $8 million cut. All in 2019 alone.
And then, in 2020, came the unkindest cut of all. COVID-19.
COVID-19 ravaged IBPOC communities. Our most vulnerable communities, always the most exposed to any threat, have been devastated by the pandemic.
But, in the heart of darkness, IBPOC artistic talent has burned brightly and brought us light. Throughout the pandemic, IBPOC artists — and the artistic community as a whole — made art that lifted us, gave us strength and sustained our spirits.
At the same time, the pandemic has been an unmitigated catastrophe for the arts sector. 2/3rds of arts & culture organizations reported a median revenue decline of 50% (4). Many IBPOC artists lost income as in person shows, exhibitions and other opportunities were cancelled — 12,000 performances were cancelled in Toronto alone (5).
Despite this the arts community kept working. And that’s no surprise. Artists work longer hours than the average full-time Canadian worker (6).
What work did they do?
They performed outdoors for seniors locked-in, in long-term care facilities. They staged porch concerts and backyard shows for their neighbours. They sang arias from their balconies for front line workers. They took their poetry readings online and made them available for free. They led dance classes and acting studios and paint-alongs, live, on Instagram and Facebook and YouTube.
They did it for free.
They did it for us.
CPAMO has been working for more than a decade to recognize IBPOC and other marginalized artists. Not only do we advocate for the creation of opportunities and equity for them, we engage them ourselves. IBPOC artists and arts administrators are paid to showcase their art and join our panels at The Gathering, our signature event (or, if you want to be formal, The Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival and Conference).
Who have we showcased over the years?
Modern Times, Aluna, Cahoots, Native Earth Performing Arts in theatre.
In music, Small World Music and Polyphonic Ground.
In dance, Sampradaya Dance Creations, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Collective of Black Artists, Dance Immersion, and many individual Indigenous and racialized artists.
The artists and arts practices presenters we engage come from Indigenous, racialized, queer and intersectional communities.
Our next Gathering will take place in December 2021 and our theme is Art in a Time of Healing. The Gathering’s Art in a Time of Healing is envisioned as a way to gather, diverge with diversity and intersect on the many aspects of the performing arts and the Arts sector. Through panels, workshops, exhibitions and showcases it encourages divergence across arts practices, collaboration, art making and Anti-Black racism.
We need financial support to help us keep spotlighting works of art by Indigenous, racialized and historically marginalized artists. We need your help.
Your donation will pay IBPOC artists and arts administrators who present at our December 2021 Gathering. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to an event that showcases a broad range of artistic practices. Black organizations receive as little as 7 cents for every $100 donated to Canada’s big charities. Let’s work together to change that.
We will recognize every donation with a token of our appreciation.
Tier 1. $1 to $99: a personalized shout-out on CPAMO social media channels* and a bookmark and pin in the mail!
Tier 2. $100 to $499: everything in Tier1 plus a choice of a book OR a t-shirt in the mail.
Tier 3. $500 or more: everything in Tier 1 plus a choice of a Portrait Commission from artist Ilene Sova OR an original art print by artist Astrid Ho. Available to the first 2 donations only.
* unless you choose to contribute anonymously
About CPAMO
Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO) is a IBPOC-led 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. This is a unique opportunity for you to contribute to events that showcase a wide array of diverse voices in a broad range of artistic mediums. For more information: www.cpamo.org
Sources:
2. https://www.torontofoundation.ca/fallout-report-arts-culture-and-recreation/
3. https://globalnews.ca/news/5354794/doug-ford-cuts/
4. https://www.torontofoundation.ca/fallout-report-arts-culture-and-recreation/
5. https://torontoartscouncil.org/covid-19
6. https://www.cbc.ca/arts/artists-are-getting-us-through-covid-19-never-question-their-value-again-1.5519840
Art Stats report revealed that Toronto-based artists work an average 51.4 hours a week, which is more than the average full-time Canadian worker.
Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall is a design anthropologist, public intellectual, and design advocate who works at the intersections of critical theory, culture, and design. As Dean of Design at Ontario College of Art and Design University, she is the first black and black female dean of a faculty of design. She leads the Cultures-Based Innovation Initiative focused on using old ways of knowing to drive innovation processes that directly benefit communities.
Nathaniel Hanula-James (he/him) is a queer, mixed-race, settler artist. He holds a B.A. in drama studies from McGill University, and graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada’s acting program. Recent performance credits include The First Day Project (Talk is Free Theatre), Tiny Treasures (Manitoba Theatre for Young People), and A (Musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream (Driftwood Theatre). Nathaniel is also a creator and a producer. His object theatre piece Untitled Flamingo Play was featured as part of the Centaur Theatre’s 2019 Queer Reading Series and has received support for further development. He has studied podcasting with Fixt Point Arts and Media, producing at the Paprika Festival, and arts administration at Humber College. The program at Humber led him to participate in Mass Culture’s Woven Histories project with some amazing collaborators. He is so excited that their findings will be presented at CPAMO’s ‘Gathering Divergence’.
Kelly Straughan is currently the Executive Artistic Director of Workman Arts- a multidisciplinary arts organization that promotes a greater understanding of mental health and addiction issues through creation and presentation. She is also the Vice President of the board for the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA). Kelly is the former Executive Director of the Toronto Fringe Festival and President of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals. She previously held the position of Associate Artistic Director at Nightwood Theatre and was the Assistant Artistic Director at Tarragon Theatre for three seasons. She holds a Masters in Theatre Directing from the University of British Columbia.
Celia Smith is the CEO of Luminato Festival Toronto. She is a strategic leader in the Toronto arts and culture community with proven expertise in directing significant organizational growth, social enterprise and charitable expansion, and executive management of complex, multi-stakeholder environments. Her entire career has been in the arts & culture sector, leading significant non-profit organizations, or in the private sector creating social enterprises.
Ilter Ibrahimof is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Fall for Dance North, Toronto’s Premier International Dance Festival. Born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, Ilter moved to North America in 1998, first to attend Emerson College in Boston and then living and working in New York City and Montréal before settling in Toronto. Ilter’s own dance touring agency Sunny Artist Management was active from 2004-2020, representing dance companies & artists of the highest caliber from around the world. As a creative mind in the dance field, Ilter is regularly invited to participate in various festivals and conferences in Canada and around the globe as a curator and speaker. In 2020, Dance Collection Danse Hall of Fame awarded Ilter the Sandra Faire Next Generation Award. He lives with his partner Lucas and their two puppies Ginny and Myku.
Barry Hughson joined The National Ballet of Canada as Executive Director in 2014, partnering with Karen Kain to accelerate the company’s trajectory of artistic growth, fiscal responsibility, community engagement and international acclaim.
Cynthia Lickers-Sage is a Mohawk, Turtle Clan visual artist from Six Nations and is currently the Executive Director of the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance. Following her graduation at the Ontario College of Art and Design she Co-Founded The Centre for Aboriginal Media, imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival and is the sole proprietor of Clickers Productions. She has spent the last 25 years working in the not-for-profit arts sector as the former General Manager of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Executive Director at the Association for Native Development in the Performing and Visual Arts and Executive Director of imagineNATIVE. She has worked within the governmental sector at the Ontario Arts Council (Acting Aboriginal Arts Officer and Community and Multidisciplinary Arts Officer) and the Canada Council for the Arts (Flying Eagle Coordinator) and OP (Fresh Start Officer).
Shannon Litzenberger (she/her) is an award-winning dance artist, embodiment facilitator and experienced cultural leader working at the intersection of art, ideas and transformational change.
Renata Soutter. A co-founder, co-director, choreographer and teacher at Propeller Dance, Renata has dedicated her professional career to socially-engaged dance innovation through creation, performance and education. Renata co-developed (with Shara Weaver and company dancers) a methodology of collaborative creation that focuses on the unique aesthetics of artists with disability and the primacy of self-expression. Her influences include the natural world, and a strong belief in the power and beauty of diverse cultural expression. She is a Diamond Jubilee recipient (2012) and Finalist for Ottawa Arts Council mid-career Artist award. Her creations Living the Desirable Life and Flesh and Spokes have been presented by DanceWorks, GCTC, National Arts Centre and other works have been self-presented in parks, schools gyms, community centres and youth centres. 
Kevin A. Ormsby
Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO) 
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