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Contact ONtour FAQ and Pre-conference Sessions

Join Cheryl on Wednesday, August 31st at 7:30 – 8:30pm for our Contact ONtour FAQ session!

Whether you are new to Contact ONtour or you're wondering what the conference will look like this year, we invite you to join us for an informal FAQ session. We will give a brief introduction to the 2022 conference and answer your questions. 

Register for the Contact ONtour FAQ session.

Contact ONtour Pre-conference Sessions

With the conference just 3 weeks away we're offering free webinars to agents, artists, managers and presenters! Don't miss this opportunity to come together to be inspired by some of the greatest minds in the industry.

The Legal Arts: Taxation and Artists - Keeping out of Gaol

Join Don Bourgeois, Barrister & Solicitor on Tuesday September 6 at 4:00pm as he compares governance structures and the difference in taxation choices for artists organizations. 

Register for The Legal Arts: Taxation and Artists - Keeping out of Gaol webinar.

Adjusting for Diverse Programming

Recognizing our spaces have been designed within a Western cultural framework is an important step toward understanding how to accommodate, modify and/or expand our practice and spaces as authentically inclusive. 

Join Andrew Kwan, JP Longboat, Kate Hilliard and Michael Grit on Thursday September 8 at 3:00pm as they share their perspectives as agents, artists and presenters.

Register for the Adjusting for Diverse Programming webinar.

Digital Marking to reach audiences under 40 

Join Stevie Tea, the Director of Marketing at Weavik - a web2 and 3 product house. He also teaches businesses and theatres, via Trimmed Creative how to create campaigns and content to target younger demographics/tracking leads and retargeting. This includes via Instagram ads, tik tok ads, Facebook ads, LinkedIn ads, google ads words, and organic content through the same channels. This session will take place in-person on September 14th 3:00pm at the Orillia Opera House.

The Indigenous Creative Spaces Project

Join artist and producer JP Longboat and ArtsBuild as they discuss this project and its implications for our presenters. This session will take place in-person on September 14th 1:00pm at the Orillia Opera House.

Now Open: ArtsEngage Grants for Community Engagement 

Ontario Presents is excited to be partnering once again with the Department of Canadian Heritage to offer a limited number of $6,000 grants to presenters seeking to partner with local artists to co-create opportunities for engagement and participation in rural and remote communities across Ontario! 100% of these funds will go towards covering artist fees, allowing presenters and artists to prioritize project development and prepare a final report. 

We are looking for project proposals that cater to the unique needs of the local community and culminate in a public event that connects professional artists and community participants as co-creators in an artist-led creative process.

Additionally, selected applicants can expect to play a role in the ArtsEngage Learning Community and participate in virtual meetings with fellow specialists and program participants to discuss, learn and share. 

Applications are open to any not-for-profit presenter (volunteer or professional) based in rural or remote communities in Ontario. Applicants do not need to be members of Ontario Presents, nor must they be venue-based. Priority will be given to presenters and artists who identify as Indigenous, Black, or People of Colour, artists and presenters with disabilities, Deaf artists and presenters, and artists and presenters in rural/remote communities.

Interested applicants are invited to submit an application through our online form. For further inquiries, please email Deb at deborah@ontariopresents.ca. Applications are due by 5pm on Monday, September 19th, 2022. 

 Réseau SPARC Network’s Biennial Symposium is Back!

For more information and to register, click here. 

Call for Submissions: Langham Directors' Workshop 2023

The Langham Directors’ Workshop is offering emerging and mid-career directors the opportunity to explore innovative Shakespeare and classical works, lead large-scale productions at one of the largest stages in the country -the Stratford Festival. Throughout these explorations, Stratford will provide mentorship opportunities for artists committed to working as directors, help grow their networks, and provide a space for authentic creative exploration.

• Participants will work as Assistant or Associate Directors on Festival productions. (Responsibilities may include assisting on understudy rehearsals and attending additional design and production meetings before the official residency in Stratford.)
• Participants will attend regular group meetings during the season to learn from special guest artists and talk with fellow Langham participants and program alumni.
• Participants will take part in a week-long intensive near the end of October, consisting of masterclasses, panel discussions, and other creative workshops – all devised with input from participants.
• Participants will create a final presentation where they will choose and direct a scene/project that best represents their aesthetic. The Directors’ Workshop Presentations are usually held in the Studio Theatre in November (three weeks).

Application guidelines and more information are available at stratfordfestival.ca/langhamworkshop.

Applications are due Monday, September 12, at 11:59 PM (EST). 

Culture Days is a Month Away!

In just one month, people across Canada will come together to showcase and celebrate the artistic and cultural lives of their communities, from September 23rd to October 16th, 2022. Confirm those last-minute details  for your events, activities, and hubs. The sooner you can publish your events, the more time you’ll have to promote them using Culture Days marketing resources available to you. 

There are already more than 800 online and in-person events registered! Start planning your Culture Days outings and find tons of fun and creative events happening near you through tools available on culturedays.ca!

Southside Shuffle Blues & Jazz Festival 2022

The annual Tim Horton’s Southside Shuffle is an award-winning blues and jazz festival held in Port Credit, Mississauga. Established in 1999, the three-day outdoor festival features three stages at Port Credit Memorial Park, presenting over 40 Canadian and International acts, along with performances from over 20 musical acts, during its free Saturday afternoon street party known as the Rabba Fine Foods Street Shuffle held in the village from 1-5 P.M.

For more information and tickets, visit southsideshuffle.ca.