#equityandaccess

[yegarts]

Equity & Access Grant 2022 Recipients

The EAC’s Equity and Access in the Arts program invests in a thriving and diverse arts community by supporting Edmonton based artists and collectives from communities that face barriers to access. Through Connections & Exchanges: A 10-Year Plan To Transform Arts and Heritage In Edmonton, the EAC is committed to supporting a wide range of artforms and communities, which includes increased support for artists and arts professionals from Indigenous and equity-seeking groups. 

Parallel to the Grants for Individuals & Collectives, there are three streams in this program:  Stream 1: Exploration and Experimentation ($5000 grants), Stream 2: Skills and Career Development (up to $10,000), and Stream 3: Major Artist-Driven Projects (up to $25,000).    

In this third cycle of the program, 46 applications were recommended for funding, for a total investment of $590,685.  

Curious about the successful applicants from the June 2022 intake? Read on… 

Top: Beadwork by Moriah Crocker, photo supplied by the artist. Bottom: Circle of Life, graphite pencil carving by Thomas Jacob. Photo supplied by the artist.

For Stream 1 of the program – Exploration and Experimentation – 19 applicants were recommended for funding ($5,000 each) for a total investment of $95,000. Congratulations to the following recipients: 

Brenda LePage will use the advice of mentor Jen Grisanti for rewrites of three scripts using Grisanti's Story Therapy principles. 

DOM FOOL will dedicate time for their painting practice and explore abstract-figurative style in new mediums and techniques. 

Eliana Parrado will research and document South American folk music traditions. 

Giovana Bervian will research and study sounds produced by natural elements in nature. 

Josh Sahunta will undertake research and exploration into the music of his East Asian heritage. 

Julio Munhoz will research small family farms in rural areas surrounding Edmonton for a future documentary film project. 

Juwayriya Abdullah will create a collection of genre paintings to capture the diversity in the habitual routines of people in Canada. 

Karen Peterson will create a poetry manuscript about the offspring of homesteaders in Alberta (on unceded Native land). 

Kelsey Calder will expand her painting skillset to include 3D elements and explore alternatives to traditional canvas. 

Kyle Aleekuk will explore animation and video to communicate the value of land-based experiences such as hunting, harvesting, and gardening from a contemporary urban Indigenous perspective. 

Lisa Bui will work on Chinese Ghost Stories We Tell Ourselves, a communal horror tabletop roleplaying game based on Chinese ghost stories and cultural interpretations. 

Medgine Mathurin will explore musicality in her poetry practice, both in writing and performance. 

Moriah Crocker will continue documenting her beadwork practice, highlighting the labour and work involved in creating the things we choose to wear daily. 

Morteza Abedinifard will research and collect musical ideas and themes from Persian-Kurdish music traditions to experiment with creating descriptive/narrative music. 

Reckie Lloyd will explore new ways of creating meaningful cultural paintings. 

Rusengo Sebineza will dedicate time and resources to the exploration of new music composition and creation. 

Skye Grinde will take time to expanding her talents as a designer and sewist to further her knowledge into pattern drafting and construction for disabled, plus sized, and marginalized bodies. 

Thomas Jacob will create micro sculptures on tips of pencils, creating a series of work that depicts Canadian culture, people, and life. 

Zahra Kheirieh will explore and experiment with Persian tile painting. 

Josh Sahunta performing at the Calgary Stampede. Josh will be undertaking research into the music of his East Asian heritage with grant. Photo credit: Shaylon Borque

For Stream 2 of the program – Skills and Career Development – 6 applicants were recommended for funding for a total investment of $53,583. Congratulations to the following recipients:    

Braxton Garneau will pursue a 10-week mentorship program, working with established arts professional Michelle Schultz to develop skills, knowledge, and capabilities to build a sustainable career as a visual artist. 

Charles Peters will create a solo-performance piece exploring gender queerness and bisexuality combining clown, spoken word poetry, burlesque, and installation art. 

Kaylee Ford will expand her proficiency in oil paints to introduce a queer voice into an otherwise traditional discipline. 

Lexi Pendzich, a woman and member of the LGBTQ+ community, will seek artistic mentorship to acquire skills for expanding her lens-based practice into videography and projection work. 

Natércia Napoleão will attend a 20-week dramaturgical mentorship at Factory Theatre (Toronto, ON) with Company Dramaturge Matt McGeachy. 

Tia Kushniruk attended the One North Clown Mask and Clown Intensive in Sudbury from July 21 - August 8, 2022. 

Top: This summer Tia Kushniruk traveled to Ontario for the One North Clown and Creation Intensive. Photo supplied by the artist. Bottom: Kyla Pascal and Kathryn Lennon, co-editors of Hungry Zine, will be using their grant to fund a second year of the publication. Photo supplied by the artists.

For stream 3 of the program – Major Artist-Driven Projects – 21 applicants were recommended for funding for a total investment of $442,102. Congratulations to the following recipients: 

Aksam Alyousef will write and workshop the second and the final draft of his new play "Reincarnation". 

Charm Logan will create a heavy metal art piece to be mounted on an exterior wall in the inner city as a tribute honoring the Métis children. 

Chelsie Young will create an EP of recordings for Country radio and distribute to station programmers.  

Crystle Lightning’s new play Evandalism, co-written by Lightning and MC RedCloud, explores the journey of self-discovery through impactful storytelling while offering mentorship to Enoch Nation youth within Edmonton's theatre industry. 

Cynthia Hamar will launch a robust marketing campaign for her upcoming release "Joint & Marrow" to ensure the success of the release goals in engaging current audiences and pursuing new markets. 

Elisa Mair-Sánchez will mount a developmental workshop of El Funeral, a multidisciplinary, site-specific, bilingual play in February 2023. 

Fabiola Belarmino de Farias Amorim’s piece "Curious and Cold: The Story of an Immigrant Quartet" is a music tale that celebrates Edmonton and Canada as a mosaic of different cultures. 

Gomathi Boorada will create a Kuchipudi Dance drama/ Indonesian shadow puppetry presentation, for young audiences, neurodiverse with ASL interpretation. 

AuTash will create a 90-minute thriller theatre project about empowered Iranian Muslim women fighting against their government, their families, and their country’s culture. 

James Agecoutay will develop a showcase set with three musicians for showcase opportunities at the Alberta Touring Alliance, and Ontario Presents in the fall of 2022. 

Jessica Baker will create a debut album including two supporting music videos and release campaign to build community. 

Jessica Holtby will produce a full-length album of children's songs and two music videos. 

Jessica L'Heureux will develop her web series ALLIANCE, to submit to the competitive Francophone fund CRÉATEURS EN SÉRIE, whose financial support will allow the production of this web series. 

Kathryn Lennon will use her grant to fund the second year of publishing of "Hungry Zine", which includes 3 issues (print and digital) and a literary cookbook. 

Katie Yoner will create an 18-minute rat-clown theatre piece following the characters Fingers and Shrimp. 

Marek Tyler will develop askô (following those who showed 'the way'), Tyler's multi-media performance of the way his nêhiyaw family teachings are revealed. Musicians will perform nine compositions with audio-reactive multi-screen projected visuals. 

Maria Fekecz-Mangan will research the aspects of an adaptable and interactive dance piece that incorporates gestures, full body movements and verbal language centered around a table. 

Mariel Buckley will head out on tour throughout Ontario, the N/S Eastern United States, the UK, and Germany opening (as a duo) for the Bros. Landreth. 

Michelle Lavoie will invite 2SLGBTQ youths, seniors, and Elders to create and publicly exhibit artwork to make visible still silent stories and showcase diverse experiences of 2SLGBTQ communities living in Amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton). 

Shyanne Duquette’s theatre project Omisimawiw will tell a story about reconnecting to Indigenous identity, based on her real meeting with her biological sister unexpectedly on the Edmonton LRT. 

Tai Grauman will develop Romeo and Juliet: A Métis love story at Métis crossing in preparation for a workshop production summer 2023. 

[artistsintheclassroom8]

By Tim Walker

From the Article:

“The way we communicate with and about students can have major equity implications. A new book explains how educators can match their speech to their values.”

Schooltalk: Rethinking What We Say About—And To—Students Every Day by Mica Pollac

Amen! Great interview. Would love to read this when / if I have more time... Mica’s at my Alma Mater, and the current director of CREATE no less - Woot Woot! :) 

Wait, that’s OK to blog right? Geesh! I don’t know anymore... I’ve become so careful.

[yegarts]

38 local artists supported through the new Equity & Access in the Arts grant program

Edmonton’s arts community is a vibrant landscape of voices, perspectives, and artistic practices. Connections & Exchanges, Edmonton’s 10-year arts and heritage plan, emphasizes, the EAC’s commitment to supporting a wide range of artforms and communities, which includes increased support for artists and arts professionals from Indigenous and equity-seeking groups.

Through the Equity and Access in the Arts program, the EAC invests in a thriving and diverse arts community and supports Edmonton based artists and collectives from communities that face barriers to access. This includes, but is not limited to, groups whose members are treated differently because of systemic barriers that disadvantage people based on their Indigenous heritage, the colour of their skin, their disabilities, sexual orientation, and identity, and/or immigration status. Parallel to the other individual and collectives’ program, there are three streams:  Stream 1: Exploration and Experimentation ($5000 grants), Stream 2: Skills and Career Development (up to $10,000), and Stream 3: Major Artist-Driven Projects (up to $25,000).  

For the 2021 deadline of the Equity and Access in the Arts program, 38 applications were recommended for support by the assessment panel within the available budget.

13 artists were funded through Stream 1: Exploration and Experimentation and were awarded $5,000 grants. This stream is designed to support artists to work on solo creation, experimentation, or research:  

James Agecoutay will produce The Thicker Than Blood Podcast, exploring the history and future of Indigenous music in Canada.

Andrea Bellegarde-Courchene will create a visual representation of the histories of Indigenous Nations in this Canada by depicting stories of past, present and future tales within story blanket quilts.

Elena Belyea will create a longform poem called "the behemoth" while living for a month in West Edmonton Mall.

Barry Bilinksy will write a memoir based on life events mixed with self-reflective Indigenous rites and exploratory film.  

Mac Brock will rewrite the queer solo drama Boy Trouble as a full -length script ready for professional production.

Darian Chen will write songs exploring the experiences of growing up as an Asian-Canadian in Edmonton.

Daniel Foreman will research and outline original Indigenous stories to be developed into screenplays for animated short films.  

Jessica Holtby will write and plan several episodes of a children's web series featuring music, movement, and various learning outcomes.

Charlene Johnson will create portraits of BIPOC women using a vibrant array of colours and values in expressionistic form.  

Deirdre McCleneghan will pursue a year of fabricating surreal items that may be both wearable and non-wearable that are a response to fashion, the body, and gothic/fairy tales.  

Mehdi Rezania will compose a series of solo pieces in Persian classical music based on the old and new repertoire.  

Sandro Augusto Santos Silva will finish the first complete draft of a memoir, entitled Word at Stake.

Shaihiem Small will create a series of paintings and work in other visual mediums that explore the sublime universal power that is connected to a body.  

Stream 2: Skills and Career Development supports professional development projects for individual artists and collectives. Five individuals were supported through this stream of the program:

Osas Eweka is taking online courses to develop the technical skills needed to have a 360 perspective on projects and create quality films.

Maxwell Hanic is attending La Faktoria Choreographic Centre's contemporary dance program in Pamplona, Spain.

Fabio Andres Henao Caviedes will study and learn the concepts and techniques used in film and orchestral music to achieve a balanced mix and professional audio quality.  

Brenda LePage is undertaking a scriptwriting mentorship with Jen Grisanti.  

Robert Tyndale will develop skills to become a better speaker, storyteller, and communicator to further their filmmaking career.

Leonardo Gonzalez, Nasra Adem, Tai Grauman, and Even Gilchrist all received funding through Stream 3 of the Equity & Access program. Their respective works will be presented at RISER Edmonton in February 2022.

Funding through Stream 3: Major Artist-Driven Projects supports projects such as collective creation or work that is materially ready to enter production and presentation. 20 artists/collectives were supported under this stream of the program:

Nasra Adem will develop and produce a full production of Dnaplay as part of RISER Edmonton in 2022.  

Sydney Campbell will produce season 1 of the web series, Gender? I Hardly Know Them.

Rebecca Campbell will create a video, longform treatment, and pitch materials for a documentary.  

Doreen Cardinal will write and design an Indigenous Guided Wellness Journal.  

Lebogang Disele will work with a collective of African, Caribbean, and Black artists to collect stories from ACB communities, and adapt them into a theatrical performance.

Chris Dodd will continue work on his solo play, Deafy.  

Adnan Elladen will create an exhibit bridging the gaps between the non-Muslim community and the Muslim community.

Elmutasim Fadl El Mola will record a second full length studio album.

Roger Garcia will create the Pachin project, a non-linear comic-strip that tells the story of the artist’s dog’s life and the year after his death, told through his eyes and theirs.

Even Gilchrist will present a new version of Re:Construct at RISER Edmonton's inaugural festival in February 2022.

Leonardo Gonzalez will develop and produce Power of the Drum, a multidisciplinary show that will be part of RISER Edmonton.  

Tai Grauman will create a workshop production of Wiwimaw at this year's RISER Edmonton.  

Sanaa Humayun will complete a curatorial project with two participating artists writing each other letters for six months.

Huai -Yang Lim will produce an online exhibition featuring the work of several Asian artists in Canada, which will be free for everyone to view.  

Kasun Medagedara will support various activities of Stratus, an art collective and publication that focuses on providing a platform for local artists to feature their work, specifically in the formats of film photography, film videography, performance/experiential art, and design.  

Natalie Meyer will create "The Book of S.H.E." (acronym for success, heal and emerge), an artistic collection of work using a combination of body paint and fine art (paintings) with a focus on 10 local Edmonton female entrepreneurs who identify as BIPOC in our community.  

Natércia Napoleão will conduct research and a playwriting lab for Michener Park, including a workshop and performance at The Expanse Festival.

Garth Prinsonsky will compose, arrange, research, choreograph and record bed tracks for an African-inspired Christmas story with songs for children and families.

Amy Skrocki will create a two-part film project, including documentary and dramatic work, featuring the creation of the artist’s fantasy-style leather armour.  

Roya Yazdanmehr will produce two music videos with 1844 Studios for the singles "No More War" and "Shy" to promote her debut album Breath and Being.  

[artistsintheclassroom8]

Create CA Declaration of the Rights of All Students to Equity in Arts Learning

Equity in Arts Education: the right of every student to engage and succeed in powerful, high quality, standards-based arts learning PreK-12. All students from every race, culture, language background, geographic region, and socio-economic level must have the opportunity to fully develop their own artistic, cultural, and linguistic heritage while expanding opportunities to study and explore artistic expressions across different cultures and time periods.

Declaration of the Rights of All Students to Equity in Arts Learning

Create CA