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A helpful collection of questions and answers, sorted by the topic.
The Arts Touring Alliance of Alberta is a provincial non-profit organization dedicated to the maintenance, development and growth of a strong performing arts touring industry in Alberta.
The Arts Touring Alliance, as a member based organization, is made up of a wide variety of presenting organizations, festivals, agencies, management companies, and performing artists. We have a little bit of everything from small volunteer groups to large professional organizations, and we often see emerging artists grow over the years into seasoned professionals. The dynamic variety of expectations and experiences allows us to foster a stronger touring industry in the province of Alberta by providing these diverse groups opportunities to connect with each other.
Only members in good standing have the ability to post to the calendar, but it is easy to join the membership and easy to renew!
Arts Touring Alliance Membership has a lot of benefits, which we outline in the next point, but it is the best way to keep informed of sector happenings, upcoming workshops, and networking and volunteer opportunities. Membership is your connection to services, support, discounts and a diversity of opportunities for presenters and performers.
Joining the Arts Touring Alliance Membership is easy!
Purchase the membership option that matches you and/or your organization and create an account during the checkout process.
Please Note: We have implemented a two part approval process for new members in order to ensure the privacy and security of our membership. It can take up to three business days for our administrators to approve accounts paid online, and accounts submitting a payment via cheque will not be approved until the cheque payment has been processed at our office.
If your membership has been ongoing (prior to December 2017), your membership renewal anniversary is April 1st.
If you are a new or returning member, your membership renewal anniversary is the same as the date you sign up.
What does that mean? We do not manually make and mail out invoices. Your invoice is being sent directly by our website servers and not from an email account, which means the notification for renewal could be blocked by your spam filters. However, the invoice is still generated as a renewal order in your account.
Also, it is very important that you keep us up-to-date with a valid email address for billing. Billing contact information is not made public, so we won’t tell anyone you have a funny email address.
What does that mean? We do not charge credit cards or PayPal accounts without you initiating the transaction. Whether you pay by cheque, credit card, or carrier pigeon, you have to actively process your payment for membership to be renewed.
Note: Please follow the above steps even if you plan on paying by cheque so we will know to expect a cheque from you.
Memberships expire 1 year after your membership purchase, and with the Alberta Touring Directory being online there’s no reason to wait to renew!
Alberta Showcase is an annual performing arts and marketing conference that brings together rural presenters from over 100 different communities who are shopping for artists for their concert series, festivals and community events. Over a 3-day period, thirty to forty artists have the opportunity to perform and to promote themselves through numerous networking events.
Artist Applications are processed through the I Want to Showcase website.
Applications open February 1 and the deadline to apply is April 1.
I Want to Showcase is a collaboration between partner performing arts conferences whose goal is simple: to offer performing artists a showcase application site that’s easy to navigate, understand and use.
Each February, we open applications for artists through a multi-conference application website: iwanttoshowcase.ca. Every year, hundreds of artists apply to be part of Alberta Showcase. All applications are reviewed by a jury made of Alberta presenters (both professional and volunteer), agents, past showcasing artists, technicians, and other industry professionals. The applications are considered for a variety of criteria: quality, suitability, genre, versatility, and value. The top 30 applications are selected for mainstage showcase spots, and many others are offered other showcasing opportunities throughout the weekend.
Contact our Executive Director at kennedy@artstouring.com
We welcome expressions of interest to serve on the Alberta Showcase Jury. The jury session is a two day event held in Edmonton usually at the end of April or beginning of May. Approximately two weeks prior to the jury session, the jurors are e-mailed a link to all of the artist submissions so they can review and score each one. Each juror sends their scores back to the Arts Touring Alliance office where they are tabulated. The top 50% scores are those that are evaluated in the jury session. The jury session is an intensive two-days of reviewing which requires a bit of commitment and fortitude. It is an integral component to the production of Alberta Showcase that we take very seriously. We expect a high level of professionalism and industry knowledge from our jurors, and we see that reflected not only in the increasing quality of artist applications but also in the high quality of the acts selected each year.
Alberta Showcase Delegate Registrations are processed through the Ticketpro website.
Toll Free: 1-888-655-9090
Mail in registrations are restricted to cheque or money order payments issued in Canadian Funds.
You can register online via Ticketpro and still pay by cheque. Just select the “Cheque Payment” option when registering and mail it in to the Arts Touring Alliance of Alberta.
See Alberta Showcase: Registrations for more details.
Your name tags are colour-coded to help you identify your fellow delegates.
Presenter from Yellowhead-North Region – Yellow Star Sticker
Presenter from East Region – Orange Star Sticker
Presenter from Central Region – Purple Star Sticker
Presenter from South Region – Blue Star Sticker
New Delegate – Blue
Artists / Agents in Contact Room – Salmon
Guests – Red Dot
Staff – Blank
Although things start a little later for most conference delegates on Sunday morning, the tech crew and artists are up very early doing sound-check for Showcase #5.
The Membership Directory is comprehensive directory featuring Arts Touring Alliance Member profiles, photos, and contact information for more than 180 touring acts and 100 professional presenters.
Members are responsible for providing their own up-to-date contact info. To update your info, or to browse the full online directory, members in good standing can log in to the members’ area.
Only Arts Touring Alliance members are included in the Membership Directory, so its an easy solution – register yourself and/or your organization to be included in the directory
We no longer produce a printed version of the Membership Directory, so all you need to do to access the online directory is join the membership.
OnStage is a one-day workshop held in two to four cities in Alberta that provides professional feedback to artists who are interested in improving their stage performance with an eye on increasing their touring dates in Alberta. OnStage gives musicians, and performing groups an opportunity to perform for a panel of arts industry experts and community theatre presenters who are all familiar with Alberta Showcase. Artists present a 10-minute showcase and then get feedback from each one of the panelists. The panel will react to the performance, critique promotional materials, and can also recommend future directions for artists.
Artists interested in participating in the OnStage program can register online for the date and location that best suits them.
OnStage Workshops are $28. However, space is limited and subject to the terms and conditions.
To Register got to https://www.artstouring.com/services/professional-development/onstage/onstage-registration/
We welcome expressions of interest to serve on the OnStage Critique Panel. OnStage Workshops are held on a weekend during the winter/spring months. There are two to four workshops during that time period and each are held in a different town/city in Alberta. Each workshop is an intensive day of performances and critiques that requires a bit of commitment and fortitude. However, they are an integral component to the professional development of Alberta Touring Artists and their understanding of the Alberta Showcase application process that we take very seriously. We expect a high level of professionalism and industry knowledge from our critique panel, and we see that reflected not only in the increasing quality of artist applications for the OnStage Workshops but also in the high quality of the acts that go on to be selected at Alberta Showcase each year.
For more information contact our Executive Director kennedy@artstouring.com
Not a performing artist or participating as a panelist?
A limited number of invitations are sent out for each of the different workshops to provide the artists with an audience, which is a great opportunity for industry professionals to get a sneak peak at potential Alberta Showcase artists and to get in a little bit of time for networking with your peers.
A Presenter is an individual or organization that professionally presents arts festivals, events, or performing arts series.
Attending Alberta Showcase is a terrific resource for booking acts. Between 30 & 40 artists perform over the course of three days and many presenters book their entire season based on the performances presented at Alberta Showcase.
The Arts Touring Alliance of Alberta membership database is another valuable resource. But you must be a member of the touring alliance to access the contact information, press photos and short bios. These listings are not available to the pubic.
And, you can always contact one of our other Provincial Arts Service Organizations listed on our Programs & Services page.
Canadian Heritage has a myriad of funding programs that support culture, history, heritage, sport and official languages in Canada.
Alberta Foundation for the Arts has a lot of grant opportunities and resources for all types of arts organizations.
Canada Council for the Arts champions and invests in artistic excellence through grants, services, prizes and payments to Canadian artists and arts organizations.
Our Programs & Services page also has links and bio snippets on a large variety of other organizations
Old school word of mouth is still the best way to get yourself bookings in Alberta, and that is why we offer the OnStage: Professional Development for Touring Artists workshops and host Alberta Showcase.
Alberta Showcase is the best way to get immediate exposure to over 100 communities across the province, and OnStage is a great way to get critical feedback from industry professionals to help you both apply to showcase and get interest from presenters.
And, joining our membership gets you a listing in the Alberta Touring Directory, which is distributed to over 100 presenting organizations across the province. It is a quick simple reference tool that keeps your contact information at their fingertips.
Submit an application to perform at Alberta Showcase or attend as a delegate.
A number of our presenting members also book their performance season based on the performances presented at Alberta Showcase, so, whether or not you get selected for a mainstage performance, registering as a delegate and being present at our conference for all of the networking opportunities including the Exhibition Hall, significantly increases your chances of getting offers.
Becoming a member of the Arts Touring Alliance gives you access to our membership database where you will find a list and contact information of over 100 Presenters serving over 100 communities. These listings are not available to the public.
Canadian Heritage has a myriad of funding programs that support culture, history, heritage, sport and official languages in Canada.
FACTOR’s Live Performance program assists Canadian Artists by subsidizing a portion of the cost of touring and showcasing in Canada and abroad.
Alberta Foundation for the Arts has a lot of grant opportunities and resources for all types of arts organizations.
Canada Council for the Arts champions and invests in artistic excellence through grants, services, prizes and payments to Canadian artists and arts organizations.
And, both the Edmonton Arts Council and Calgary Arts Development are great municipal focused arts funding organizations.
Our Programs & Services page also has links and bio snippets on a large variety of other organizations.
Most presenting seasons generally fall between October to May, and it can be very cold in the winter. Especially since our communities are far apart and there is a lot of driving involved in Alberta.
Hospitality for the most part is very good, but of course there are exceptions – which brings us to Riders:
Make sure your riders are up to date and accurate. If you really require equipment be very specific. If you require fruit and meals – be specific. More presenters are really beginning to resent taking orders for liquor and specific imported beer to the point that some are refusing to comply with any alcohol requests.
The Young Audience Directory is comprised specifically of Performing Artists and Artists interested in Residencies ideal for family friendly programming. If you are a school, community presenter, festival, or library looking for Artists you will want to check out this directory.
Two Options:
Please Note: Only Arts Touring Alliance Members are displayed with a profile photo, short bio, and booking contact information.
Everything we do is made possible thanks to our funders the Government of Alberta and the Government of Canada.
