ARTS TOURING ALLIANCE OF ALBERTA
Annual General Meeting
Sunday, October 21, 2018 11:00 AM
Dow Centennial Centre, Fort Saskatchewan
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT 2017-2018
Greetings Arts Touring Alliance Members. It is with great pleasure that I accepted the role of Executive Director for The Arts Touring Alliance of Alberta. I look forward to using my 30-plus years in the arts industry in Alberta to further the goals of our organization and live performance in Alberta.
2017 Alberta Showcase – Highlights
Held at the beautiful Dow Centennial Centre in Fort Saskatchewan,
October 20 – 22
296 Delegates
47 First-Time Delegates
44 Artists – Featured
The Emerging Artist &Young Albertan performers were a hit yet again and we plan on continuing this opportunity for you to see the new and thriving artists who are coming into their own.
Auction brought in a record amount for Trevor Panczak. This money goes toward all the costs involved in producing Showcase.
Rhoda Taylor Award – Going to a very deserving person or group for their outstanding contribution to the live performance community in Alberta, but it was a special thrill to see former ATAA Executive Director Brenda O’Donnell receive the award in 2017.
Alberta Showcase App – available to all delegates through the Performing Arts Canada app, this app can be downloaded onto your mobile device to provide you with all of our showcase and conference information. It is available for download from the app store or via http://meaurl.com/PerformingArtsCanada
Professional Development Workshops – were conducted by Josh Gennings from The Dow, Nicholas Beach from The Jean and Peter Lougheed Performing Arts Centre and Aimee Hill from All Access Entertainment.
Survey – Our post-showcase survey pointed out some highlights and lowlights about the 2017 conference. Thank you to those you took the time to fill out the survey. Your comments mean a lot to us and help to improve your experience at Alberta Showcase.
ARTS TOURING ALLIANCE OUTREACH
OnStage – Grande Prairie, Red Deer
OnStage is designed to provide professional touring artists a chance to perform in front of a panel of industry experts to improve their over-all performance skills as well as increase their chances of securing one of the coveted performance spots at Showcase. Most of the artists who have participated, in the last two years, have been quite new to the business and although we are happy to provide them support, we would like to attract those artists in which the workshop was designed for.
Going forward, OnStage will still be open to all professional artists, but a special invitation will be sent out to those who applied for showcase and did not get selected. A message will be included suggesting that participating in OnStage and getting valuable feedback could make the difference between getting a showcase spot or not.
Presenters Workshop – In early 2019 we will organize a Presenters Workshop in both Calgary and Edmonton to discuss issues that impact our members. Panel discussions and experts knowledgeable in subjects like on-line marketing, contracts and riders, succession, growing a new or sustaining an existing audience will be involved. If you have any topics that you would like to see discussed, please get in touch with me. I would love to hear from you, kennedy@artstouring.com
Administration
The ATAA had the pleasure of having an Arts and Cultural Management intern help us this summer. Yuri Kim performed several research projects that helped us identify suitable workshop sites, funding streams, community arts groups that include dance and/or theatre in their season and marketing strategies for professional development projects.
CAPACOA Survey – Our office sent out a national survey from CAPACOA asking you for an overall look at your practices and the economic impact of your community arts council. I know it is drudgery to fill these things out, but without reliable economic indicators, CAPACOA cannot lobby the government effectively on our behalf. I do encourage you to go online and fill out the survey:
http://www.capacoa.ca/en/services/research-and-development/vitality-and-impact-survey
APAC – Alberta Partners for Arts and Culture – Currently, we are exploring the drastic changes AGLC has made in non-profit casino licensing. The arts eligibility criteria changed in March of 2018 without stakeholder consultation or notice. The Calgary and Edmonton Chamber of Community Volunteer Organizations will be meeting with AGLC in this month of October to get more information about the shift in the casino environment. APAC will stay on top of this and update our partners.
A huge thank you must go out to our funders, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts and Canadian Heritage. They not only provide The Arts Touring Alliance of Alberta with the dollars to keep our doors open but offer advice and support throughout the year.
In closing, I would like to say thank you to our Alberta Showcase team: Josh Gennings, Terri Ponich and the Dow Centre, Don & Sherry Waddle and their Production Crew, Shannon Jones the ATAA Office Manager, Maria and Apulia Catering, and the Arts Touring Alliance Board of Directors. I look forward to many years working together with such a great organization.
Kennedy Jenson
Executive Director
Arts Touring Alliance of Alberta
Purchasing sponsorship includes your logo uploaded onto our website, shared across our social media, and featured in our newsletter with a reach of over 2000 individuals.
Purchasing an advertisement in our program also includes the same advertisement uploaded onto our website, shared across our social media, and featured in our newsletter with a reach of over 2000 individuals.
Now in its 42nd year, Alberta Showcase brings touring artists together with community presenters searching for artists for special events, concert and performance series, and community celebrations. It is three days of showcasing the top performance artists interested in touring Alberta, that will inspire you!
