Program

• Agenda

  Download the agenda here or log in to Whova to access the interactive version!

• Keynote: Cities as Diplomats: Connecting Through Culture and Creativity

  

  Roda Muse, Secretary General, Canadian Commission for UNESCO

  CCNC is excited to welcome Secretary General of CCUNESCO Roda Muse to the Creative City Summit as Keynote Speaker. 

  Roda Muse has been Secretary General of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO since May 2021. Previously, she was a manager at the Department of Innovation, Sciences and Economic Development Canada. She also worked as Ontario Regional Director for Status of Women Canada. She is a school board trustee and a former vice-president of the Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario (CEPEO), a member of the Consortium governing the Centre Jules-Léger, a member of the Board of Directors of the Montfort Hospital, and a member of the advisory board of Harriet Tubman Institute at York University. Very active in the Francophone community, she has been a member of the Table féministe francophone de concertation provinciale de l’Est de l’Ontario, the Board of Directors of La Cité collégiale and the Équipe de santé familiale de l’Est de l’Ontario. Roda Muse co-founded the Acacia Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to fostering excellence in young visible minority Francophones through education and mentoring.

   
• Panels

  Waterloo Panel Series

  We are excited to bring you three panels, one on each day. All panels will be available to virtual delegates through live stream and/or recorded video. 

   

  Day 1

  What Comes Next? The Impact of 2020–2022 on Cultural Service Portfolios

  Tuesday, October 4 at 9:15 AM (Eastern)

  Everything you knew about your job was turned on its head in 2020. We know you’re tired of rehashing all the ways that COVID stalled or otherwise negatively impacted your work and the sector. That’s why this panel asks leaders from different portfolios about how the past 2+ years will translate into the next 2+ years and beyond. What impacts have changed the way we work, what we program, who we reach, and how we measure… for good? From event planning to facility management to placemaking and more: What comes next?

   

  Speakers

  Iris Nemani, Harbourfront Centre

  Coralie Olson, MassivArt

  Teresa Byrne, City of Calgary

  Moderated by: Kelly Hill, Hill Strategies Research  

   

   

  Day 2

  Adapting to Changing Expectations: Indigenous Protocol, Reconciliation, and Making Mistakes

  Wednesday, October 5 at 1:45 PM (Eastern)

  Culture work at the local level is inherently connected to community work in reconciliation with local First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities. Decolonizing municipal spaces and best practices, naming conventions, maintaining authenticity, and more all come down to fostering meaningful relationships with those in and around your community. But the unique histories and already-established relationships between government and Indigenous communities across the country make this work far from cookie-cutter. How can the work of culture planners and program makers lead municipalities towards local reconciliation and how can we do this despite the fear of making mistakes? 

  Speakers
  Janis Monture, Woodland Cultural Centre
  Larissa Desrosiers, CARFAC 
  Perry Stein, City of Lethbridge 
  Moderated by Barbara Filion, Canadian Commission for UNESCO

   

  Day 3

  Creating Healthy Ecologies for Culture

  Thursday, October 6 at 9:15 AM (Eastern)

  Who knows better than you that local culture work leads to strong local economies and the well-being of residents? This panel will feature municipal culture leaders from across Canada in the categories of small, mid-sized, and large population centres, all with their own approach to creating environments that allow local arts and culture to thrive. Hear about the innovative work being done to prioritize culture on a municipal level and the reasons these leaders continue to push their Culture Plans forward. 

  Speakers
  Cheryl Blackman, City of Toronto
  Joanne Duguay, City of Moncton
  Christian Sénéchal, Les Arts et la Ville
  Sally Kim, Edmonton Arts Council
  Moderated by Shannon Bowler, Culture Days National 

• Peer-to-Peer Sessions (P2Ps)

  Three P2P sessions will be offered over the course of the Summit. Delegates will be able to select P2P sessions from the following streams: 

  1. Conserving & Celebrating Community Stories
  2. Growing Culture & Creative Industries
  3. Amplifying Community Vibrancy
  4. Maintaining Momentum: Policy, Planning, Partnering, and Measuring Success

  More information including P2P schedule to come.

   

  Creating a Culture of Collaboration

  Speakers: Michael Vickers (ACCIDA), Kelly Stahl (City of Brampton), Margaux Weinrib (STEPS Public Art)

  Cultural programming leads from the City of Brampton; Arts, Culture & Creative Industry Development Agency (ACCIDA); and STEPS Public Art; share learnings from a series of collaborative placemaking initiatives completed between 2021-2022, which helped to catalyze a culture of creative change in Canada’s 9th largest city. Walk through the process of growing this strategic partnership and learn how each organization’s strengths helped build artistic capacity, foster creative community, and make a case for public art. We will explore the role of municipal governments in supporting cultural initiatives and how this work can be further heightened through partnerships with local arts service organizations. A visual presentation will highlight recent projects within the City of Brampton, all of which were designed to engage the local community, foster economic recovery, and contribute to an increased sense of belonging. Woven into each featured public art piece are elements of storytelling and engagement, offering multiple entry points to ensure the works are accessible both virtually and in person. Presenters will share how they worked together to develop unique opportunities for artistic collaboration, mentorship and paid creative work; and how their partnership has helped build agency and spark community-led cultural growth. 

  Stream 2: Growing Culture & Creative Industries

   

  Tapping Into The Open Data Pipeline – New Approaches To Amplifying Community Vibrancy & Cultural Planning

  Speaker: Frédéric Julien (Canadian Association for the Performing Arts) 

  How can you amplify community vibrancy if you don’t know what’s going on? Could open data help you paint an accurate picture of cultural activity in your community?

  If you’re intrigued by these questions, this session is for you.

  In this dialogue session, Frédéric Julien will facilitate a structured conversation about the potential uses and benefits of open data in cultural planning. The session will provide participants with an opportunity to share their current understanding of open data, as well as their hopes and challenges in using open data. Over the course of the dialogue, Frédéric will share information about free knowledge bases – such as Wikidata, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons – whose open data can be reused for multiple purposes including: inventory of works created in the municipality, cultural municipal mapping, destination marketing, etc. Could these open data based tools be leveraged to both support municipalities in their cultural planning and development work, and help enhance the digital presence of local arts and culture organizations? 

  Stream 3: Amplifying Community Vibrancy

   

  Meet the Street 2021–2022: New Arts & Culture Festival in Red Deer, Alberta

  Speakers: Kelly Andres (City of Red Deer), Nora Smith (City of Red Deer) 

  Three components designed to enhance Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design principles were implemented by a cross corporate team in Red Deer’s historic downtown in 2021.  Speakers, lighting, and murals were added to two alleys that were identified as hot spots for negative activity in the core. The activation of those alley improvements occurred through a Meet the Street Festival designed to strengthen community relationships, decrease vandalism, enhance local pride, increase foot traffic, and small business revenue generation.  The festival was well attended and well received by participants and the arts community. 

  The City of Red Deer’s Community Development section will continue to build on the goals of the 2021 through the expansion of the murals in 2022 and a placemaking component that will focus on a collaborative transformation via a multi-faceted approach. This interactive session will be facilitated by Kelly Andres and Nora Smith from the City of Red Deer’s Community Development section and outline the planning process, challenges, successes, and community engagement. The goal of the presentation is to frame the project as a flexible place-based toolkit that can be replicated by other communities to create similar initiatives. Participants will be provided with an artistically rendered place-based doodle-page so they can ideate and jot down notes throughout the session. 

  Stream 3: Amplifying Community Vibrancy

   

  CreateSpace: Building Capacity for More Equitable Public Art

  Speakers: Belinda Uwase (STEPS Public Art), Collin Zipp (STEPS Public Art)

  STEPS Public Art believes public art has the ability to challenge the systemic inequities that exist in public space. In support of this important work, they facilitate programs that foster inclusive public art practices, build the capacity of underrepresented artists, and demonstrate how public art can help reimagine equitably designed cities.

  The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed inequalities that exist in cities, particularly in public spaces. For years, STEPS Public Art has witnessed the disproportionate disadvantage that BIPOC artists have accessing large-scale public art opportunities. As such, the multifaceted CreateSpace programming was created to foster more equitable representation in public art practices by amplifying and strengthening the voices and practices of equity-seeking artists. The goal of this programming is to provide tools and develop systems to remove barriers within public art from the ground level.

  The CreateSpace Public Artist Residency builds the capacity of emerging and mid-career artists to create socially-engaged public artwork in Canadian communities through a combination of skill-building, portfolio-building, mentorship and networking opportunities with impact across Canada. Similarly, the CreateSpace Public Art Forum fosters connections, builds understanding across geographies and cultures, as well as provides emerging equity-seeking artists with the skills, relationships, and support needed to develop public art practices. STEPS Public Art actively reaches out to various artists/artist organizations across the country and within municipalities to discuss potential partnerships. STEPS Public Art aims to build community capacity through collaboration and appreciation of our unique geographical locations while cultivating programming and opportunities applicable across Canada.

  Explore five case studies in this P2P session:

  1. Project We! Project Oui! (by Montreal artist Anna Jane McIntyre) is an umbrella project to celebrate the beauty and richness of living in pluralistic communities
  2. Cedar Cone Rain Catcher project (by Vancouver-based artist Laara Cerman) is a public art activation that interacts with nature to create rain chime sounds in the surroundings of Rose Park in Squamish, British Columbia
  3. RAZA (Colombian artists Valentina and Laura Carabello) is a trans-regional multi-medium art collective; the official project is an LED sculpture meant to illuminate Calgary’s downtown area in an effort to cultivate safer spaces for those who identify as women
  4. Parkdale Park Art Wall community mural (by Ottawa-based urban indigenous artist Stephanie Babij) is a community mural intended to call people to honour their relationship with the land and welcome dialogues about climate justice and living ethically with creation.
  5. Phoenix Society’s Community Murals (by Tina Nguyen, a Vietnamese-Canadian interdisciplinary artist) is a project to create public outdoor mural works through workshops and open workspaces in the community of Phoenix Society in Surrey, B.C. 

  Stream 1: Conserving & Celebrating Community Stories

   

  UNESCO and London…Say What?

  Speakers: Cory Crossman (London Music Office); Eunju Yi (London Arts Council); Cathy Parsons (City of London); Robin Armistead (City of London)

  The UNESCO Creative City Network (UCCN), the largest cultural network in the world connected to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, selected London as an international City of Music in 2021  https://www.londoncityofmusic.ca/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fGtIxpYSqs

  London wants to share its partnership success as it joins Canadian creative cities of the UCCN including Montreal (Design 2006), Toronto (Media Arts 2017) and Quebec City (Literature 2017). The 2022 Creative City Summit “ALL IN: New Pathways for Moving Forward is all about collaboration and innovative strategies of collectively banding together in partnership.  The UCCN is looking to expand its network throughout North America and London would like to encourage other Canadian cities to apply in one of seven designations (crafts and folk art, design, gastronomy, film, media arts and music).  

  Presenters will highlight how London’s core planning team targeted the creative field of Music through the development of a UNESCO Action Plan intended to foster growth and prosperity across the broader cultural section and achieve the UCCN’s objectives.  This Action Plan is divided into three innovative areas of focus:

  1. Develop creative industry initiatives (municipal, private, and non-profit partnerships) that incubate and build music through cross-sectoral work within film and media arts.
  2. Attraction of new national/international music exchange and conference.
  3. Strengthen London’s cultural prosperity through inclusivity, equitability and wellness.

  Proposed tools/ideas will be presented such as: 

  1. Interactive cross-sectoral music and tech sector programming. 
  2. Live music exchanges that infuse music into London events and conferences.
  3. Collaborative and equitable music programs that mentor and bring the creative sector together.  

  London will utilize music as a growth catalyst for the broader cultural sector and creative industries. Working collaboratively through the UCCN and the CCNC with like-minded communities who are developing their creative fields, will enhance the cultural vibrancy and socio-economic prosperity of Canada.

  Stream 2: Growing Culture & Creative Industries

   

   

  The Development of City of Ottawa Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation Civic Cultural Protocol and Implementation Plan, 2022-2026

  Speaker: Natalí Zúñiga (City of Ottawa) 

  The City of Ottawa – Anishinabe Algonquin Nation Civic Cultural Protocol and Implementation Plan (2022-2026), was developed in full collaboration with the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation, the Host Nation in the unceded lands on which Ottawa is built.   The Protocol and Implementation Plan were unanimously approved by Ottawa City Council in April 2022. 

  The civic cultural protocol frames and establishes a formal relationship between the City of Ottawa and the Host Nation, providing a guide for interaction, partnership development and shared action in the areas of arts, heritage, and culture. It includes cultural and historical context. 

  The implementation plan outlines objectives and actions in 19 areas of cultural work. It was developed with the participation and collaboration of the following City of Ottawa service areas:  Cultural Funding and Support, Public Art Program, Cultural and Heritage Programs and Spaces, Community Recreation and Cultural Programs, City Archives, Office of Protocol and Intergovernmental Affairs, Public Information and Media Relations and the Ottawa Public Library.

  The development of the civic cultural protocol and implementation plan contributed to building and strengthening the relationship between the City of Ottawa and the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation, nurturing and fostering opportunities for mutual learning and meaningful collaboration. The protocol and plan serve as starting points for further meaningful and even deeper dialogue and collaboration with the Host Nation in cultural and other areas of municipal responsibility. 

  An Anishinabe Algonquin Nation Consultative Culture Circle will be established to monitor implementation of the protocol and plan, to respond to specific questions from various City of Ottawa departments and to serve as a permanent forum for learning and dialogue.

  Stream 3: Amplifying Community Vibrancy

   

   

  Cultural Strategic Planning During COVID-19 and When the “Levee Broke”

  Speakers: Carmen Gonzalez (City of Delta), Susan Federspiel (City of Abbotsford)

  Want to learn more about the peaks and valleys of Cultural Strategic Planning? Need to know more about how to avoid the pitfalls that can slow or halt the process? This session will provide an overview of the successes and blunders experienced when attempting to complete a comprehensive Cultural Strategy (Culture Connect) in Abbotsford, at an unparalleled moment in time, within a unique and diverse community.
  
  Covid-19, historic flooding in the context of a first Cultural plan will all be addressed.
  
  Learn:

  • Pre-Strategic Plans must do’s – ensuring the landscape is nourished to plant ideas
  • Working through resistance with kindness and humour
  • Diversity and Culture – struggles and highlights
  • Managing unforeseen disasters – how to work through and be respectful when natural and public health measures affect the plans (and timelines and budgets!)

  This presentation will provide ample time for the sharing of knowledge and peer participation.

  Stream 4: Maintaining Momentum: Policy, Planning, Partnering, and Measuring Success

   

  Leading the Way: Mapping Local Culture

  Speakers: Harriet Goodwin (North Van Arts), Michelle Richard (North Van Arts)

  The North Shore Culture Compass takes cultural mapping to new levels of engagement, activation, analysis, and potential. Launched in March 2020 by the community arts council North Van Arts, the North Shore Culture Compass is a free online map that visualizes the rich cultural offerings of Vancouver’s North Shore. This web-based mapping tool features key information about points of cultural interest. Where many cultural mapping projects end once the inventory is complete, for the dynamic Culture Compass, it is only just the beginning:

  Evolving – the Culture Compass launched with 400 listings in 2020 and there are now over 650! Listings are added all the time as organizations self-list, promote their events, and staff research local stories.

  
Engaging – organized into 10 categories, the Culture Compass includes Festivals & Events (a centralized calendar of annual and current local cultural events) and a First Nations category featuring Indigenous place names, audio pronunciations, Coast Salish animals and stories; All content is guided and approved by members from these First Nations communities.


  Activating – with initiatives like Treasure Hunts, contests, outreach events, and the Navigators Education Programme, activations informed by the Culture Compass are fun for all ages and encourage cultural curiosity. 

  Marketing – to establish the Culture Compass as a hub marketing tool, we hired a marketing firm to create a brand identity and a communications plan. This was important to ensure that Vancouver’s North Shore’s listed cultural assets, stories, and events are promoted to a wide, and growing, audience. 

  Mapping Insights – by combining our own data with Census data, we have visually mapped out demographic information about who lives in the community and how they engage with local cultural activities. These reports strengthen the cultural sector on the North Shore by helping listed organizations tailor their offerings to better reflect the needs of their audience.

  The North Shore Culture Compass is a culture map for and by the community, with partnerships within and beyond the cultural sector. We invite you to navigate to new experiences and explore the potential of cultural mapping.

  Stream 1: Conserving & Celebrating Community Stories

   

  Fostering Global Competency through Art: Virtual Cultural Exchange between Canada and Japan 

  Speakers: Hannah Reimer (Art City, Winnipeg, MB), Satomi Tozawa (Et Bon Voyage, Hokkaido, Japan)

  Art City (Winnipeg, MB) and Et Bon Voyage (Hokkaido, Japan) initiated a virtual exchange project that fosters global competence among the youth of Canada and Japan through art. One of the effective methods previous research shows is the contact hypothesis Gordon Allport asserted. Allport stated that a lack of information about different categories of people could increase prejudice, but having direct contact creates mutual understanding between them. Moreover, working on something together can be more effective rather than simply getting knowledge on the desk. One of the significant skills needed for global competence is mediating knowledge and concepts of different cultures, which was added in 2018, and art is an appropriate tool to develop perceiving nuances expressed non-verbally. Art City and Et Bon Voyage set two conditions for effective collaboration; relationships between participants are non-hierarchical, and workshops include opportunities for mutual cooperation. The theme of their summer exchange is “hometown.” Art City and Et Bon Voyage are going to introduce their hometowns to each other, address the issues both communities currently face, and create a work that expresses the solutions together, which enables the two groups to solve local issues internationally. They plan to create a map-like painting of their hometowns, each with their own designated colour palette in the respective groups, and then swapping the paintings digitally. From there they will imagine positive changes that their hometowns need and continue to paint in their specific colour palette so there are two very clear interpretations of both hometowns with imaginative input from a community across the globe. Art City and Et Bon Voyage will examine the process of understanding each other and forming consensus through art by interviewing participants. Collected data and feedback will help to develop a curriculum that is effective to foster global competence virtually. Presenters from these groups will report progress at the Summit.

  *NOTE: This session will be available virtually and not as part of the in-person agenda. All delegates will have access to the recording.

  Stream 2: Growing Culture & Creative Industries

   

  How Can We Enhance Community Vibrancy?

  Speaker: Sharon Sweeney (Conseil Communautaire Notre Dame de Grâce) 

  The oldest organization of its kind in Canada, Notre-Dame Du Grace Community Council is fully integrated into its community with a hands-on approach to both hearing the needs of its residents and meeting them where they are. The NDG community council is an organization that listens, mobilizes, facilitates, and acts. They foster partnerships between residents, community partners, and key players to identify and address needs and emerging issues to cultivate strategies and solutions. 

  As an organization that works to mobilize and engage residents, NDG seeks to offer its more isolated and vulnerable residents opportunities for engagement. The Arts & Culture Table, led by the NDG Community Council, worked together to create many initiatives and aims to connect artists, organizations, residents and institutions. 

  Part of the largest borough of the city of Montreal, NDG is a wonderful neighbourhood to live in; however, there are cracks and in those cracks NDG tries to support the more vulnerable neighbours who might slip through. There is a disparity that exists between low income and higher income residents. There is a disproportionately large number of families and individuals living below the poverty line. 

  Priority sectors are identified as such based on finances, immigration status, mobility issues, housing, food security, language barriers and social isolation to name a few. What the community has learned is that they must try many different strategies to engage and mobilize residents. What works for one may not work for another.

  What NDG has observed in their work with regards to Arts & Culture: 

  • Often comes in last in a list of priorities for underserved populations
  • Is the last barrier of wealth 
  • Regardless of accessibility there is a feeling that we (marginalized population) are not invited or welcome to the party 

  From needs assessments to meeting residents where they are or determining when residents should be their own agents of change, NDG looks for the best pathways to engagement. Actions undertaken include mapping of free cultural resources, surveying artists regarding their resources and offerings, and the creation of a formula to measure the metrics of access to art.

  From there, what is missing? What would residents like access to? What do creators of art need? Where are the barriers? 

  Solutions come in many forms. Be creative, think outside the box and connect some dots: 

  • Is there a system in place to connect outsider artists with institutions?
  • Is there a way to have access to the arts in our sectors? 
  • Is there money? 
  • Can we value the arts, the creators of art and the participants; active and passive? 

  (Yes, yes, yes and yes) 

  Have we been able to build vibrant communities with our work?  Yes, yes, yes and yes! 

  The NDG Community council identified a way in which to connect to the residents of the neighbourhood and to make arts accessible. They have created a movement that is often replicated, but NDG can say with certainty they are the leader in creating a vibrant community. 

  Stream 3: Amplifying Community Vibrancy

    

  Advocating for the Arts: Measuring Impact and Growing Data Sovereignty

  Speakers: Louisa Plant (Nordicity), Creative Coast (Vancouver Island)

  Most people agree that the arts have intrinsic value. However, the arts’ potential role in community and economic development can be overlooked due to a lack of data. 

  The Digital Innovation Group (DIG) – a consortium of Vancouver Island/Gulf Islands arts councils now called Creative Coast – saw the importance of data for the sector to be equitably recognized for its contributions. The group also identified a common need for arts professionals – to be able to better understand, analyze, and own their own data. 

  In 2021, DIG enlisted Nordicity to assess the impact of the regional arts ecosystem on Vancouver Island. The study investigated both economic and non-economic impact. Community participation was crucial, particularly to assess non-economic benefits. Cross-sector involvement – including tourism, business, and policymaking – helped reveal the different facets of impact. More than 120 people attended the online events, and the survey gained 1,500 responses across the region. 

  The study provided compelling data on the arts’ economic and community impact. It found that the regional arts sector adds $910m in direct economic outputs a year. And importantly, over 90% of participants see the local arts sector as foundational to economic, community, and individual wellness. 

  Since the study, the DIG team – now Creative Coast – have been actively sharing the findings and building capacity around data. We hope this session will help open a Canada-wide conversation on how we can work together as a sector to remove siloes and gather useful, meaningful, and comparable data. 

  This session will include: 

  1. An introduction on why DIG – a grassroots consortium of Vancouver Island/Gulf Islands arts councils – came together to tackle the issue of data
  2. An overview of the research
     1. How the team conducted the study – the grassroots methods, and how the community was engaged across the region – including business and tourism
     2. Key research findings on the regional sector’s impact
     3. Structural challenges and exciting opportunities identified by the research
  3. How the DIG group – now Creative Coast – have used the findings so far, and their current work to overcome silos and improve data literacy
  4. Q&A 
  5. A facilitated discussion on how we can move forward together to empower the sector with useful, compelling, and comparable data 

  Stream 4: Maintaining Momentum: Policy, Planning, Partnering, and Measuring Success

   

  FURTHER DETAILS 

  • Register for your preferred session* by opening the Whova event app, navigating to the Agenda page, and exploring each daily list of sessions. Select your preferred session and RSVP at the top of its description page. *In-person delegates have a daily choice of session. Virtual delegates will have access to one pre-determined session each day. 
  • P2P sessions are between 45 and 60 min. including the Q&A (session length will be confirmed with successful presenters) 
  • Selected presenters must register by July 29, 2022.
• Study Tours

  At the heart of Waterloo Region is a spirit of collaboration. This collaborative approach can be seen in how we develop public spaces, how we create art, and how we engage the community.

  Study tours will explore some of the outcomes of this collaborative spirit. Tours could include the following:

  Take One

  Cambridge

  Visit film locations of American Gods, Handmaid’s Tale, and Murdoch Mysteries and discover how Cambridge has worked with local business and turned film into an economic development success story.
  The tour will also include the Cambridge Sculpture Garden and noted historic buildings along the riverside.

  This tour is available Tuesday, October 4 and Wednesday, October 5. Capacity: 30 (RSVP to reserve your spot on Whova).

   

  Artful Uptown

  Waterloo

  Murals, temporary art installations, collaborations, and Public Art – we have them all! Join us for a walking tour featuring the City of Waterloo’s Public Art Collection and the many temporary installations that contribute to the vibrancy of Uptown Waterloo. Discussion will include funding models, valuation, logistics, collaborations, story-telling, successes and pitfalls, and, of course, a stop for a treat at one of our amazing Uptown businesses!

  This tour is available Tuesday, October 4 and Wednesday, October 5. RSVP on Whova to attend.

   

  Cool DTK Art Collabs 

  Kitchener

  Take the LRT downtown to Victoria Park station and join the City of Kitchener’s Arts & Creative Industries team for a four-block walking tour of spaces that feature amazing acts of collaboration. Start at 44 Gaukel Creative Workspace with a snack and details about that facility project and its resident The Beasting program. Get some scoop on the KWAG-BIA art walk and hear the story behind the KW Homelessness Memorial at Vogelsang Green.

  This tour is available Tuesday, October 4 and Wednesday, October 5. Capacity: 30 (RSVP to reserve your spot on Whova).

   

  Three Cheers for Culture

  Waterloo Region

  Waterloo Region has a long history of distilling and brewing. Tour and sample your way through a few of the unique breweries in the Region. Learn about the creativity brought to brewing beer, the different types of events hosted at their venues, and the partnerships they’ve built with the local arts and culture sector.

  This tour is available Tuesday, October 4 and Wednesday, October 5. Capacity: 30 (RSVP to reserve your spot on Whova).

   

  Follow the Rural Road to Mennonite Country 

  St. Jacobs

  Step back in time and take in the charm of the historic village of St. Jacobs. Learn how preserving the past has allowed for a niche market and key regional tourism destination to blossom; filled with history,
  culture and storytelling.

  This tour is available Tuesday, October 4 and Wednesday, October 5. Capacity: 30 (RSVP to reserve your spot on Whova).

   

  Art in Motion 

  Waterloo

  Hop aboard the ION light rail as we take a guided tour of its public art along the city’s uptown corridor. We’ll have a few stops along the way, meeting with a contributing Artist, while learning about the epic undertaking from Regional staff of commissioning 10 marvellous artworks in tandem with building a public transit system.

  This tour is available Tuesday, October 4 and Wednesday, October 5. RSVP on Whova to attend.

• Awards of Excellence

  The return of the CCNC Awards of Excellence will be held on Thursday, October 6 at 12:45pm. 

  Read about eligibility and criteria for the Awards of Excellence.

  Nominations have now closed for all award categories.

  Read 2022 Awards of Excellence Release.

  I.D.E.A. Award *New*

  The I.D.E.A. Award recognizes significant contributions by an individual, organization, or municipality working in the cultural sector that exemplifies the principles of I.D.E.A. (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility) through cultural programs and initiatives including reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and communities.  

  Cultural Planning Award

  The Cultural Planning Award recognizes a Canadian municipality that has developed, adopted, and implemented an excellent Culture Plan with a process that demonstrates outstanding visionary leadership and best practices in cultural planning or a Canadian municipality that has reviewed, revitalized and implemented a previously adopted Culture Plan.

  Public Art Sustainability Award *New*

  The Public Art Sustainability Award recognizes a Canadian municipality that demonstrated visionary leadership by supporting an excellent program and process that led to a successful public art project or program.

  Specifically, any temporary Public Art Project or permanent Public Art Projects valued up to $75,000.00.

  Public Art Legacy Award *New*

  The Public Art Legacy Award recognizes a Canadian municipality that demonstrated visionary leadership by supporting an excellent program and process that led to a successful public art project or program.

  Specifically, permanent Public Art Projects valued over $75,000.00.

  Cultural Events Award

  The Cultural Events Award recognizes a Canadian municipality that demonstrated visionary leadership by initiating, creating, and producing an exceptional cultural event or by empowering and supporting a community initiative that led to an exceptional cultural event. Cultural events can include celebrations, festivals, exhibitions, performances, and programs.     

  Cultural Leadership Award

  The Cultural Leadership Award recognizes significant contributions by individuals working in the field of local cultural planning, programs, and services who have shown inspired leadership and exceptional dedication to supporting the work and the vision of the Creative City Network of Canada.  

  Stand Up for Culture Award *New*

  The Stand Up for Culture Award recognizes a Canadian municipality that actively recognized the value of culture work in their community over the 2020–2022 time period by lifting up their local culturally focused departments, staff, and/or programs in order to energize their response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic on a local level.

• Public Art Year in Review

  A celebration of public art across Canada!

  Presented by the Public Art Network (PAN), the Public Art Year in Review highlights what is new and exciting about Canada’s public art sector. The Year in Review recognizes artwork of all scope and scale, with an emphasis on the diverse ways artists and municipalities respond to their local environments.

  Selected artworks will be featured at the Creative City Summit on October 5th in Waterloo.

   

  Eligibility

  CCNC encourages all municipalities across Canada, developers, and artists to submit to the Year in Review to showcase what is new and exciting in their locale.

  • All scope and scale – small to large, emerging to established – are eligible. Leap in! 
  • Submissions may include civic, private, or community based permanent/transitory artworks or programs.
  • All artworks must have been completed or programs debuted in the 2019, 2020, and 2021 calendar years. 
  • Submissions are limited to TWO per applicant. It is strongly suggested that commissioning agencies and artists work together on the application to ensure duplicate applications are not received. 

   

  Selection Criteria

  • Artistic Merit
  • Process 
  • Impact 
  • Diversity of voice 
  • Site specificity 

  When making selections, the jury will also consider geographical diversity, range in community size, array of project types and budgets.

   

  To Apply

  Send in one email: 

  • A word document with a full narrative of up to 800 words
  • Up to six .jpg images that describe the project 
  • The project budget, budget source, location, artist and commissioner
  • Your full name, e-mail address, municipal or organizational affiliation and position or other role.

  The deadline for submissions: is Monday, July 4 by 4:00 p.m. PST.

  Send to: Creative City Network of Canada – [email protected] 

   

  Successful Submissions

  • Up to ten submissions will be selected for the Year in Review presentation at the 2022 CCNC summit in Waterloo.
  • Submissions may be profiled on the Creative City Network of Canada website.
  • Presenters may be filmed or photographed and presentations profiled on the 2022 Summit webpage or CCNC YouTube channel.
  • All projects submitted may be featured in a Public Art Network Year in Review online database for CCNC members.
  • Images from successful submissions may be used by the Creative City Network of Canada for educational or not-for-profit purposes.
  • Successful submissions will ideally be presented by the artist, or a member of the submitting municipality or commissioner.
  • Successful applicants will receive further details about presentation submission details and deadlines in August.

   

   

  YEAR IN REVIEW AND AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

  The Public Art Year in Review differs from CCNC’s Awards of Excellence for Public Art. Municipalities may submit public art projects to both recognition programs, but whereas the Awards of Excellence recognize two outstanding projects for their demonstration of artistic excellence and best practices as selected by the AoE jury, the Year in Review showcases a diverse range of artworks from across the country as selected by the Public Art Network Council of CCNC. 

• Discussion Rooms

  Expanding on the popular Roundtables, delegates will get these conversations on their feet. 

  Three themed Discussion Rooms will be dedicated to facilitating conversations between delegates. Choose which room you attend on Day 1 and Day 2, and hear what happened in all Rooms on Day 3. 

  Participants will be presented with a question or problem to be tackled and set to work to talk it out with small groups and one-on-one. Bring your own perspective and experience to a challenge and learn how others across the country see it differently. 

  Themes

  Festivals and Events: Returning to Crowds

  Day 1 Discussion: 

  The Challenge of Event Planning in My Municipality: Share the structure of your municipal special event permitting process. Does your municipality have a ‘Special Event (Advisory) Team’ (SET/SEAT) that reviews or supports the compliance requirements of community events? What opportunities has your event team identified to enhance/streamline its event permitting process? What are the sticking points in your processes?

  Day 2 Discussion:

  Examining the Team Behind Local Events: Describe the nature of the working relationship (if any) between your municipal event staff, your municipal colleagues and any regional or provincial agencies that have jurisdiction to authorize community festivals, events or venues (i.e. land use planning, public health, regional transportation services, etc.). How have these relationships developed over time? How could they be improved? Which relationship have you found to be especially effective or helpful in getting an event off the ground?

   

  Public Art and Placemaking: Approaches and Understanding

  Day 1 Discussion: 

  Navigating Placemaking, Placekeeping, and Spacemaking: Which approach to take in your municipality
  Place-keeping, a notion tied to Indigenous community perspectives, offers a vantage point that the role of public art could be to bring forward and reflect what is already there, rather than something new that may displace it.
  
  • Have you observed a shift from public art as decoration in a space to added meaning or honouring the heritage of a place?
  • What does it mean to place objects into a place or space?
  • What is the purpose of bringing attention to a particular place?
  • Who plays what role in public art — artists, community, urban planners, culture staff — and how does intention impact the final piece?
  

  Day 2 Discussion:

  CASE STUDY: Monahan Wetlands Public Art Project

  A municipal public art program has been tasked with commissioning an artwork for a local wetlands area. This wetland serves many purposes, it offers recreational space to the community with its many pedestrian pathways, it provides needed, storm water management for the adjacent housing development, and it is home to a diversity of flora and fauna.

  The community is adamant that the commissioned artwork should not negatively impact the ecosystem, as well as their experience of the natural environment. Artists are then tasked with proposing “environmentally sensitive” public art. The proposals by the four shortlisted artists addressed this issue in different way but all addressed the impact of public art on the natural environment.

  Conversations for this discussion room will be based on this case study.
  

   

  Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access and Reconciliation in Culture Work

  Day 1 Discussion: 

  How do culture workers navigate bureaucratic systems to balance personal engagement and programming goals with Indigenous communities living within and nearby their borders?
  • Do we face these same challenges with engaging other communities of colour or communities with diverse abilities?
  • Do you have plans or policies in place to support these conversations and improve relationship building?
  • How does tension at a higher level in the organizations impact how welcomed/engaged people are in your work?
  

  Day 2 Discussion:

  What systems within your municipality is the biggest barrier to advancing IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access) initiatives?
  • How do you make sure the principles of IDEA are upheld in your work?
  • What resources have you accessed to support advancing IDEA principles?
  • Who are the essential municipal partners to get on board to advance an IDEA toolkit (eg. HR, training, EDI committees etc.)? 
  

   
• Optional Evening Activities

  Exciting things to do around town while you’re at the Summit!

  Thursday 6 October, 6:30pm

  Culture Talks: Paul Raff

  Explore art, architecture and placemaking with award-winning architect Paul Raff

  Culture Talks 2022 continues conversations between artists, architects, designers, city builders and urbanists shining a light on exemplary buildings and public art projects, and exploring the future role of artists and architects as cultural placemakers.

  The Walper Hotel
  $20 + HST  |  Cash Bar

  Click Here to Register