Art Place: Community Engaged Arts Symposium

Friday March 31: 9AM-5PM Saturday April 1: 9AM-5PM Ottawa City Hall - 110 Laurier Ave W Tickets and more info: http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/art-place-community-engaged-arts-symposium-tickets-31603836927 To mark the end of Art Place, a three year pilot project in community engaged arts, AOE Arts Council is hosting a two day symposium on community arts engagement. The symposium will provide artists, arts groups and community leaders with the tips and hands-on learning they need to develop co-creative projects with community members. Each event day will feature a panel discussion and an afternoon of hands on learning, with Naomi Tessler on March 31 and Alisdair Macrae on April 1. See below for schedule details. Price includes: morning and afternoon sessions, coffee and snacks, lunch and a copy of the symposium workbook with case studies and worksheets! Friday March 31: Developing a community engaged arts project 9AM-12PM: Panel and roundtable discussion by artists and community leaders: Gerald Dragon of Sandy Hill CHC, Micheline Shoebridge of MASC, Christine Mockett, textile artist 1PM-4:45PM: A presentation and hands-on workshop with theatre artist Naomi Tessler, Branch Out Theatre Where to begin?: Naomi Tessler will present how she began her community engaged arts projects and how she creates one. In an applied theatre workshop, participants will have hands on activities to reflect on the stepping stones of building a community arts project. Participants will critically reflect on the challenges in project building, management and leadership and support the group in working collaboratively to rehearse transforming potential blockages to a thriving community arts project. Saturday April 1: Building a career in community engaged arts 9AM-12PM: Panel and roundtable discussion by artists and community leaders: Kathy Armstrong of Boabab Drum Dance Community, Kelsey Walsh of Dandelion Dance, Adam Brown, performative and sculptural artist, Claudia Salguero, visual artist and art-based facilitator 1PM-4:45PM: A presentation and hands-on workshop with Alisdair MacRae Coming into a community and working with them to create an arts project doesn’t always go the way you expect it will. Each community has specific needs and perspectives which will influence the creative process. In his presentation, Alisdair will talk about his experience creating art in a local skateboard park and then lead a workshop where participants will create a mock community engaged arts project. Participants will learn how to develop a project around a socially relevant issue, consider resources, plan a budget, and develop project management skills.