Call for projects, presentations, or performances.

Arts Atlantic Symposium | 21-23 October 2022 | Saint John NB

Submission deadline: Tuesday, May 31, 2022

The future: It’s coming at us in the next minute, the next day, the next month. How are artists in Atlantic Canada greeting it? This is the foundational question of FUTURE POSSIBLE, the inaugural Arts Atlantic Symposium. 

“Future possible” is a verb tense, a way of approaching the world.  At its core, artistic expression helps us envision new ways to move forward. Artistic encounters provide an exchange of ideas, a form of communication that lives at the heart of community. It is how we share (and transform) stories about ourselves and our society. It is a conversation composed of multiple voices and diverse perspectives, revealing and reflecting upon where we come from, how we are now, and where we hope to go. 

The past few years have caused fundamental changes for many artists and art organizations. How has this time given rise to new ways of seeing, thinking, and doing? What choices will we make now about reconnecting, about how we spend our time? How will we choose our creative partners and our audiences? How does the possibility of hybrid experiences in a digital era inform our creative approaches, breaking down barriers between physical location and artistic disciplines? How does place, and our way of being here — the pace, the tone, the environment — inform our ability to envision? 

Arts Atlantic Symposium is a three-day multidisciplinary festival with live performances, art installations, and public exhibitions, as well as a conference featuring keynote speakers, panels, workshops, and networking events. We invite artists, arts collectives, curators, scholars, or arts professionals to submit proposals for presentations, performances, temporary installations, or interventions for the public festival component of the symposium, or workshops, talks, panel discussions, or training activities for the conference component. We ask that applications respond to the broad theme of FUTURE POSSIBLE, and/or on the following topics:

  • Connection/reconnection in a pandemic or post-pandemic environment

  • Resilience and adaptation in the arts sector

  • Resilience/growth/success for Atlantic Canadian artists through professional development and/or digital innovation

  • Curating, art-making, and/or audience building in a digital era

  • Creating hybrid digital and in-person art experiences

  • Atlantic Canadian identity: pace, tone, environment

  • Nostalgia: the role of Atlantic Canadian history in knowing who we are and where we hope to go

  • Community or local(e) as a place of care and communication

  • Isolation and geography

  • Collaboration across disciplines or regions

  • Accessibility and inclusion in digital spaces

  • Sustainability: creating for the future

APPLICATION ASSISTANCE

We are committed to providing application assistance. Please contact us with any questions about your application, the Symposium, or the application/selection process: Sarah Jones (Arts Atlantic Symposium Curatorial and Outreach Coordinator) - symposium@artslinknb.com.

Register for one of our free information sessions (presented via Zoom):

Info session 1: Friday, May 13, 11 AM ADT

Info session 2: Wednesday, May 18, 5:30 ADT

New! Info session 3: Tuesday, May 24, 12 PM ADT

Email symposium@artslinknb.com to register. Please indicate which session you would like to attend.

FAQ

  • The Arts Atlantic Symposium is comprised of two components: a public arts festival and an industry conference for symposium delegates. You can propose a project, performance, or installation for the festival component (accessible to both the AAS delegates and the public) or a workshop, presentation, or panel discussion that would be suitable for the conference portion of the symposium (accessible to the AAS delegates only - i.e. other artists or arts professionals). The conference portion is about peer-to-peer connection, career-building and professional skills development.

    For instance, a contemporary dance collective with a work that explores identity in Atlantic Canada may wish to propose a performance/presentation for the festival component of the AAS. Or a theatre artist who has developed an innovative or hybrid model of performance over the past two years may propose a workshop to train artists in this approach for the conference component of the AAS.

  • The conference component of the AAS will take place at several arts venues in Uptown Saint John, all close together and within walking distance.

    Presentations, performances, or installations for the festival component will take place throughout the Uptown area. Applicants do not need to specify an exact location for their project, but please do indicate your preferred type of venue/location (would you like your project to take place outside? In an urban park? Near the harbour? In a shop window? etc.). If the jury selects your project, the AAS staff will work with you to confirm the presentation logistics.

  • You are welcome to submit an application for the festival component and another for the conference component, if you wish.

  • The AAS jury will evaluate/assess the submissions based on the proposed project’s relevance, feasibility, and connection the symposium theme.

COMPENSATION

Arts Atlantic Symposium commits to paying successful applicants a CARFAC Artist Fee along with a material budget and support for additional costs (such as travel) as needed. The AAS Selection Committee reserves the right to ask questions about the submitted budget and revise if deemed appropriate or necessary.

Individual artists will receive a $450 Artist Fee. Collectives will receive $450 Artist Fee per artist.

Successful applicants will also receive funding towards their material budget and/or travel expenses as described in their application.

HOW TO APPLY

Submit your application form via Google Forms. Send your support material to symposium@artslinknb.com with the subject line "Your Name – Project Title".

Required material:

  1. Application form (available here)

  2. Budget (download the Budget Template here)

  3. CV of artist(s)/presenter(s) involved in your project

  4. Supporting material (images, videos, excerpts, etc.) - please include material that is relevant to your project and will assist the jury in understanding your proposal

  5. List of supporting material

Application deadline: Tuesday, May 31, 2022