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“People have always mixed and moved and interesting things happen because of it.”
https://www.miadocumentary.com/
To celebrate the wrap up of Plan F, which commenced in honour of International Womxn’s day in March 2019, we invited all participants and community to join us on a free screening of Steve Loveridge’s extraordinary documentary MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A at the Club SAW. It has been an absolute pleasure and privilege over the past several months getting to meet, engage and work with so many inspiring, talented womxn in our community.
A startlingly personal profile of the critically acclaimed artist, chronicling her remarkable journey from refugee immigrant to pop star. She began as Matangi. Daughter of the founder of Sri Lanka’s armed Tamil resistance, she hid from the government in the face of a vicious and bloody civil war. When her family fled to the UK, she became Maya, a precocious and creative immigrant teenager in London. Finally, the world met her as M.I.A. when she emerged on the global stage, having created a mashup, cut-and-paste identity that pulled from every corner of her journey along the way; a sonic sketchbook that blended Tamil politics, art school punk, hip-hop beats and the unwavering, ultra-confident voice of a burgeoning multicultural youth.
Never one to compromise on her vision, Maya kept her camera rolling throughout. MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. provides unparalleled, intimate access to the artist in her battles with the music industry and mainstream media as her success and fame explodes, becoming one of the most recognizable, outspoken and provocative voices in music today.
This two part series workshop in collaboration with Asinabka Film & Media Arts Festival and CHUO 89.1 FM was a free form exploration of audio basics. Part I: examined the how of recording audio and making audio art and Part II: was an experimentation and development stage where we experimented with audio technology and made some something with the knowledge we’ve gained. The purpose of this series was to provide a low-pressure environment where womxn could playfully explore self expression through experimental sound, music & community. This series culminated in a collaborative mix of recordings that was made into a mix-tape and aired on CHUO 89.1 FM.
Since this was a free form workshop we invited participants to bring the tech they were struggling with, the tech they wanted to know more about, bring sound clips they didn’t know what to do with, bring it all on. The goal was that, by the end of this series, the participant went home and felt a new found understanding between them and their tech. Remove those barriers and do the damn thing!
Deighan Morrison is a sound artist, producer, and audio engineer who works with audio, video, and 3D environments. Deighan has a background in Sound Design and Production, Music Industry Arts, and linguistics. Their current practice is focused on exploring the relationship between ecology and technology by combining field recordings, synthesis, and multi-channel audio techniques to create immersive digital settings. As a workshop instructor, Deighan has developed and led courses for women, trans, and non-binary artists including immersive world-building, audio production, and live mixing techniques. Their credits include sound design and composition for features, short films, documentaries, and 360 video.
Price: CA$ 25.00 / Free for BIPOC
This workshop was only available to womxn, two spirit and non-binary folks.
Human Resources for Arts Workers provided a tool kit for artists and arts workers to handle HR related conflicts. We utilized and discussed tools such as mediation and conflict resolution, legal council, support groups, restorative justice and advocacy organizations. This workshop was directed to those interested in collaborating, developing, and or organizing for artist and arts workers rights.
Renuka Bauri is the Director of Communications and Advocacy for Canadian Artists Representation / Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC National). She is on the steering committee for the Canadian Arts Coalition, and is an active member of the DARC Board of Directors. She completed her B.A. (Honours) in Film Studies and English Literature and her M.A. in Film Studies at Carleton University. In 2017, Renuka completed a certificate program in Management for Women and also holds a certificate in Canadian Copyright Law Management.
Sonia Giannina Vani B.A., B.Ed, M.A., is an artist, communications consultant and is an active member of the DARC Board of Directors. Her experience in theatre helped her secure numerous story-editing and on-camera contracts for private production houses (Sound Venture Productions, Pixcom) and public broadcasters like TVO, TFO and Télé Québec. She has a degree in Communications and a Master’s in Media Studies. Sonia is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers and has developed and implemented a variety of arts and sustainability-minded modules for students from JK-Gr.8. Her experience in education, rooted at first in pedagogy, now extends to andragogy. She develops and delivers public and customized workshops for adult learners in both official languages.
Price: CA$ 5.00
Participants that had issues related to access to funds were encouraged to e-mail DARC for a spot in the workshop. No one was turned away due to lack of funds.
This workshop focused on navigating the freelancer world of video and media arts for creatives and artists. This workshop took creative freelancers through the process of a) Identifying and understanding the value of your work b) Figuring out how to communicate that value and c) How to get paid well for it. This workshop covered everything from navigating freelance work to starting new production companies to navigating clients and projects that are asking you for too much. Participants learned where to turn for personal, independent creative projects and getting paid adequate artist fees was also discussed. Participants were given time to network with other workshop attendees during the workshop with the hope that they hire, collaborate and support womxn in our community.
Lesley Marshall an intermedia artist currently working as a producer and consultant for independent audio visual projects and promotional media through her company MAVNetwork in Ottawa. An award-winning filmmaker, music videos made by Lesley have been featured on Rolling Stone, Vice, Exclaim!, Brooklyn Vegan, Aux, Rookie Mag etc.
We encouraged all registrants to please bring their CV & Resume or demo-reel/digital portfolio with them for submission. DARC is interested and looking to add more womxn onto our frequently requested freelancer list. No other materials were required.
Price: CA$ 5.00
This workshop was available to womxn only. Black, Indigenous and racialized womxn, two spirit and non-binary folks were be prioritized in the registration process. We asked that folks please self identified themselves on the registration page.
Participants that had issues related to access to funds were encouraged to e-mail DARC for a spot in the workshop. No one was turned away due to lack of funds.
Why? Because womxn are not being hired: https://telefilm.ca/en/studies/women-leadership-study-gender-parity-diversity-canadas-screen-industries
Although this workshop was focused in video and media arts, we encouraged womxn from other disciplines and fields to join!
In 2018 we saw the destruction of an essential program, The Indigenous Culture Fund, developed in the name of truth and reconciliation for Indigenous communities and artists in Ontario. We also read the OAC released report The Status of Women in the Canadian arts and cultural industries: Research Review which in it’s non-intersectional approach has found video and media arts to be severely gender sparse. Remembering the Future: An Indigenous Feminism Strategy was an interactive discussion and reaction to these events and findings.
Remembering the Future was a conversation about how to persevere and thrive within an industry that does not prioritize you. How to continue on within the governmental institutions that bind us and that we depend upon for funding as artists and arts workers. Our intent was to further expand the ramifications of the cut to the Indigenous Culture Fund and expand the OAC’s report and address the intersections it lacks.
This discussion was also an attempt to continue the conversation about austerity against Indigenous people in this country across sectors. We do not want the cut to the Indigenous Culture Fund to be forgotten and we want our concerns heard. The goal of this facilitated discussion was to create a list of recommendations that DARC can submit on behalf of our community to the Ontario Arts Council, as well as draft a letter to the Ontario Conservative party, ATTN: Doug Ford, detailing our discontent and call to action. Participants were led through group work activities and develop a hashtag to be used during and after the event in an effort to make our conversation go live.
Liz Barron has been involved with self-directed contract work for the last 20 years. Liz’s background includes facilitation, strategic development and management skills in the not for profit sector. She partners with other like minded businesses for contracts and has extensive background in Aboriginal and diversity issues within a not for profit. Liz is dedicated to building strategies and programs that target, motivate and engage Indigenous artists and organizations working in all cultural milieu. She is a sought-after resource to artist run centres in Canada, having worked with galleries in Manitoba, British Columbia and Ontario. With close to 20 years of experience in governance and development, she has devoted her career to supporting Indigenous artists and organizations within contemporary art and art cultures.
Ontario Arts Council’s report: The Status of Women in the Canadian arts and cultural industries: Research review 2010-2018.
The findings of the OAC report conclude that womxn are severely underrepresented in key artistic leadership roles in media arts and screen industries. The review identified a lack of existing research that examined how gender inequality may be compounded when combined with other factors of discrimination such as racialization, age, sexual orientation, disability, etc. In addition, the existing research largely frames gender as binary (i.e. in terms of male and female only). These gaps in the existing research meant that the report was unable to address the important issues of intersections and non-binary gender equality. The Ontario Arts Council will build on this work by asking individual applicants a broader range of demographic questions, including gender, beginning in 2019–20, through a voluntary self-identification approach to address these major gaps.
This was free event for DARC members and members of the arts community at large. All gender identities were welcome to participate in this event and information regarding our access can be found here.
In honor of International Women’s Day, DARC hosted its first annual #Video + Feminism edit-a- thon. A 2010 Wikimedia survey found that less than 10% of its contributors identify as womxn, while only 15% of the English Wikipedia’s biographies are about womxn. This event was part of an annual worldwide initiative created by Art + Feminism* to help improve Wikipedia’s gender imbalance.
Our Edit-a-thon kicked off at 11:30am with a lecture by Carleton professor Laura Horak on the history of of womxn, trans, and gender-nonconforming filmmakers, an introduction to Wikipedia’s “gender gap,” and instruction on how Wikipedia works, including the best strategies for adding and improving entries on film and video makers marginalized by their gender. Horak is author of Girls Will Be Boys: Cross-Dressing and Lesbians in American Cinema and director of the Transgender Media Portal.
After the lecture, participants formed breakout groups and spent the afternoon ensuring a gender-inclusive film and video history within Wikipedia’s vast database. Participants were guided through the available resources that can be used to update Wikipedia entries on notable womxn, trans, and gender-nonconforming filmmakers, scholars, and historians in media art. Participants were provided an editing tutorial and one-on-one coaching.
We were very pleased to offer free childcare during this event. We need all of your attention to dismantle the patriarchy.
This was free event for DARC members and members of the arts community at large. All gender identities were welcome to participate in this event and information regarding our access can be found here.
*Art+Feminism is a campaign improving coverage of cis and transgender women, non-binary folks, feminism and the arts on Wikipedia. From coffee shops and community centers to the largest museums and universities in the world, Art+Feminism is a do-it-yourself and do-it-with-others campaign teaching people of all gender identities and expressions to edit Wikipedia.
Plan F was Digital Arts Resource Centre (DARC)’s six month series aimed at supporting womxn and their allies in celebrating and creating our collective future within the video and media art industry. The series, which took place in 2019, featured action-oriented workshops, talks and screenings intended to build skills, expand experience, broaden knowledge, and increase and sustain womxn’s representation and influence within the industry.
Plan F was an opportunity for us to celebrate one another, learn, have fun, take up space and work together to knock down barriers to womxn’s full participation in media arts.
At Plan F’s Remembering the Future: An Indigenous Feminism Strategy, we discussed the sustainability of activism, advocacy and the unrelenting austerity against Indigenous peoples in Canada and more specifically within our arts and culture industries. During our discussion we identified how we can continue to thoughtfully support Indigenous artists by continuing to work to advocate for programs like the Indigenous Culture Fund.
Activist burnout is real and in an attempt to make this important work as easy to navigate as possible we have provided access to a compiled Activist Tool-kit provided by the ACC, MANO, Aylan Couchie and collaborators. The Activist Tool-kit includes information on the cuts to the Indigenous Culture Fund, petitions, email and letter templates, speaking notes for your use and contact details for local MPPs.
Activist Tool-kit (Download)
67 Nicholas St, Ottawa, ON K1N 7B9