Generator 2020/21 Update

Over the past six months, Generator — both as an organization and as the group of individuals who comprise it — has been profoundly rocked by Covid-19, Black Lives Matter, the protests in support of racial and social justice, the stoppage of live performance and public gathering, and an uncertain future that looks nothing like our past. We have been hearing from our participants, staff, and colleagues about how they have been and continue to be affected by Generator and our programs, including the ways in which we perpetuate and participate in the settler-colonial, white supremacist, capitalist, and patriarchal models on which western culture is built. We have all inherited these systems and continue to live in them. 

We are learning and thinking about some of the actions we can take now to untangle ourselves from these oppressive systems that harm us all. We are committed to action that is systemic, thorough, and decided upon in consultation and collaboration with our communities. One of the biggest lessons we are learning is about slowness and being present. Change takes time, and we are resisting the urge to strive for neat, perfect, and quick resolutions to huge, systemic challenges. 

We are also five years into the model of Generator that evolved out of STAF in 2015. We feel that the time is right to look at our current model and evaluate how it is and is not serving our communities. We do not know what the future of live producing looks like in the context of Covid-19, or what the resource model that supports this work will look like in the years to come. This is a time of great transition for the live performance sector as a whole, and for Generator as an organization. 

After four years as Lead Producer, Kristina Lemieux will be stepping down from her role no later than the end of our fiscal year (August 31, 2021). Our aim with this leadership transition is to open Generator to ideas, possibilities, and new imaginings as independent performing artists in Toronto enter new phases of art-making and redefine producing.

As we embark on this period of transition, we are taking a number of actions at Generator. We will be sharing our learnings and explorations, including the thinking and planning that went into identifying these actions, on our blog. Our aim is to be as transparent as possible as well as to offer opportunities for cross-institutional learning. 

We are committed to the following actions in our current season (September 2020-August 2021):

• In light of all of the above, and acknowledging that Generator has, at times, harmed and failed artists and community members we have worked with, we have engaged consultant Zainab Amadahy to speak to the participants of the last two Artist Producer Training cohorts, staff, and board members about their experiences with Generator and Generator staff. Zainab’s report will inform and provide recommendations on next steps for the organization.

• Our board of directors will undergo a recruitment process that will involve a deep reconsideration of what it means to be a board member and what model of governance can best serve the organization and its communities. 

• Kristina will work with the board and Generator community to create and enact a succession plan and hiring process for new leadership for the organization. 

To account for the pandemic and the reflections already noted, we are also shifting the structure of our programming for the coming year as follows:

• APT (Artist Producer Training) will be a self-directed program for 2020/2021. We are inviting the six participants to guide their own individual learning and look to the leaders and mentors that they feel will best serve their development as artist producers. We will be working with them to create individual learning plans that will be supported by direct mentorship from Kristina and Sedina, and accompanied by opportunities for the cohort to come together in shared learning. Each participant will receive funds to support their time and to seek learning opportunities outside of the Generator team. 

• To continue our learning around anti-oppression and anti-Black racism, we will be working with our Company Collaborators to create and offer learning opportunities to those in our immediate community around alternative models of organizing, and other topics that will support our continuing growth and uphold Black and Indigenous futures.

• We recognize that, over the past five years, we have been working with a small and often homogenous group of individuals to share knowledge. To break us out of this cycle, we are creating a database of arts producing knowledge contributors in the live performance community who are interested in teaching and/or writing on topics related to producing. The goal of this is to deepen our work with folks not already connected to Generator. We will actively invite folks to participate in this database. 

As an organization overall, we have been thinking about Generator’s existing model through the lens of artist harm reduction in a landscape defined by underfunding and capitalist structures. Those structures are deeply rooted in white supremacy, patriarchy, and colonization. Historically, we have envisioned our role as offering tools and competencies to survive these unjust systems, rather than dismantling them. We recognize that it is time to reconsider our role, our organizational model, and programming to align with the needs emerging in the performing arts at this time. 

We invite you to follow along with our blog as we share insights and processes from this time. You can do so by subscribing to our newsletter and following us on social media (@generatorTO), where we will share our latest blog posts. Our first post is “We’re going to talk about boards a lot—here are some introductory frameworks to get us started.”

This statement was written and considered by Kristina Lemieux, Annie Clarke, Sedina Fiati, ted witzel, Claire Burns, and Elenna Mosoff

Transform Dance: Initial Findings

Update: Our Final Report was published on March 9, 2021—find that blog post here.

Generator has been working on a transformative justice and mediation project for the past year, supported by the Toronto Arts Council’s Open Door program. Transform Dance is a project about finding ways into healing and transformation (both at the individual and at the collective level) within the dance sector in Toronto. In particular, we are interested in addressing harassment (sexual, gender-based and otherwise) and transforming the culture of the dance sector.

This project is still ongoing (due to wrap up in August 2020, when we will be publishing a final report), but given all that is happening in the world right now, all of the harm being vocalized and exposed, and in particular the past experiences of harassment being discussed in the Toronto dance community, Generator has decided to share a draft version of our findings.

Graphic: What makes sexual and gender-based harassment in dance such a complex and persistent problem?

Your Artist Producer Training Program Questions, Answered

With the 2020/21 Artist Producer Training Program deadline coming up on May 15, we thought we’d share some answers to questions we’ve been hearing. Thanks to all those who have reached out to learn more!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have the right experience for this program?

We are looking for applicants who have some producing experience. You may not have called yourself a producer, but if you were managing the budget, assembling the team, and putting out fires along the way, you were probably producing. If you've never looked at a budget before, this is not the program for you. That said, if you have experience outside of the live performance world (at a non-profit organization for example), that can definitely be transferable. 

What do you mean when you say "artist producer"?

We absolutely welcome folks who do not identify as artists, or who do not have artistic practices of their own. We use the term "artist producer" to reflect our approach to producing as a fundamentally creative practice. At Generator we work to tear apart the binary that separates the artist from the administrator. Artist producers build creative thinking into everything they do. (Except when they're talking to the CRA—don't be creative with them. And don't be thinking about your spreadsheets while you're literally up on stage. You get the idea.)

The first Artist Producer Training cohort graduated in 2016. Over the course of five years, the program has transformed the careers of twenty-seven Artist Producers. View our alumni gallery here.

What do you mean by a social justice/equity framework?

These are values we hold as an organization, and this program is not Social Justice 101. We expect participants to come in with an understanding of anti-oppression work, and experience putting those values into practice. We recognize that not every organization or person you've worked with is likely to have shared your values or necessarily worked from an equity framework, and that's okay—a lot of what we talk about in this program is how to navigate those situations, and how to make values-driven producing decisions. 

What about covid-19?

Until it is safe to do so, we will not be gathering together in person. Right now, the 2019/20 Artist Producer Training cohort is completing stage three of the program on Zoom. It's not ideal, and we certainly miss the human-to-human interaction that this program thrives on, but we are committed to making APT happen next year, even if it has to happen predominately online. 

Does that mean I can apply if I'm not based in Toronto?

At this time, we are only accepting applications from folks who will be available for in-person meetings in Toronto between October 2020-May 2021. We see producing as a localized practice with foundational skills—we don't think someone outside of the GTA would be well-served by the current structure of the curriculum. We also really value in-person connection as a component of the program! That said, this Zoom-tastic time is teaching us a lot about the possibility of online program delivery, so if you're interested in applying but are currently outside of Toronto, email Kristina (kristina@generatorto.com) so that she can stay in touch if things change in the future. 

But when will we be producing live performance again?

If only we knew! We're in a time of incredible change in our sector, and we're excited about the possibilities ahead. APT is, and has always been, a place to dream about what producing can look like, and to pave the way for different ways of working. We're looking forward to considering the future of live performance with our 2020/21 cohort! And rest assured, even if there's no way to produce for a while, the skills you learn in APT are incredibly transferable—not only to prepare you for future work but to help you navigate so many areas of your life. 

Watch

Many of the questions answered above were inspired by our April 27 Facebook Live with Generator staff Sedina Fiati and Kristina Lemieux. Press play or click here to watch the video on Facebook Live:

2:25 Welcome & Land Acknowledgment
5:40 Presentation begins
26:30 We start answering questions (presentation continues)
36:00-1:04:00 Question & Answer Period

Check the comments on the video to view the questions (answered in the order in which they were asked).

Helpful Links

• About the Artist Producer Training Program (including curriculums past and present, guest instructors, and alumni)

• The 2020/21 Call for Submissions (deadline: May 15 at 5pm ET)

• The Artist Producer Training YouTube playlist will guide you through the application process (but please note it was created for 2019/20, so please refer to the Call for Submissions for the most accurate and current information), and introduce you to several Artist Producer Training graduates who discuss their experiences in the program.

A look at how the Artist Producer Training Program impacts participants over time. Graphic design by Kinnon Elliott, based on interviews conducted by Neta J. Rose. You can also read about the trajectories of individual graduates Kevin Matthew Wong (2016) and Ryan G. Hinds (2018).

2018/19 Annual Report

Generator has published our 2018/19 Annual Report! Our 2018/19 Fiscal Year was September 1, 2018-August 31, 2019. Here are some highlights:

• Six fantastic, thoughtful Artist Producers who are working in equitable, interdisciplinary, and revolutionary ways graduated from the Artist Producer Training Program

• We launched the Transform Dance program, a pilot project designed to offer transformative justice processes to folks who have experienced harassment within the dance community

• ArtistProducerResource.com is now supported by monthly Patreon donors, who receive a subscribers-only newsletter with all the latest updates and features from the wiki

• We sold out the first year of public registration for our Financial Literacy Program

• More than 6,000 users made ArtistProducerResource.com part of their producing practice

Thank you for being part of our 2018/19! You can read the full report here:

"APT gave me a roadmap."

Testimonial from Kevin Matthew Wong
Graduate of the Artist Producer Training Program, 2015/16

Full text from image above: APT gave me a clear roadmap into the theatre community.

I didn’t think that a life or career in the arts was viable. But APT connected me to so many people. I’m not sure I would have even known about recommender grants without APT. And that, when I was just starting out, was so vital to everything.

Now I’m in a near full-time job. I guarantee I would not have been at WhyNot Theatre Company without APT. There’s not a chance.

My early grants were not good. But now they’re 50% successful or higher. A lot of that is understanding how the different funders see an individual artist’s practice.

It makes me feel great when we get a grant for a project, and it means I get to pay people! That feels really good. Because it makes our community, I hope, a little more sustainable.

APT helped me see the systems that allow us to create the work. Having that knowledge is a kind of power. I wish more people were able to access that.

The Artist Producer Training Call for Submissions goes out every year in the spring. Learn more about the program here.

Graphic created by Kinnon Elliott. Interview by Neta J. Rose.