ANNOUNCEMENT: NIKKI SHAFFEEULLAH JOINS THE CO-LEADERSHIP AT GENERATOR AS THE NEW DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING

“After a rewarding leadership call and interview process in the Fall of 2023, we are thrilled to be welcoming Nikki to the Generator team. Over the past few weeks of onboarding we have already benefited from Nikki’s vast arts & culture and leadership experience, in addition to the knowledge she brings as an artist and producer who has been in Generator’s orbit since 2017. We have fallen into an energized workflow within the newly solidified co-leadership model and are inspired by the direction that Generator is moving in. We can’t wait to share our programming and long term plans with you all soon! Join us in welcoming Nikki to the team.”

— Bianca Guimarães de Manuel (Director of Operations) & Patricia Allison (Director of Communications)

“This moment in the performing arts, filled with both challenge and opportunity, has drawn me to join the Generator team in this new role of Director of Programming. I’m excited to collaborate with Bianca and Patricia and co-lead Generator into a new chapter, building on its vital legacy of supporting arts workers, and finding new and impactful ways to nurture values-led producing practice, and progressive, sustainable sector change.”

— Nikki Shaffeeullah (NEW Director of Programming)

Nikki Shaffeeullah Bio:

Nikki Shaffeeullah (she/her) is a theatre & film artist, producer, facilitator, equity worker, and community organizer. She has a rich background in community-engaged arts, which she weaves into her creative practice as a producer and performance-maker. 

Nikki’s work has included serving as Artistic Director of The AMY Project; Editor-in-Chief of alt.theatre: cultural diversity and the stage; and Assistant Artistic Director of Jumblies Theatre. Nikki visioned, curated, and produced Stages of Transformation with National Arts Centre – English Theatre: a three-year artistic research project exploring what theatre can learn from abolition movements. Nikki leads sector-change research and training projects through her organization Undercurrent Creations. She is a founding member of Confluence Arts Collective, a group of artists-activists who believe in transformative justice and a world without prisons. Nikki has held artistic residencies with organizations including Canadian Stage, Why Not Theatre, The Theatre Centre, and SummerWorks. Nikki holds an MFA in Community-Engaged Theatre from the University of Alberta, where her thesis won the Canadian Association for Theatre Research award for Intercultural Theatre. She has taught and directed in several university performance departments. 

Nikki’s work and as an artist and artistic leader has been recognized many times, including with the Patrick Connor Award, and nominations for the Pauline Gibbon Award and the Ontario Arts Foundation Artist-Educator Award. A queer Indo-Caribbean artist born and living on Dish With One Spoon territory, Nikki believes that art should disrupt the status quo, centre the margins, engage with the ancient, dream of the future, and be for everyone.

- A note from Bianca

Transitions (in case you are curious). 

Pods of support (afterall, we need them). 

And lists. (because I love a list.)

Remember when Generator was going through a big leadership change when Kristina was transitioning out? I found out about Generator through this series, if you missed it you can jump back to the Transition Series on the Generator Blog. 

The TL;DR is that Generator spent a long time mindfully moving towards a transition in both Leadership and structure that resulted with the hiring of:

• Michael Caldwell (creative director: programming) who joined Generator in the fall of 2021 

• followed by Bianca Guimarães (that’s me!) (creative director: operations) in the summer of 2022 

• and Patricia Allison (communications and artistproducerresource.com producer) in the winter of 2022.

And then… 

As sometimes happens in life….

We needed to transition again. 

Exit Michael Caldwell to the big and beautiful opportunity over at Summerworks as the Artistic Director.

And Generator found itself in a new period of reflection. This one, not premeditated like the last. This one requires a new different approach to transition.

Transition as the opportunity for active-pause, and noticing the organization’s shaping. 

Transition as the opportunity for reflection on how Generator’s operations are embodying its values.

Transition as the opportunity of something new. (again)

But first- Support. 

To provide additional support to the part-time staff, Patricia, and I (consequently the organization), the board suggested hiring interim team members. As a result, we warmly welcomed:

• Pam Tzeng (embodied leadership consultant) 

• Kristina Lemieux (interim programming and leadership support)

• and Eva Barrie (2023 artist producer training director) to the team 

• Furthermore, Michael hasn’t completely left us but continues supporting Generator part-time until the end of this month (It has been a gracefully considerate fade out)

And now, in our bundle of support and with this opportunity for new reflection, we look ahead to the future and we think THE FUTURE LOOKS BIG AND PLAYFUL.

AND FRESH. 

AND AN EVOLUTION OF THE LEGACY WE HAVE INHERITED.   

We are enthusiastic about embracing new ideas that are rooted in Generator's core values. These values include but are not exclusive to accountability, anti-oppression, intersectionality, and social justice. We are also as committed as ever to upholding our ethos of service, skill sharing, and a solution-oriented approach to problem solving. Our desire is to continue equipping artists-producers to transform the ongoing challenges within the live arts sector and exploring new ways of doing that. 

We have exciting developments but they won’t be ready for sharing until later this year.  

So for now - End of list. 

But we will report back soon. 

Thank you for reading. 

- Bianca.

Announcement: Bianca Guimarães de Manuel joins as Co-Leader at Generator

We are delighted to announce Bianca Guimarães de Manuel as Creative Director: Operations, co-leading Generator into its next iteration.

"Michael and I had the summer to start getting to know each other, and dive into the ever-changing rhythm to our co-leadership. I am super thankful to how he and the board held space for letting me land in the organization these past three months.

"I am excited to care for the decentralized creative leadership we strive to practice while carving a dynamic space for questioning with, and accountability to, Generator's community. I am interested in how we will balance action and reflection through effective collective decision-making; moving forward with a focus on the relationships between people, systems, and things. I’ve found great joy these past months, in the learning curve, and I enjoy the silence that gets in my mind when I focus on tangible operational tasks, like processing invoices to pay artists and collaborators or updating budgets.

"I am super excited to collaborate with Generator, the board, its communities, and develop companionship in what we do next." - Bianca Guimarães de Manuel

Bianca officially started with Generator in June, working part-time hours. She has spent the last three months in conversation with Michael Caldwell (Creative Director: Programming) to dive into Generator’s reimagined leadership structure.

About Bianca

Bianca is deeply committed to noticing and caring for how we share space, striving to name and collectively change the barriers within the systems we operate... dreaming of a present that centers racialized and marginalized peoples’ dignity, safety, and belonging, and finding anti-oppressive and anti-racist ways of being and relating with one another. She has worked with different organizations' transformative processes, like Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre, and Mountain Standard Time: Performative Arts, in collaboration with Black People United and the Calgary Black Empowerment Fund. Read more on our website here.

2020/21 Annual Report

APT participants (top, L to R) Makram Ayache, Avery-Jean Brennan, Olivia Shortt, (bottom) brawk hessel, and Rochelle Ellar.

Generator has published our 2020/21 Annual Report! Our 2020/21 Fiscal Year was September 1, 2020-August 31, 2021. Here are some highlights:

• We began two projects in incubation: Means of Production and Governance Reimaginings. Each brought together groups of people to imagine, collaborate, and create new futures for the arts. 

• Shifted Artist Producer Training Program online as a self-guided program. 

• ArtistProducerResource.com saw a doubling in visits this year — with the number of annual users approaching 20,000!

• We announced two separate streams of Financial Literacy: Financial Literacy for Independent Artists ran in the winter (and sold out in two weeks!); Financial Literacy for Non-Profit Workers ran in the summer, and was another sold-out success.

• Launched Learning Pathways, self-guided learning packages curated by members of the Generator team that pull together ArtistProducerResource.com pages, YouTube videos, templates, infographics, and other resources meant to deepen knowledge and understanding on a particular theme.

• We began the ‘Transition’ project, a call for new Leadership that involved hiring of 6 Strategic Advisors from the community, accessibility consultation, and a paid Hiring Committee. 

• Equity and Justice Organizational Review was completed by consultant Zainab Amadahy in Fall 2020. In March 2021, a public version of Zainab’s report was shared, together with a statement and work plan from the board.

To learn more about our programming in 2021/22 , check out Generator’s Organizational Updates.

Thank you for being a part of our 2020/21 year.

Team Transitions: Annie Clarke

“A new era at Generator has begun: when we put out the call for leadership last spring, we shared that not only Kristina but Keshia, Sedina, and I all had plans to transition out of the organization in the short- to mid-term, and here we are, more than six months later, heading out on new journeys (but never far from Generator’s orbit). It’s time for Generator to be stewarded by a new group of individuals and for all the renewal and energy that comes with it!” —Annie

We know it’s not goodbye, just a transition into a different form of engagement with Generator—and we’re so excited to see the many ways our paths will all continue to intersect.

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After four years at Generator, first as (very) part-time Communications Producer and more recently as full-time Communications & Operations Producer, Annie Clarke is moving into a new opportunity, joining the Soulpepper team as Producer later this month.

A note from Annie

Four years ago Kristina phoned me to ask if I could help Generator with some social media support while they were busy with #UrgentExchange events. I was thrilled to be asked, having lightly Twitter-stalked Generator since I discovered it soon after moving to Toronto in 2015. It felt like the coolest place I could possibly be, so I swallowed my imposter syndrome and dove into what has since become the longest working relationship of my life. 

I officially joined the Generator staff in October 2018, entering a new team made up of Kristina Lemieux, Sedina Fiati, and Keshia Palm. Getting to sit around tables (and later Zoom rooms) with these three radical thinkers, shit disturbers, talented artists, and beautiful humans has been an honour that I have a hard time putting into words—I simultaneously feel like I won the lottery, and like I was very deliberately plucked from obscurity by Kristina for reasons I don’t understand but have to trust. These three have transformed me in ways that I am deeply grateful for, and that are still being revealed. 

My first day at the Generator office in January 2018! When I thought I was signing on for a mere part-time one-month contract! The naïveté…!

When we thought I was leaving Generator, we tried to hire a new Communications Producer, but didn’t find anyone….so Kristina just waited until I came crawling back (hiring committee selfie with Christopher Manousos)

Probably my favourite photo of the four of us (sometime in spring 2019—shoutout to this team for making it easy for me to disappear to Paris for six months, approx. 4.7 lifetimes ago)

There is so much that I’m proud of in what we’ve done at Generator over the past four years. A huge part of what has made this journey so rewarding is Kristina’s mentorship and eagerness to bring me into different parts of the organization as my interests and skills grew. The pandemic killed the freelancer in me, so when I told Kristina I was starting to look for full-time work, the stars aligned (or Kristina puppeteered, I can never tell) and she found a way to keep me. What has followed, as I’ve stepped into the only full-time role at Generator since April of last year, has been a period of big challenges, bigger learnings, some resurgent imposter syndrome, and a whole lot of confidence (and skill!) growth. It has also brought my favourite thing I’ve ever done at Generator: producing the ‘Governance Reimaginings’ series, a project with Shakespeare in the Ruff and TO Love-in that led to copious thoughtful conversations and moments of beautiful connection in a time of COVID ups and downs. 

Working at Generator has meant being in community with so many fierce, inspiring artists/producers/activists/change-makers, and being in their midst has made me feel like I have a home in this community—something I cherish deeply and don’t take for granted.

My proudest moment at Generator: winning the ‘Most Entertaining’ award at our Generator Generations belated holiday gathering in April 2021 (Olivia Shortt won ‘Best Dressed,’ in case that wasn’t obvious…please note the neon green fur coat. Also pictured here: Neta Rose, Keshia, Brian Postalian, Tsholo Khalema, Christopher Manousos, Sedina, Kristina, Kaitlyn Riordan, Emma Westray, and Erika Morey)

A distanced staff hang in Kristina’s backyard in June 2020, featuring Audrey, Meg, and Meg’s very new baby! (This will also be the photo I share with the world if my bike ever gets stolen—thieves beware!)

The closing gathering for the Strategic Advisors in December 2021! It was a privilege to be trusted with coordinating this program/beautiful experiment—I learned SO much from these folks (Daniel Bennett, Leelee Oluwatoyosi Eko Davis, Sedina, Brendan McMurtry-Howlett, Karthy Chin, Ryan G. Hinds, Nidhi Khanna—not pictured—and of course Kristina, yet again)

Getting to know, and working closely with, Michael over the past few months, as he continues to transition into and within the organization, has been an incredible experience! I am feeling so energized about what lies ahead under his stewardship, and I can’t wait to watch it unfold. 

Generator will forever be where I worked on my first operating budget and where I did my first audit; where I learned how to write grants and how to use Squarespace; fell in love with AirTable and out of love with Twitter; but much more importantly: my time here has been one of deep values formation. 

Wherever I go from here, I carry Generator with me, and wherever Generator goes from here, it carries me in its circle—and that is a lovely feeling.

One of my four visits to the office since March 2020! Getting to onboard Michael has been such a highlight—I can’t wait to see where he takes Generator next (and where he’s already taking it!)

Forever grateful for the many hours on Zoom with this community talking about ideas—this is from our ‘Food for Thought’ on Rethinking Boards (a recurring theme…) in October 2020 (pictured here: Kristina, Robyn Breen, Rohan Dhupar, Kaitlyn Riordan, Brock Hessel, Eva Barrie, Sedina, Jacqueline Costa, Brendan McMurtry-Howlett, and Keshia’s gorgeous headshot by Haley Garnett)

Celebrating the end of moving day (CSI Bathurst —> Trinity St. Paul’s) in September 20219—photo by plant-mobile-partner-in-crime Keshia Palm

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Hitting the nail on the head by standing under the words “engaged with each other” at our (in-person!) Generator Generations gathering/transitions party in November 2021

“Annie has been Generator’s kiln. We have all brought her our incomplete drafts, our rough ideas, and our unpolished visions. She has a unique capacity to take it in and break apart what’s not ready and to clarify and solidify what is. Annie has been vital to what we have been able to accomplish and who we have been able to reach. I have relied on her heavily to work alongside me to craft how we connect with our communities through our communications. Her sense of care and deep listening have brought our ideas further and our connections wider.

Annie’s Generator story is perhaps the best case study of what I hoped Generator could do. Annie came to support us as a short-term contractor when we needed some specific help. We were attracted to her sharp commentary and the community care she showed on her own social media, so we brought her on to help us through a couple of months of tricky and important communications. Her skills with writing, strategy, and team connection were astounding. I thus spent the next several years doing what I could to ensure she would continue with Generator. Part of that was supporting her in her career goals and growth. Annie wanted to pursue a management path in the arts. We worked together to increase her financial literacy, grant writing for organizations, and various other operational skills. No matter what I threw at her, she learned conscientiously and excelled through adding her own touches. In the past year Annie has been the one to hold the organization as I took steps back. She played a vital role in the leadership call, governance project, and onboarding of Michael. Her work is often unseen, but it is deeply felt.

As Annie heads off to Soulpepper I am proud of all that she has accomplished and that she has been able to so quickly and elegantly increase her skills and confidence to land this amazing role. I can’t even begin to imagine what she will do next.”

— Kristina

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About Annie

Annie Clarke (she/her) is a theatre artist and producer born and raised in Vancouver, on the unceded and unsurrendered territories of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) peoples. Annie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University, where she studied English (drama and theatre concentration) and History. As an independent theatre producer, she has worked on projects including Brain Storm (Lucid Ludic/Why Not), Julius Caesar (Groundling/Crow’s), and Cannibal (Scrap Paper Theatre/NSTF). For the past two years, Annie has been the General Manager for Groundling Theatre in Toronto, and the Communications Producer for F-O-R-M (Festival of Recorded Movement) in Vancouver. She begins a new adventure as Producer at Soulpepper Theatre in 2022.

Photo by LV Imagery