Thought Network: Artist-Producer Research Residency & Symposium

Announcement and call for applications

Generator is thrilled to announce the inaugural Thought Network Residency.

SUMMARY

The Thought Network is a paid, multistream research residency empowering artist-producers to explore urgent questions in the performing arts sector.

We are seeking applications for:

Researchers-in-Residence (3)
Designers-in-Residence (3)

Applications open on December 3, 2025 and close January 12, 2026 (11:59pm ET).

Anyone who creates and/or produces performing arts work in Canada, professionally and/or in community contexts, is eligible to apply.

The program runs from March to September, 2026.

POSTING FORMATS

Coming soon…

ABOUT

We believe that artist-producers are well positioned to envision and enact progressive change in performing arts practice, the performing arts industry, and beyond. The Thought Network Residency is intended to empower those working in live performance, as creators and/or producers, to invest time and attention in investigating the most urgent questions they have identified while engaged in their practice.

Participants will receive support through the residency process, including facilitated coaching sessions, mentorship, peer support sessions, and a research/materials budget.

The residency findings and creations will be shared at the Thought Network Symposium (June 9 2026, Toronto), as well as in a series of public resources created by the Residents in collaboration with Generator’s staff and community.

LINEAGE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

The Thought Network is a result of years of organizational commitment to a more just and intentional performing arts landscape. It evolved from a confluence of learnings and past activities, including: experimentation into artist-producer-led research via Generator’s Artist Producer Lab (2024 and 2025); the Producing Spectrum research project and symposium, led by Undercurrent Creations in partnership with Generator and the Theatre Centre (2024); Generator’s Artist-Producer Racial Innovation Cohort (2023); the need for iterative artist-producer spaces identified through Bianca Guimarães's conversations with artist-producers (2022); and Nikki Shaffeullah's sector research and leadership in projects like Stages of Transformation at the NAC - English Theatre (2020-2023).

The inaugural Thought Network Residency and Symposium is made possible thanks to funding from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Toronto Arts Council, and partnership from the Theatre Centre.

QUESTIONS

Please direct any questions to Director of Programming, Nikki Shaffeeullah, at nikki@generatorto.com.

Researcher-in-Residence: Details & Application Process

SCOPE OF RESEARCH RESIDENCY

We invite applications from performing arts artists-producers who have uncovered urgent questions about the sector in the course of their practice. While candidates with research experience are welcome to apply, you do not need prior research experience, nor academic training, to be considered for this program. We are looking for candidates who have a clear question about the performing arts sector, and who are strongly compelled to investigate it. Researchers will receive mentorship and resources throughout the 7-month, part-time residency, including support in refining their research question and methods. Each of the three Thought Network Researchers-in-Residence will be paired with a Designer-in-Residence, who will create an artistic response to the researcher’s work.

KEY INFORMATION

There are three Researcher-in-Residence spots available.
The Researcher-in-Residence program runs part time from March-September 2026.
Applicants can be based anywhere in Canada.
The program will run primarily online.
Researchers are expected to participate in the Thought Network Symposium on June 9, 2026 in Toronto. Travel costs will be covered by Generator.
Stipend: $7,500 per researcher (plus mentorship, research expenses of up to ~$1,000, and additional resources).
Applications are due January 12, 2026, at 11:59pm ET.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interview in later January or early February 2026.

ENVISIONING YOUR APPLICATION

We are seeking Researcher-in-Residence proposals that explore urgent questions born out of applicants’ own experiences working as an artist and/or producer in the performing arts. In dreaming up a proposal, interested applicants are invited to reflect on: What tensions surface in your work - and which ones do so repeatedly? In what ways do artistic impulses, producing realities, and collaborative processes come into conflict with each other? What stands to be gained by investigating these tensions?

We are curious about research questions that engage with, for example:

How institutional prerogatives interact with artsworkers’ agency in performing arts creation and producing.
The capacity and desire of the performing arts in Canada to respond to regional, national, and global geopolitical events.
The relationship between state systems (e.g. granting programs, charitable models, non-profit designation, etc) and artistic freedom.
How social issues (e.g. healthcare access, housing stability) impact the lives, careers, and professional activities of performing arts workers.
Visioning alternate practices in performing arts creation and production.
Indigenous and/or diasporic approaches to performing arts creation and producing.
The study and analysis of existing, lesser-known performing arts creation/production practices that challenge the industry status quo in noteworthy ways.

The application form will ask you to discuss three main aspects of your proposal:

What is the question you would like to investigate?
What are your preliminary ideas of how you might go about this research process? (For example, do you plan to interview specific people, conduct surveys, analyze existing materials, undertake an arts-based research process, etc.)
How could your research project impact the performing arts sector?

ASSESSMENT

Applications will be assessed by a committee consisting of Generator staff and community members.
Applications will be assessed based on three general criteria:

Merit: the research question is well thought out, relevant to the sector, and innovative.
Viability: the proposal is of a reasonable scope and scale relative to the parameters (time, resources, etc) of the research residency.
Impact: the fruits of the project will positively impact the performing arts sector, and in particular advance equity, accessibility, and progressive change.

Additionally, the committee will consider proposals in terms of potential resonance with the approaches and aesthetics of shortlisted candidates from the designer-in-residence stream.
Up to 10 shortlisted Researcher-in-Residence applicants will be invited to an interview, which will take place online in late January/early February 2026.
Applicants who are invited to an interview, and who are not ultimately selected for the program, will receive a $100 honorarium to acknowledge the time invested in the process. Additionally, they will have the option to receive a one-on-one mentorship session with a Generator staff member to support them in finding other venues or resources to support their research goals

Click here to review and complete the Researcher-in-Residence application.

Designer-in-Residence: Details & Application Process

SCOPE OF DESIGN RESIDENCY

We invite applications from designers (theatre designers, installation artists, etc) who are interested in creating exploratory artistic responses to sector research questions. Each of the three Designers-in-Residence will be paired with a Thought Network Researcher-in-Residence. Designers will receive resources and support to create an artistic companion piece (response, reflection, and/or representation) to each research process. Designers can be practicing in any visual and/or audio medium.