Equity Principles in Action

‘Equity Principles in Action’ is a moderated panel discussion exploring ideas and practices that relate to equity, cultural diversity and accessibility. Guest speakers Nikki Shaffeeullah (The AMY Project), Kevin A. Ormsby (Cultural Pluralism for the Arts Ontario) and Cyn Rozeboom (Tangled Art + Disability) will share their experiences and learnings from their community-engaged work in Toronto. KAC Administrative and Communications Officer Diana Gore will moderate the discussion. We are thrilled to welcome Abena Beloved Green as our guest artist at the event. Abena will perform a poetic summary to conclude our afternoon together.

The goals of the event are to build community ties, share resources, reflect on our understanding and approaches to inclusion and hear inspiring, real-world examples of how equity principles can be implemented into arts practice. We encourage artists, arts workers and professionals to join the conversation as we continue our collective efforts to transform the ways we work. The event will provide a space for attendees to listen to the guest speakers, share common strategies and successes and identify future areas for meaningful growth.

ASL interpretation / childminding / transportation support can be provided if requested by 15 March.

Please email your requests to info@artskingston.ca.

Light refreshments will be provided.

Pay what you can.

The Tett Centre is a physically accessible venue. Info on its layout available here.

The Arts & Equity Project is supported by an Ontario Arts Council Arts Service Project Grant and through collaborative partnerships with the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, Kingston Immigration Partnership, and H’art Centre.

About the panellists:

Nikki Shaffeeullah is a theatre-maker, writer, facilitator, and community-engaged artist. She has been Artistic Director of The AMY Project, an award-winning organization providing barrier-free performing arts training and mentorship for youth, since 2015, and also teaches performance and directs in the University of Toronto Scarborough’s Theatre and Performance Studies program. She has also been a resident of the Director in Development program at Canadian Stage; Editor-in-Chief of alt.theatre magazine; founder/Artistic Director of the artist-activist performance group Undercurrent Theatre; and Assistant Artistic Director of Jumblies Theatre. Nikki holds an MFA in Community-Engaged Theatre from the University of Alberta. Nikki believes art should disrupt the status quo, centre the margins, engage with the ancient, dream of the future, and be for everyone.

Artistic Director of KasheDance, Kevin A. Ormsby works as a dancer/choreographer and Arts Strategies Consultant. He is the Program Manager for Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO), Professor of Dance Performance at Centennial College and an Adjunct Artist with Dance Exchange in Washington, DC. An Ontario Arts Council Chalmers Fellowship recipient, OAC KM Hunter Dance Award 2016 nominee, Toronto Arts Council’s Cultural Leaders Fellow, and Canada Council for the Arts’ Victor Martyn Lynch — Staunton Award recipient in Dance. With a career that spans over 30 years, he has performed with various companies and projects in Canada, the Caribbean and the United States. He currently sits on the Board of Nia Centre for the Arts, Dance Collection Danse and Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts.

Cyn Rozeboom (Tangled Art + Disability Executive Director) has over 25 years of experience in the non-profit arts sector as a fundraiser, communications specialist, artist, and administrator. Career highlights include founding the Art of the Danforth festival; serving as the inaugural Managing Director of East End Arts; helping establish the Next Stage Theatre festival during her tenure at the Toronto Fringe; and three years with Hospital Audiences Inc. a group which provides innovative arts-access services in New York City. She has an MA in Communications, a Certified Fundraising Executive designation, and a college diploma in Radio & Television Arts. Cyn is Mad-identified and is particularly interested in the contradictions of human nature, construction of identities through story-telling, and the fluid dynamics of power within social structures.

About the guest artist:

Abena Beloved Green is a poet, writer, and dancer who seeks to create, engage, and elevate through her artistic work. She was a two-time member of the Halifax Slam Team, competing in the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. She is also the 2016 winner of the Atlantic Poetry Prize, (now Nova Writes) and 3rd place finalist in the 2017 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam (Vancouver, British Columbia). Abena is a Canadian of Ghanaian heritage who has lived in Nova Scotia most of her life and recently moved to Eastern Ontario. She is passionate about sustainability, creativity, and connection between living beings. Her first book of poetry, “The Way We Hold On” was published by Pottersfield Press in the spring of 2018.

About The Arts & Equity Project

The Arts and Equity Project explores topics like intersectionality, diversity and inclusion with the goal of providing Kingston artists and arts organizations with tools and resources to advance equity in the arts.

Through peer-to-peer learning, the project provides participants with insight and resources to help grow their work and practice, as well as opportunities to discuss equity-related issues, and learn about the experiences of artists and community groups who are working to reduce barriers to participation.

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370 King St West, Kingston, Ontario K7L 5J7