ADVANCING INDIGENOUS PERFORMANCE 2.0
Deepening support for Indigenous performing artists and touring networks.
OVERVIEW
The Advancing Indigenous Performance (AIP) program was established in 2018 by Western Arts Alliance with generous lead support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
For six years, the initiative provided educational and career development resources for US-based Indigenous artists and presenters, with the aim to build audiences for Indigenous performing arts.
The story of AIP …
Advancing Indigenous Performance has a back-story going back to 2015 and a WAA Conference in Vancouver, BC.
In six years, AIP created visibility for 60 program artists among presenters in the West, and provided touring support to another 152 nationwide.
AIP has built a network with international Indigenous programmers, festival directors and venue managers across the Pacific - in Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Canada - and AIP artists collaborate regularly with First Nations artists around the globe.
If you’re interested in learning more about AIP - from its origins to its impacts on the performing arts ecology - follow the story in About AIP.
After seven years, AIP program funding has expired; the work, however, is not finished …
ANNOUNCING AIP 2.0
The future of Advancing Indigenous Performance
AIP Steering Committee
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Christopher Kaui Morgan
CHAIR
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Delbert Anderson
MEMBER
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Madeline Sayet
MEMBER
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Laura (Cales) Matalka
MEMBER
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Rika Iino
MEMBER
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Ed Bourgeois
MEMBER / Former AIP Program Manager
AIP has always embraced a dual purpose: advocating for Native artists with presenting venues across the West, the nation and the globe; and also providing support - through professional development, mentorship and Touring Fund subsidy - to those programmers dedicated to becoming good hosts for Indigenous performance and Native community. While AIP artists have met regularly to foster peer-to-peer learning and provide mutual support, WAA has not YET had a dedicated affinity group for Native members. On October 13 - at the Online Symposium - Native and non-Native performing arts professionals alike joined to form a new AIP Interest Group. But it’s not too late for you to join us; sign up below, and save space in your calendar to meet quarterly … to help build AIP 2.0 together.
AFFINITY + INTEREST | COMMUNITY + SUPPORT | ARTISTS + ALLIES | REPRESENTATION + PRESENTATION
AIP RESOURCE CENTER
The RESOURCE CENTER is available as a benefit of WAA Membership. Members have access to everything AIP - from artist profiles and contact info, to videos of webinars, professional development sessions and artist showcases. Plus, resources you can use in your organization to help develop land acknowledgment statements and more, as well as practical tips for ramping up your staff’s cultural competency.
Western Arts Alliance announces the development of a NEW Indigenous performing arts festival in Portland, OR - the Portland Native Festival or PDX N8V FST - with an inaugural 2025 Series at ally WAA member venues: Clark College, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, and Boom Arts.
The outdoor summer festival - with international and local Indigenous music acts, Native food and art markets, and more - coming in Summer 2027.
Sign up to join the festival mailing list and don’t miss out on upcoming events.
THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDERS
From 2018 through 2024 Native Launchpad and the Advancing Indigenous Performance (AIP) program were made possible by a lead grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
2025 activities are supported by the James F and Marion L Miller Foundation (Portland, Oregon) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
