PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Since the beginning, the AIP program has provided professional development resources and opportunities to two constituencies: AIP Native Launchpad artists and to other professionals in the performing arts field. For artists, the annual AIP Native Artist Symposium was a two-day intensive preceding each WAA Conference, with additional webinars offered during the year. For performing arts professionals, Cultural Competency training has been provided by AIP consultants, staff and guest speakers, in workshops and sessions at the WAA Conference as well as at peer conferences nationally and internationally.
AIP Artist Symposium
Each year, AIP has held an Artist Symposium in conjunction with the WAA Annual Conference, bringing Native Launchpad artists and AIP Associate Artists together for two days, in advance of Conference opening, to take part in professional development activities, networking with international Indigenous colleagues and local Native community. As we’ve discovered over time, the biggest bonus has been the bonding and generosity between artists in sharing knowledge and experience peer-to-peer. Each year’s Symposium is documented below, with curriculum, documentation of professional development sessions, and the sharing of work and protocols.
2018 - Las Vegas, NV
The inaugural AIP Symposium was held August 25-26 at the Historic Fifth Street School, preceding the 2018 WAA Annual Conference (26-30 at the Bellagio Hotel), featuring presentations on the Business of Touring (programming, markets, planning), artist sharing and group discussion. Native Launchpad (3) and Associate Artists (9).
View the Curriculum/Agenda
Indigenous Greetings + Land Acknowledgment Video
2019 - Los Angeles, CA
Held August 25 and 26 at the JW Marriott LA LIVE Hotel, before the 2019 WAA Conference, featuring presentations on best practices, and protocol with local Kihz and Tataviam tribal members. Conference sessions included International Indigenous roundtable and first Native Jam. Native Launchpad (7) and Associate Artists (9).
View the Curriculum/Agenda
2020 - Online, with Arts Midwest
As was the 2020 Arts Midwest + Western Arts Alliance Conference, the 2020 AIP Symposium was conducted online, with: pre-recorded sessions on agents, tour planning, showcasing and marketing; Zoom gatherings; and an international protocols discussion. Native Launchpad (11) and Associate Artists (22).
View the Curriculum/Agenda
Watch the Highlights
2021 - Portland, OR
The first pandemic-era, hybrid WAA Conference was held August 31-September 2 at the PDX Hilton. The AIP Symposium was held August 30th at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art and NACF, with a mix of in-person and Zoomed workshops, International Protocols discussion, and video showcases. Native Launchpad (13) and Associate Artists (2).
View the Curriculum/Agenda
2022 - Calgary, AB
The all in-person 2022 WAA Annual Conference was held August 29-September 1 at the downtown Marriott Hotel in Calgary, Alberta. The AIP Symposium preceded the Conference on August 28, at local theatre cSPACE, with a full day of activities for 60 program artists, local First Nations artists, and Indigenous Programmers from Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand and Canada - including international protocols, sharing of local Blackfoot cuisine, and strategic discussions of global Indigenous performance practice, perspectives and needs. During the WAA Conference, AIP hosted presentations by BlakDance (Australia) and a convening of the Indigenous Programmers Forum, a land-based dance workshop and all-Native showcase. Native Launchpad (15) and guest artists and Indigenous Programmers (45).
View the Curriculum/Agenda
2023 - Seattle, WA
The WAA Conference returned to Seattle in 2023, with activities taking place in and around the downtown Sheraton Hotel, September 5-8. With the opportunity for a Symposium and Showcase shifting to the Hyphen+Asian (Asian Pacific Islander Hawaiian Native) Affinity Group and Seattle AAPIH community, the AIP convening was smaller and focused on skill- and network-building for the 2022 Native Launchpad cohort and 2023 Associate Artists, as well as peer-to-peer learning. Native Launchpad alumni shared their experience and knowledge, new artists practiced pitching their work to a panel of WAA member presenters, and a group of Indigenous Festival programmers shared their curatorial vision for “what they’re looking for”. Native Launchpad (9) and Associate Artists (6).
View the Curriculum/Agenda
Watch the Highlights
2024 - Online, October 13, 2025
With a Symposium focus for the 2024 WAA Annual Conference rotating to the Conexiones (Latine) Affinity Group, the AIP Symposium was postponed to June 2025. With major funding coming to an end, the AIP program will sunset its fellowship and Touring Fund programs for the foreseeable future, while maintaining a focus on Portland-area Native audience development and partner programming, with support from an Oregon funder. The 2024 AIP Symposium will be an online gathering of program artists and allies, featuring a panel discussion of the program’s origins and impacts, the official launch of the AIP Resource Center, and formation of an Indigenous Affinity Group of WAA.
View the Curriculum/Agenda
Webinars and Sessions for Artists
About Touring Markets 2019 Audio Webinar presented by Tim Wilson
For the Field
Advancing Indigenous Performance isn’t simply about creating visibility for Native artists, but also providing educational resources to performing arts professionals - including the programmers, curators, venue managers and festival directors who could engage them - to help allies in the field become good hosts and make safe spaces for Indigenous artists and the communities they represent. From the beginning, AIP has made Cultural Competency training a keystone of our work.
From 2018 to 2025, AIP staff, consultants and guest speakers have provided 35 workshops, seminars and trainings to the field, at the WAA Conference, as well as convenings of: Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), Folk Alliance International, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA), National Performance Network (NPN), New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), and Americans for the Arts (AFTA). The Program Manager has also been invited to be a guest speaker at the Talking Stick Festival and PuSH Festival (Canada), and the BlakDance BlakForm Webinar Series and Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM), both in Australia. Following are examples of sessions which were recorded.
WATCH THE VIDEOS
Authentic Engagement - Lessons from Indigenous Communities - AMW+WAA Conference 2020 panel
Decolonizing Performing Arts Practice - AMW+WAA Conference 2020 roundtable
Nothing Stays the Same: Indigenous Perspectives on Arts and Sustainability - AMW+WAA Conference 2020 panel
Best Practices in Presenting Native Artists (voice recording) - WAA Conference 2024. Christopher Morgan (Malashock Dance) and Shaliyah Ben (Idyllwild Arts), moderated by Tim Wilson.
What is Cultural Competence?
The succinct definition from AI is: the ability to understand, appreciate, and effectively interact with people from diverse cultural backgrounds by recognizing the impact of culture on behaviors, values, and beliefs. A fairly standoffish definition, you might say, describing relationship with passive verbs … recognizing, understanding, appreciating. Consider an alternative, which leans into action, established on agreement that all of our behaviors, values, and beliefs are subjective. And that none is superior. In other words, an active practice of exposing biases, in order to eliminate them, through a practice of communication, decision-making and implementation that is truly equitable.
Basic Toolkit for Cultural Competency
The Basic Toolkit contains resources to guide you, wherever you might be on a journey to cultural competence. Additional support and resources are available to WAA Members, through the AIP RESOURCE CENTER. But this Basic Toolkit can be a most effective starting place for those looking to work with diverse cultural communities.
Cultural Competency
Basic Toolkit for Cultural Competency