AIP: Creating Connections in Calgary
Advancing Indigenous Performance (AIP) at the 2022 WAA Annual Conference: An Overview
This year’s Native Artist Symposium and WAA Conference in Móhkinstsis (Calgary) was in many ways a peak for WAA’s Advancing Indigenous Performance (AIP) program. After a two-year hiatus – with virtual 2020 and hybrid 2021 convenings – the in-person gathering was the first time since LA in 2019 that AIP and its partners were able to be in the same room, sharing community in its deepest form: face-to-face.
It was also the largest convening we’ve held since the program’s founding in 2018. Modelled on the 2015 Indigenous Performance Symposium in Vancouver, BC (the success of which inspired the launch of the AIP program), the 2022 AIP Native Artist Symposium included 60 participants from Australia, Aotearoa, Canada, and the U.S., compared to the typical roster of 12 - 15 artists. This year, AIP’s Native Launchpad artists were joined by First Nations colleagues nominated by representatives of the local Blackfoot community, as well as Indigenous programmers from each country, creating a rich mix of artists and presenters representing diversity of first peoples.
In its design, the day-long symposium was a relations-building gathering, free of transactional business. Participants shared protocols, introductions, a Blackfoot-catered traditional meal of the land, and developed questions and subjects to be explored throughout the ensuing conference.
Afternoon discussion, facilitated by AIP consultants Larissa FastHorse and Ty Defoe of Indigenous Direction, centered on topics suggested by the participants and grouped into larger themes, including: Indigenous International Networking; Decolonizing/ReIndigenizing Spaces and Processes; Our Models; and Advocacy for the Needs of Indigenous Artists. While in no way capturing the entirety of the discussion, the following quotes exemplify some of the ideas raised for exploration:
“We need to share work with community, be in community, not just on the stage” — Margo Kane (Full Circle / Talking Stick Festival, CAN)
“Building relationships does not happen overnight. We must continue to make exchanges happen and funders need to understand that building relationships takes time.” — Liza-Mare Syron / Lily Shearer (Moogahlin, AUS)
“Connection – spirit to spirit – is as important to us as online digital content. Networking, like today, is so important, enabling us to make ourselves known.” — Tāwera Tahuri (Creative New Zealand)
“AIP has created space at the conference… for Indigenous work to be shared. But my question is about how to address bringing entities together through cultural exchange. We need a broad vision for why we are here – as artists: why we do what we are doing and how it can fit into a broader presenting vision.” – Māori theatre presenter (Aotearoa/New Zealand)
Members of the Blackfoot Confederacy enter the conference’s Opening Plenary for a Welcome to Country
Two AIP meeting rooms were reserved for the duration of the conference to accommodate and extend these discussions for meetings, sessions, wellness and sharing, and both rooms were fully utilized throughout the four conference days, with artist workshops, International Programmers’ Forum work sessions, and ad hoc roundtable and professional development panels – all proposed and offered by individuals and groups of symposium attendees, in a way that was responsive to the evolving interactions of Indigenous participants and non-Indigenous allies.
Conference workshop: BlakForm — Career Development Platform Model from BlakDance, a national industry organization for First Nations contemporary dancers and choreographers, Meanjin (Brisbane), Australia; image credit: Julie Vincent Photography
2021 Native Launchpad Artist, Julia Keefe, performs at the 2022 Official Showcase in Calgary; image credit: Julie Vincent Photography
AIP conference programming also included a Welcome to Country by the Blackfoot Confederacy at the Opening Plenary, a career development workshop by Blakdance — national industry organization for First Nations contemporary dancers and choreographers based in Australia, Meanjin (Brisbane), and showcase events; for two evenings AIP hosted independent showcases, featuring Native Launchpad artists, international guests, and musicians from the Móhkinstsis/Calgary-area community. The room was consistently packed, with Indigenous artists supporting one another, as well as presenters with an interest in booking Native artists. On day 3, the room hosted Native Jam — an all-acoustic, informal evening of sharing and improvisation — a consistently popular highlight for First Nations attendees.
Charly Lowry’s Official Showcase performance; image credit: Julie Vincent Photography
"Showcasing at the Martha Cohen Theatre in front of my AIP peers and constituents of the music industry was a highlight of 2022. WAA's attempt to level the playing field by placing Indigenous artists on premier stages during primetime is a step in the right direction of inclusivity.” — Showcase performer and 2021 Native Launchpad Artist, Charly Lowry
It was clear, both from the feedback of Indigenous participants, who value gathering as Native peoples, and from presenters who described the showcase experience as an “Indigenous festival”, that the 2022 Symposium and conference were successful in helping AIP realize its goals: to increase visibility for Native artists, to engage the presenting community in creating value for Native content, and to build a many-nations community of support for Native performers.
In his report to the Consulate General of Canada, which provided travel support for U.S.-based Indigenous programmers, Christopher Morgan (VP of Programming for the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, and 2018 AIP Native Launchpad artist) noted, “It was a meaningful trip, with wonderful opportunities to get to know the city of Calgary, network with other presenters, and most importantly, learn about Canadian artists whose work I was not familiar with prior to this trip… I’m particularly excited about having met Canadian (First Nations) singer Damase Elis, who is on my mind as I am in the early stages of developing plans for an Indigenous Rock Festival.”
Discussions throughout the time together uplifted a universal desire to collaborate internationally and support Indigenous artists and the programs that engage them, and to explore co-development of Indigenous-run festivals, exchanges, and residencies.
In a world which has changed since last we met in-person, the Indigenous family of AIP is feeling the momentum of the growing role of First Nations artists in conversations about what it means to tour in a post-pandemic performing arts field.