Artpreneur 2020 (Archive)

ARTPRENEUR Ottawa 2020 is a multi-day conference presented by Arts Network Ottawa in partnership with Wallack’s, Invest Ottawa, and SHIFTER Agency. It brings together leading local and national creative experts and business leaders to assist artists in building their creative professions. The conference will be held online as a series of webinars and presentations.

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With COVID-19 grinding the gig economy to a halt, Artpreneur will address the economic, social and cultural disruption on the arts sector in Ottawa and beyond. The Conference aims to deliver a valuable experience for delegates, with opportunities for rich conversations and connections in an open, welcoming environment with a wide array of speakers and panelists.

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Speakers will address what recovery means to them as artists and organizations of all disciplines aim to restore or innovate the sector through the initiative, adaptations and the lenses of equity, sustainability, technology and collaboration.

Highlights

DAY 1 | Beyond Value Chains and Supply Chains: the future of the labour of artists w/ Zainub Verjee

Bandcamp.com presents a unique and competitive model for streaming services for both artists and consumers. Andrew Jervis from Bandcamp will review the origins of the platform as a creative-entrepreneurial project, its philosophy around the value of artistic work and fair-trade music policies, and educational tools built into the user experience.

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DAY 2 | Theory Meets Action: Queer Hustle as a Form of Praxis
w/ Maren Kathleen Elliott and Juan Saavedra + Co-presented by: Ottawa Arts Mentorship Program

Artists and entrepreneurs alike practice examining the world from a non-traditional perspective to seek opportunities in adversity. Yet there is sometimes a stigma from within the creative community around the term ‘entrepreneurship’, a fear of seeming too capitalist, colonial, or selling out. Prior to moving to Ottawa, both Juan and Maren had their own businesses. In this presentation they will confront the pejorative understanding of entrepreneurship using their experience applying its lessons to produce community-based arts events, with a lens of queer-disability and a framework grounded in equity.

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DAY 3 | Community Conversation: How to Make This Sustainable
w/ Kseniya Tsoy + Co-presented by: Neighbourhood Arts Ottawa

Earlier in April, folks gathered for a community conversation about the work, challenges, and opportunities of community and socially engaged arts through the pandemic. Fast-forward to 8 months later: We now know a lot more about the impacts of COVID-19 on Ottawa’s cultural sector as well as the communities we collaborate with and serve. Artists, cultural workers, and community organizers continue to work very hard to adapt in the ways they can. And the vital role art plays to connect people and communities through this period of crisis is made clear via projects creatively happening in and around public health guidelines. But how can this work be made sustainable? What are our sector’s needs over the coming year?