
Embark on a series of learning and engagement opportunities starting November 27, where the arts sector and community can engage in crucial conversations.
Presentations will share insights, explore innovative ideas, transformative strategies, and visionary perspectives to spark your thinking and our collective work in the arts. Each presentation will be followed by a facilitated workshop led by Evoke and Associates.
Themes from these gatherings, along with your direct input, will shape Design-Thinking workshops, to be held in 2024, on the new organizational model—covering governance, operations, programs, and services.
Community Conversations: Designing a New Arts Organization through Collective Vision
Adapting to Change: Innovative Models with Owais Lightwala
Date and Time:
Date: November 27, 2023
Time: 12:00 - 2:00 VIRTUAL Workshop
Location:
Online via Zoom
Format:
VIRTUAL workshop held online in English.
Speaker:
Owais Lightwala, professor, entrepreneur and optimist.
Description:
How do we craft a thriving future for the arts in times of uncertainty and change? Join Owais Lightwala, Assistant Professor and entrepreneurship innovator, for an interactive exploration of the creative sector's most pressing challenges. This session equips you with the insights to navigate change with confidence, empowers you with strategies for meaningful community engagement, and sharpens your skills to do more with less. As we collaboratively map out solutions, you'll leave with a toolkit for resilience, a blueprint for action, and fresh perspectives on driving equitable growth in the arts. Get ready to transform obstacles into opportunities for innovation and lead the charge in writing the next act for the creative industries.
BIOS:
Owais Lightwala is a professor, entrepreneur, and optimist. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University, where his teaching and research focus on entrepreneurship, leadership, and innovation in creative industries. He is the co-founder and CEO of Sai, a tech startup that is working to revolutionize the way that creatives manage their money. Prior to that, he spent 8 years as the first Managing Director for Why Not Theatre, co-leading the establishment of one of Canada’s most dynamic new arts organizations and producing industry-changing projects like RISER and The Mahabharata. He is sought after as a bold strategic voice in the culture sector, including from institutions like the National Arts Centre, Canada Council for the Arts, and Canadian Heritage. He has served on many nonprofit boards, including TO Live, Mass Culture, AMY Project, and Art Ignite. He was selected for the invite-only Impact Program for Arts Leaders (Stanford Graduate School of Business), has completed the CORe program (Harvard Business School), was a 2018 DiverseCity Fellow (CivicAction), a fellow in the 2018 Leaders Lab (Toronto Arts Council/Banff Centre), is a graduate of York University’s Theatre program and did his MBA at Toronto Metropolitan University
Adapting to Change: Innovative Models with Rudy Ruttimann, FLIP Foundation
Date and Time:
Date: November 30, 2023
Time: Presentation, 12:00PM-1:00PM / In-person Workshop: 1:00PM-2:00PM
Location:
Incubator 613
Format:
Presentation and Workshop held in-person in English.
Presentation will be live-streamed.
Speaker:
Rudy Ruttimann, Founding Director, FLIP Foundation
Description:
How do we explore the decline of the old systems and models and the rise of new ones? Join Rudy Ruttimann, to learn about the Berkana Institute’s Two Loop Mode and learn the narrative about how large systems can transform and create a sustainable new system. The Two Loops model is a valuable tool for addressing challenges and opportunities in the arts sector. It provides a fresh perspective on funding strategies and field building for transitions.
This model can be a powerful tool for advancing work for young creatives. Explore how to respond to current challenges and adapt to future shifts. For young creatives, this means creating programs, initiatives, and educational opportunities that align with emerging trends and evolving landscape of the arts. We will explore its application in organizational change within the arts sector. Organizations can use the Two Loops model as a reflective tool to understand their role in systems change. It prompts critical questions about where an organization fits within the Two Loops framework.emphasizing the importance of not only building new systems but also stabilizing old ones.Key questions will explore:
What role do each of you play in systemic change?
What is the significance of including roles like convenors, connectors, and storytellers in systems change?
In what ways can the arts sector benefit from innovative funding strategies and field building using the Two Loops model?
BIOS:
Rudy is a passionate leader and advocate in education and community arts practices for all. As a strategic,
results-driven executive with proven ability to create new organizations, spearhead change, and
conceptualize and achieve innovative and sustainable initiatives, Rudy has a strong aptitude for addressing
diversity. Rudy was Executive Director with SKETCH Working Arts for 22 years; SKETCH is a community arts enterprise engaging diverse young people, ages 16-29, from across Canada, who live homeless or on the margins and navigate poverty to experience the transformative power of the arts. With 20+ years of experience and proven ability to realize a vision and provoke long lasting transformation and after completing the succession process and with the success as Project Home Lead, there was new work that she felt an urge to focus on. FLIP Foundation for Leadership, Imagination and Place is a new initiative that seeks to confront the systems that limit young creatives from leading and transforming the arts, creative industries & communities across Canada.FLIP will focus on systems change, knowledge exchange at a national level, and social innovation in education, enterprise, and change leadership.
Rudy is a wife and a mother of four young adult children. She lives in Toronto and loves to escape to the Northern Bruce Peninsula as often as possible. She loves swimming, kayaking, good films, and great books.
Empowering Voices: Indigenous Relations & Self-Determination in Arts Organizational Development
Date and Time:
Date: December 1, 2023
Time: Presentation, 12:00 PM-1:00PM / in-person Workshop, 1:00PM-2:00PM
Location:
Nordic Lab, Saw Gallery
Format:
Presentation and Workshop held in-person in English.
Presentation will be live streamed.
Speaker:
Alex Glass Executive Director, ArtsBuild Ontario & J. P. Longboat
Description:
Delve into the crucial intersection of Indigenous relations and self-determination in the context of arts organizational development. This session aims to ignite meaningful dialogue on authentic partnerships, equity, and self-governance within the arts sector.
BIOS:
JP Longboat is a Storyteller and Multi-disciplinary Artist who is Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk), Turtle Clan, growing up along the River Ouse, Haldimand Deed territory, Ontario. JP has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree through combined education at the University of Michigan and the Ontario College of Art and Design. He has extensive professional training and practice in traditional and contemporary forms of visual art and live performance.
JP has trained, collaborated, and performed with many professional theatre and dance companies across Canada. His work emanates from the cultural ways of his people and his creative process is grounded in the legacy of First Nations artistic practice. He is the founder and Associate Director of Circadia Indigena – Indigenous Arts Collective based in Algonquin territory, along the Kichi Sibi at Akikodjiwan Falls. The collective creates full length performance works, and land-based Multi-disciplinary festivals. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance.
Alex Glass (she/her) is the Executive Director of ArtsBuild Ontario (ABO). She is responsible for the organization’s overall financial, strategic, and operational leadership. Alex has been with ArtsBuild for over eight years, receiving funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. She has executed grants from all these funders, as well as other projects supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and Ontario Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility. Over the years, Alex has grown ABO’s programs, partnerships and contributed to increased revenues. She also oversees 44 Gaukel Creative Workspace in partnership with the City of Kitchener which is home to 32 arts organizations and 40+ renters.
Bringing 14 years of experience in the non-profit sector, Alex has previously worked with organizations such as the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Talisker Players Chamber Music, and Canterbury Hills Camp & Conference Centre. She has an honours degree in English and Cultural Studies from McMaster University and a graduate certificate in Public Relations from Mohawk College.
Adapting to Change: Innovative Models with Tatiana Fraser, Co Director of Systems Sanctuary
Date and Time:
Date: December 5, 2023
Time: Presentation: 12:00PM-1:30PM / In-Person Workshop: 1:30PM-3:00PM
Location:
Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre Room #14
Format:
Presentation and Workshop held in-person in English (Tatiana is able to respond to questions in both French and English.)
Presentation will be live-streamed. Please note that the speaker will be presenting virtually.
Speaker:
Speaker: Tatiana Fraser - Co Director of Systems Sanctuary
Description:
The world calls us to shift our mindsets and values from outdated ways of being and doing rooted in dominance, hierarchy and harmful systems, towards new ways rooted in relationship, collaboration and innovation. Join Tatiana Fraser to explore the significance in “Scaling Deep”. As Tatiana says, “In our experience as leaders of long-term systemic change initiatives, innovative leaders and initiatives who are bringing the critical perspective required to actually shift harmful systems, are often under-resourced and under valued. They can be working in ways that are resonant with scaling deep practices but are not recognized by traditional power and decision makers. We heard over and over again how this work is hard and not valued, despite its crucial role in driving transformative change. As a consequence, activities focused on "Scaling Deep" are hidden away from the spotlight and our ambition is to change that.”
Tatiana will present the significance of Scaling Deep as a complementary approach to achieving enduring impact alongside other scaling strategies. Scaling Deep involves deep personal and cultural transformation to create lasting and sustainable change. It delves into inner work, community connections, and narrative exploration, demanding time, introspection, and personal growth while challenging biases and assumptions. Rooting in context, it recognizes and works with power dynamics.
BIOS:
Tatiana has spent her career starting up and growing ecosystems and networks for systemic change.
She co-founded the Girls Action Foundation, which became a network supporting the empowerment and leadership of girls and young women, scaling it nationally across Canada before stepping away and letting it fly. She was selected as an Ashoka Fellow for her work and recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network.
A thought leader, she coined the phrase ‘Scaling Deep’ in juxtaposition to the Silicon Valley-esq frameworks ‘Scaling-up’ and ‘Scaling-out’. This came from her own experience working with feminist groups who were creating significant impact at root level; personal, relational, and cultural change.
Her work around feminist systems change brings together intersectional feminist practices with the frameworks of systems change and offers a fresh perspective on how systemic change happens by centering lived experience and shifting power. With significant expertise in running a not-for-profit and an MBA from McGill University, Tatiana is well-versed in setting up collaborations and governance structures for success. She has Chaired the Board of CKX for four years and Chaired the Stewardship Group of Illuminate, an international network designed to cultivate the field of systems practice, in the first year of its life. She has served on numerous Boards and Advisory Committees including The UN Commission on the Status of Women, The Carold Institute, Food Secure Canada, Exeko, and Actua, among others.
Much of her work has been to advance the leadership and social justice of girls and women, she co-authored Girl Positive (Random House 2016) and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Women Studies.
Tatiana is a mother of 2 and lives in Montreal, Canada.
Building an Inclusive Arts Ecosystem
Date and Time:
Date: December 6, 2023
Time: Presentation, 12:00PM-1:30PM / In-person Workshop 1:30PM-3:00PM
Location:
Bayview Yards
Format:
Presentation and Workshop held in-person in English.
Presentation will be live-streamed.
Speaker:
Speaker: Carla Stephenson
Speaker: Sharif Mahdy, CEO of the Students Commission of Canada (SCC) and the Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement.
Sharon Nyangweso, Founder and CEO QuakeLab
Description:
Address the imperative of creating an inclusive arts environment, emphasizing the need for an organizational model that reflects and serves diverse voices within the community.
BIOS:
Carla has been working in rural arts organizations for two decades and is a champion of rural innovation and community-led systems change. Her work centres on relationships and lived experiences of participants. She is most comfortable on the edges of systems of all sorts. As the founder and lead of the Rural Arts Inclusion Lab, the co-founder of the Tiny Lights Festival and the Executive Director of Renascence Arts and Sustainability Society, her practice is grounded in the tiny community of Ymir, BC, on the stolen and unceded land of the Sinixt. Carla spent the last year as a Positive Deviants fellow with the Wolf Willow Institute and worked advocating for change in granting processes for various arts funders. She finds great joy in facilitating conversations that break down silos, centre intersectionality and encourage embodied participation. The majority of her work in the past three years has been with organizations to explore equity and belonging in their spaces and is currently partnering on the Pathways pilot program, a year-long process that will support arts, culture, and heritage practitioners to learn, reflect and integrate equity and access more deeply into their work. Participants will be supported with individualized learning plans, peer networks and one-on-one guidance. The program is a collaboration between BC Arts Council, Arts BC, BC Museums Association, Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance and Rural Arts Inclusion Lab.
Sharif is the CEO of the Students Commission of Canada (SCC) and the Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement. Sharif has been with the SCC since 2010 and is accountable for ensuring the cultural and financial sustainability of the organization. Sharif is also accountable for the long-term strategic visioning and operational excellence of the organization. Sharif has an Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences from the University of Western Ontario. He also has a Masters of Arts in Leadership degree from Royal Roads University. Sharif is also the Volunteer Chair of the National Alliance of Children and Youth (NACY): a national charitable organization that brings organizations together in a collaborative network dedicated to enhancing the well-being of children and youth in Canada. Sharif sits on several non-profit Boards including the Catalysts Circle, the Child Development Institute and Mentor Canada
Sharon Nyangweso is the Founder and CEO of QuakeLab, a full-stack equity and justice agency. Sharon specializes in a radical new approach to diversity and inclusion that is measurable, strategic, and based on a strong foundation of design thinking. A leader in empathetic community engagement and moving inclusivity from aspiration to action, Sharon is a regular contributor and panelist on CBC radio and television, Rabble.ca, Live 88.5, and CTV. An immigrant from Kenya who has lived and worked in Canada for nine years, Sharon has worked across sectors with organizations in 11 countries.
SESSION INFORMATION
We invite your participation through submitting questions, sharing experiences, and actively engaging in discussions during the sessions that interest you. With input from you, the valued artist community, we want to build a new Ottawa arts organization that best aligns with your needs. This process is an opportunity for you to engage and help shape the planning for the future.
There will be a variety of ways to participate in this process and the co-creation of the new organizational model.
If you are not already, please subscribe to our newsletters and follow us on social media:
Follow along with this process!
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Where will they be held? Online or in-person?Each workshop will be held in a different location across the city. Locations will be listed in each event description. All presentations will be presented online. Zoom links will be sent to all event registrants. If you are participating in an in-person workshop, the presentation will be viewed together in person on location prior to the workshop.
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How can I participate?Watch the presentations online Watch the presentations and participate in the workshops. For in-person workshops, we will watch the presentations together onsite. Each presentation and workshop is unique so please read details carefully. There will be in-person workshops, virtual, and hybrid. In-person workshops will have a digital engagement component. Attendees are asked to bring a fully charged smartphone, tablet or laptop to participate through an interactive online platform. If anyone is interested in attending in-person but does not have access to a device we can provide one for you with advance notice. Please contact us at info@artsnetottawa.ca
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Why are you doing your community consultations this way? “Nothing for us without Us”Most importantly: co-creating a new model can only be done WITH YOU. We can do more collectively - these are complex times to navigate - let’s think and work together We want to share this opportunity to listen, and learn from thought leaders and inspirational creatives - to help your own work in the arts sector We desire collaboration and connection with our community that we serve We want to platform ideas and learnings back out into the community and into our new organizational model and operations for the future
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What’s the next step?We will host a series of Design-Thinking workshops with our board, staff and you, our community, in winter 2024. These workshops will be created based on the outcomes of our Community Conversations beginning on November 27th. More details on the next steps will be available in the new year. In June 2024, we will present the plans for the future of the new organization at our Annual General Meetings (AGM).
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What if I can’t attend the workshops but want to be involved?Please reach out to: Cassandra Olsthoorn [cassandra@artsnetottawa.ca] or Nicole Milne: [nicole@ottawaartscouncil.ca]
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Will the sessions be recorded?Most sessions will be recorded; more information to come on how these will be made available.
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How much is a stipend?We will be offering up to $30 per workshop
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Will you offer financial compensation for participation in workshops?Yes. To help ensure more equal access to the workshops, we are offering financial compensation (stipends), for expenses relating to participating in the workshop
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Will the workshops and presentations be accessible?The in-person venues will all be accessible The registration questions will have a section for you to inform us of any accessibility requirements you might need to be able to participate, i.e. ASL interpretation.
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How can I request a stipend?You can request a stipend through your registration on Eventbrite Or you can contact Cassandra Olsthoorn [cassandra@artsnetottawa.ca] or Nicole Milne [nicole@ottawaartscouncil.ca]
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Will there be food and refreshments provided?Food will not be provided at in-person workshops. Please bring a packed lunch. Coffee, tea and water will be available.
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Will you ask for a reason for financial compensation?No

Ottawa Arts Council and Arts Network Ottawa gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Community Foundation, CAPACOA(Presenters Capacity Building Program), Canada Council for the Arts and the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund through the Community Foundations of Canada
CONTACT US
Shenkman Arts Centre
245 Centrum Blvd, Suite 260
Ottawa, ON K1E 0A1
Tel: 613-580-2767
info@artsnetottawa.ca
Charity number:
121777023RR0001
We acknowledge that our offices are on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. The peoples of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation have lived on this territory for millennia, stewarding the land, the water and all that contributes to life in this region. Today, many Indigenous communities continue to be denied the opportunity and resources to make and experience their traditional art on this land. We pledge to make justice and reconciliation a priority through our work by amplifying Indigenous voices and their experiences.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
OUR FUNDERS
OUR SPONSORS AND PARTNERS





