Do you have a creative project in the works, or want to build your skills as an emerging artist or cultural creator? On Sunday, July 9, we are excited to invite you to the first of four free creative development sessions of the newly-announced Montreal Jewish Arts Collaborative.
This will be an afternoon of “pick your own learning” workshops (more details below). Each 90-minute session will be offered twice, first from 1:15pm–2:45pm, and 3:00pm–4:30pm. You are welcome to sign up for two workshops, or just one – whatever works best for you! The sessions are free, and include coffee, snacks, and some mingling time to meet the other members of the Montreal Jewish Arts Collaborative.
Schedule:
Meet and Greet: 1:00pm–1:15pm
Workshop Session 1: 1:15pm–2:45pm
Coffee and Snack Break: 2:45pm–3:00pm
Workshop Session 2: 3pm–4:30pm
Mingle and Meet: 4:30pm–5:00pm
Please fill out the form with your workshop choices. Note that you may only select one workshop from each of the two sessions offered. Capacity is limited so register early to avoid disappointment later. Before making your selections below, please ensure that you've signed up for the Learn Session on Jlive.
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SESSIONS AND PRESENTERS
1. How to Get Started: Creative Strategies for Generating Material (with Avia Moore)
Sometimes getting started on a new project is the hardest part. Even when you have an idea in mind, the blank page can be daunting! Drawing upon devising methods, but useful for any projects in absolutely any discipline, this fun hands-on creative workshop will explore playful methods and catalysts for generating content. What emerges when we juxtapose ideas, fragments of text, lines of song, and more?
Avia Moore is an interdisciplinary artist, teacher, scholar, and producer. She is the Artistic Director of KlezKanada, and has worked as a creative producer with festivals, cultural institutions, and individual artistic projects across North America and Europe. An internationally-acclaimed teacher of Yiddish dance, Avia leads workshops for festivals and events around the world, coaches emerging dance leaders, and works as a consultant for choreographers, directors, and teachers seeking to engage with Yiddish movement. Avia is a PhD Candidate in performance studies at York University.
2. The Disorganized’s Guide to Getting Organized: Creative Project Planning & Management (with Alyssa Stokvis-Hauer)
Do you have a great idea, but the “how” feels overwhelming? Do your task lists tend to spiral out of control or get cast by the wayside? Does planning out the steps to complete a project sometimes feel like a road-trip without a map? I’ve been there too, and created this session to help make the planning and managing process for your project more, well, manageable! This session will provide tips, tricks, and tactics to help you find your footing in planning and management for a personal creative project. Together we’ll explore what sets off feelings of being “stuck” or disorganized at different moments in your project, and how you can arm yourself to plan out a project map and tackle any hurdles that crop up on the way.
Alyssa Stokvis-Hauer (she/her) is a curator, researcher, and cultural programmer experienced in bringing a wide variety of arts, culture, and heritage projects to life. As Artistic Director of the Museum of Jewish Montreal, she has worked with and mentored a wide variety of local and international artists, researchers, and emerging creatives across varied disciplines to bring their projects to the public. In her work and practice, she seeks to emphasize storytelling, research-creation, interdisciplinarity, and inclusive community building. Alyssa holds an Hons. B.A. in Art History and Political Science from the University of Toronto and an M.A. in Art History from Concordia University.
3. The Art of Getting There: Writing, Communications, and Marketing for Creatives (with Austin Henderson)
Do you have a creative practice, but are struggling on how to get your ideas to paper, or better yet, into the public eye? In this session, participants will learn how to write appealing pitches and descriptions for creative projects, as well as how to describe their own artistic practice – no matter the medium. You will learn how to craft an artist bio, artist statement, event/project description, and understand the basics of creative marketing for social media. There will also be time allotted to fine-tune your writing samples with fellow participants.
Austin Henderson is a cultural worker, writer, and artist based in Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal. He currently serves as the Arts Programming and Communications Manager at the Museum of Jewish Montreal. He has shown his work in Canada and the United States, and has participated in residencies with Momus (2021) and the New York Academy of Art (2018). His writing has appeared in various publications, including Esse arts + opinions and Visual Arts News. Austin holds an MA in Art History from Concordia University and a BFA in Visual Art from Queen's University in Kingston.
4. Creativity Through Constraints: An Introduction to Project Budgeting (with Anya Kowalchuk)
In this session, participants will be introduced to project budgeting, how to plan a budget, and the ways it can help with project planning and raising funds to support a project. Together we’ll become familiar with project budget templates, how to populate them, and what to keep in mind when creating project budgets both for your own use, and for funding applications.
Anya Kowalchuk is a writer, project manager, and cultural worker based in Montreal. In her position as the Senior Programming and Community Manager at the Museum of Jewish Montreal, she brings to life innovative cultural programming, and creates moments for reciprocal relationship-building between emerging creatives and community-led institutions. She holds a B.A. from McGill, focused in Art History, Criticism and Conservation from McGill University.
