FREE EVENT
Join Storytelling Toronto for a day of presentations, panels, networking and more. We’ll share expertise and new ideas about issues affecting professional storytellers today.
Registration and Welcome
9:30 am - 10:00 am
The Art of Booking, Preparing, and Performing for Gigs
Heather Whaley
10:00 am - 10:55 am
This presentation will help you move forward professionally with confidence: Learn how to avoid uncomfortable communication and negotiations when talking about fees. Discover what to expect when planning with schools, libraries, and community events. Gain insight about how to present your best self, and learn what to prepare for organisers that will benefit you both.
Re/Discovered Histories: Working with Community and Archival Stories
Jeffrey Canton, Shayna Jones, Teajai Travis
Moderated by Kesha Christie
11:00 am - 11:55 am
What are the key elements to consider when working with other people’s stories, or stories uncovered by archival work? How does the storyteller honour their own artistry while centering the lived experiences they’re sharing? Join these notable tellers for a meaningful discussion on the practicalities of working with interviews and archives, and the ethics of working with other people’s stories.
State of the Art Picnic: An informal exchange of storytelling practices and possibilities
Hosted by Dan Yashinsky
12:00 pm - 12:55 pm
Storytelling is an evolving artform. It touches performing art, education, social justice work, cultural and language preservation, organizational leadership, oral history, community-building, healthcare, and much more. Symposium participants are invited to break bread together as we trade stories of the triumphs and challenges of being contemporary storytellers. Bring your lunch or grab some food at one of the many food vendors at The Well, and join this lunch-hour gathering.
Culture Keeping: Sharing Traditional Stories
Ron Evans
1:00 pm - 1:55 pm
Ron Evans is a Chippewa-Cree Métis elder. He grew up in one of the last semi nomadic bands in western Canada and Montana. This was at a time when his people still survived by hunting, fishing, trapping and seasonal farm or ranch labour. He attended school when they were camping near a country schoolhouse, but much of his education was with his traditional elders.
Ron does not regard himself as a storyteller but as a keeper of his people's lore, history and traditions which are told in the form of stories. Join Ron as he speaks to the importance of sharing these stories as part of the work of Culture Keeping.
Building New Audiences and Meaningful Partnerships
Stéphanie Bénéteau
2:00 pm - 2:55 pm
How do you get bums in seats, as the great storyteller Ivan Coyote once said? This talk will concentrate on one method of developing audiences, which involves the creation of lasting and innovative partnerships with organizations outside of storytelling. The director of the Montréal Intercultural Storytelling Festival will present three initiatives that connect storytelling with major organizations including the Bar Association of Montréal, the Coeur des Sciences, a university institute that promotes science popularization, and the National Archives of Québec. She will tell the story of these three projects and show how they impacted not only audience numbers but the recognition of storytelling as a major art form.
Ask A canada Council Officer!
3:00pm-3:30pm
We’ll be joined by Nicole Lavigne, Program Officer for the Arts Across Canada and Arts Abroad programs at Canada Council for the Arts. This is an opportunity to ask all of your questions about public funding!
