HUSTLE + THRIVE

Part 3 of our 3-Part Series exploring Equity and Inclusion created in partnership with https://www.shelizajamal.com/ (Curated Leadership), founded by Sheliza Jamal. The series includes conversation on inclusion, accessibility, equity, and radical self-love. Episodes in this series are supported by https://www.arts.on.ca/home (Ontario Arts Council).  Indigenous author and community builder, Elaine Alec joins us to talk about re-examining self-love to advocate for ourselves and our community. With a better understanding of self-love, we can break cycles of colonialism that causes us to inflict self-hate and negative social constructs onto ourselves and our communities. Elaine's personal stories and experience with Indigenous advocacy provides a framework for us to self-reflect and interrogate white supremacy and its impacts our well being and the inequitable structures in the arts. From this conversation, we are urged to think of how to transform oppressive structures and systems to benefit future generations. Notable Mentions and Resources: https://www.elainealec.com/book (Calling My Spirit Back), Elaine Alec, 2020. Four Colonial Tools, https://www.jessiehemphill.ca/ (Jessie Hemphill). “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” https://www.akpress.org/catalog/product/view/id/3259/s/aburstoflight/category/6/ (A Burst of Light: and Other Essays), Audre Lorde, 2017. Learn more about https://www.creativeworksconference.com/hustlenthrive (Hustle & Thrive).

Part 2 of our 3-Part Series exploring Equity and Inclusion created in partnership with https://www.shelizajamal.com/ (Curated Leadership), founded by Sheliza Jamal. The series includes conversation on inclusion, accessibility, equity, and radical self-love. Episodes in this series are supported by https://www.arts.on.ca/home (Ontario Arts Council).  Civil Rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer once said, “nobody's free until everybody's free.” Syrus Marcus Ware goes even further by saying “if we made the world safer for Black Trans women with disabilities (the most marginalized and oppressed people), we'd be making the world safer for everyone.” In this episode Syrus uses a disability justice framework to help us connect the dots between accessibility and equity. Developing an awareness of how an individual's marginalized identities impact their access to power helps us understand and identify how best to meet their respective needs. From this conversation we learn that accessibility is not about checking boxes, but about continuously transforming our interactions with people to create comfortable experiences and environments where the most marginalized can thrive. Notable Mentions and Resources: Disability Justice Framework: https://www.sinsinvalid.org/news-1/2020/6/16/what-is-disability-justice (What is Disability Justice), Sins Invalid, 2020 Concept of “One Size Fits One” by https://www.jdderbyshire.com/about (Jan Derbyshire), Writer, Mad Activist, Theatre Maker. https://www.workinculture.ca/FYI/WorkInCulture-Connects/September-2019/So,-you-Built-a-Ramp%E2%80%A6Community-Engagement-and-Mean (So, You Built a Ramp…Community Engagement and Meaningful Outreach), Emily Gillespie, 2019 Intersectionality Framework first coined by http://historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/combrivercoll.html (Combahee River Collective); expanded by https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/5/20/18542843/intersectionality-conservatism-law-race-gender-discrimination (Kimberlé Crenshaw,) Critical Race Theory Scholar. “Nobody's free until everybody's free.” https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/fannie-lou-hamer (Fannie Lou Hamer), Civil Rights Leader. Learn more about https://www.creativeworksconference.com/hustlenthrive (Hustle & Thrive).

Part 1 of our 3-Part Series exploring Equity and Inclusion created in partnership with https://www.shelizajamal.com/ (Curated Leadership), founded by Sheliza Jamal. The series includes conversation on inclusion, accessibility, equity, and radical self-love. Episodes in this series are supported by the https://www.arts.on.ca/home (Ontario Arts Council). Inclusion and diversity, like race, ethnicity and nationality are two concepts that have been conflated, misconstrued, and misused. In this episode, we chat with Sheliza Jamal who brings her background as an equity and inclusion coach to give a proper definition of inclusion and diversity. White privilege is the thing that connects the oppression and stagnation of marginalized folks both generally and in the arts and cultural sector. Sheliza's views and expertise show different ways the arts can create a better sense of belonging and become responsibly inclusive. Notable Mentions and Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_George_Floyd (Murder of George Floyd), 2020. https://www.ibramxkendi.com/how-to-be-an-antiracist (How to Be an Antiracist), Ibram X. Kendi, 2019. https://www.ijeomaoluo.com/books (So You Want to Talk About Race), Ijeoma Oluo, 2018. Learn more about https://www.creativeworksconference.com/hustlenthrive (Hustle & Thrive)

Have you given any thought to how the freshman set of the arts sector are doing? Imagine being a post-secondary student about to graduate and then comes a pandemic. In this episode, Amanda Singh, Hana Glaser and Julien Rutherford, share their concerns about the future of work, what skills to prioritize and what decisions are made on behalf of youth and emerging professionals.   On the other hand, they are still optimistic and ready to offer solutions. With their experience organizing the Culture’s Compass (https://www.culturescompass.com/)virtual conference by Humber College this June, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the conversations around representation and equity in the arts, they are motivated and hopeful about the recovery and rebuilding phase. In this vein, they are challenging decision makers, government and funders to make deliberate efforts regarding their interests, contributions and place in the sector.  

During this pandemic everyone is constantly adapting and adjusting. There is no clear sense of when it will end, but we have to keep going and doing what we do best. This attitude is what keeps Arts Etobicoke strong during challenging times like this. In our chat with Akshata Naik and Heather Ervin we learnt that feedback, teamwork and remaining positive are key to exploring and creating new opportunities. The Arts Etobicoke team is adopting new skills, and taking a community and solutions focused approach to create quality programs, nurture connections and foster engagement with their local arts community. 3 Things You Need to Know About Arts Etobicoke (https://www.creativeworksconference.com/episodes/3-cs-of-arts-etobicoke)

Much like surviving a career transition from banking to comedy, Stephan Dyer knows he will be able to get through a pandemic. The first 2 years of “bad” stand-up didn’t stop him from pursuing his passion and he has since performed over 300 shows around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic is a vulnerable time for the arts sector, so we checked in on Stephan to see how he’s coping. We talked about what he is doing to run his public speaking school, MalPensando, his thoughts on productivity during a lockdown, and why he thinks artists are powerful.   3 Things You Need to Know About Coping with Challenges (https://www.creativeworksconference.com/episodes/how-a-comedian-copes-in-a-pandemic)

From drawing to parenting to arts administration, a key theme across Jaymie Lathem's career is shifting across different practices and activities. In this episode, she talks to us about the impact of motherhood on her artistic practice, with funny anecdotes about raising children while being a creator and leading an arts organization. From our conversation you'll also get a better sense of what North Bay's creative community looks like, including the challenges of thriving alongside other industries and the wealth of creative talent and programming in North Bay, Nipissing. As a bonus, you'll get to hear about some of Creative Industries North Bay's upcoming initiatives to build support systems.   (https://www.creativeworksconference.com/episodes/living-creating-in-north-bay-ontario)

10 years ago, Emily Mills posed a question on social media about the lack of representation of diverse women at leadership events. Many women could relate, so she created How She Hustles. Fast forward to today, this network has produced several events, a virtual village and digital content for diverse women to connect, be inspired and prepare for success. On this episode Emily joins us to talk about ways How She Hustles provides space for stories of diverse and underrepresented women. Get 3 Things You Need to Know - HERE: https://www.creativeworksconference.com/episodes/power-of-storytelling (https://www.creativeworksconference.com/episodes/power-of-storytelling)

In this episode, M. Falconer takes us through her start as a self-taught visual artist making Deadmau5 helmets to having her work appear on the CBC, in Flare and showcased at Nuit Blanche. We talk about drawing inspiration from her community and the importance of local arts organizations like the Nia Centre for the Arts , why it’s important to create your own opportunities, and why she thinks a business & entrepreneurial mindset is critical to succeeding as an artist. In addition to the (https://artscapedanielslaunchpad.com/) . Get the 3 THINGS you need to know (https://www.creativeworksconference.com/episodes/2019/10/25/the-art-of-diy) .

On our third episode of HUSTLE + THRIVE, Victoria Anderson-Gardner takes us on a journey about the ways their Indigenous identity, inter-generational trauma and other life events helped shape a career in documentary filmmaking. Victoria also talks about how grants helped with their projects, while enlightening us on self-care practices for balancing life as a student, filmmaker and activist. Learn more about Victoria and get the 3 THINGS you need to know (https://www.creativeworksconference.com/episodes/2019/10/25/shaping-your-passion-into-a-career)

In this episode, we talk about engaging the queer community in a meaningful way, what it means to be an ally, the difference between having and living inclusive values, We also talk about the recent protest at the Toronto Public Library, Anthony’s s (https://www.facebook.com/DumpsterRaccoonTO/) , queer characters in pop culture and lots more. Some mentions in the podcast to check out: here (https://hazlitt.net/longreads/dayspring) . Get the 3 THINGS you need to know (https://www.creativeworksconference.com/episodes/2019/10/25/engaging-without-tokenism)

We talk about the creative process and key collaborative relationships in the culture sector. Find out why support systems are important and why building the ‘right’ creative team matters. On this episode we had a great chat with three amazing collaborators and friends: Anne T. Donahue, writer of Nobody Cares, a collection of essays; Crissy Calhoun, freelance book editor, former ECW press editor and writer; and Jen Knoch, senior editor at ECW Press and writer. (https://www.creativeworksconference.com/episodes/2019/10/25/the-creative-process) Get the 3 THINGS you need to know . (https://www.creativeworksconference.com/episodes/2019/10/25/the-creative-process) Disclaimer: Some strong language can be expected from this conversation.

Transcript: From WorkInCulture, this is HUSTLE + THRIVE. I’m Yomi John and I’ll be your host with Lisa Fiorilli On HUSTLE + THRIVE (this new podcast) - Join us for conversations on living, working and thriving in arts and culture. We will feature folks of various disciplines and identities talking about things that matter to you. Stay tuned!! New episodes Coming Soon!