ARTSPOND is an AGILO ARTS-led, open-source, online database project scheduled for initial release in late 2012.
Featuring detailed profiles on over 4,000 inter/national venues, presenters, platforms, residencies and festivals with established ties to dance (encompassing support of both contemporary and traditional forms; as well as over 15,000 elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools in Canada alone), the mission of ARTSPOND is to assist independent artists and companies with researching and prioritizing their best opportunities for touring, residencies and outreach programming in new markets in an efficient, cost-effective manner.
Published presenter profiles will include:
- current artistic and administrative contact information
- venue & audience demographics
- programming vision, history, interests and focus
- projected box office and artist fee ranges
- preferred application method (and dates/fees, if applicable)
- links to other presenters and venues within the same region
- and other related information to assist users in prioritizing prospects
To see what this information may actually look like, download a draft single presenter record detail as a PDF. This is a an early sample only, and not a complete version. Orange represents presenter name; blue, event name; red, venue name.
A user-friendly interface will allow users to search the collected profiles by name, region, venue size, programming interests and other custom reports and searches.
Cultivating bridges to the rest of the world, ARTSPOND will be updated on a regular basis and will be available to artists and companies from across Canada.
THE BENEFITS
The primary goal of this project is to empower dance artists and companies from across Canada — regardless of size, practice or region — with equal access to information and tools necessary to support growth into new markets nationally and internationally. By sharing the proposed research with the entire dance milieu, we hope to:
- Reduce unnecessary duplication of research labour among multiple artists and companies – thus freeing up creative time and managerial resources better spent elsewhere
- Cultivate a deeper awareness and appreciation for creative opportunities currently available nationally and internationally – thus building over time a sector more attuned and prepared to compete successfully in new markets
- Nurture ecologies of collaboration, where the sharing of resources, information and ideas are embraced at a deeper level across the sector. In a diminishing economy with increased demand and competition among artists, we hope the success of this project will encourage individuals and companies to begin embracing other types of innovative networks, partnerships and sharing for community benefit
- Address systemic shortfalls in the representation and management of the sector by empowering individual artists and organizations with an equal understanding of the current resources, needs, interest and focus of presenters in the field.
THE COST
As an open-source project, our wish is to publish ARTSPOND for free to all Canadians. However, over time, the cost of building and maintaining the database will be considerable. Without sufficient private or public sector investment, a modest subscription fee will need to be levied on each user to help ensure the information remains relevant and current over time. Ultimately the fees would be tiered to budget size, and would depend on the total number of users subscribed to the database, but we would strive to keep the fee under $50 or $25 per year for independent artists with limited resources.
WHAT’S NEXT? HOW CAN I HELP?
We need your help! If you are excited by this project, please take a moment to sign our PETITION, or email us a letter of support attention to :
ARTSPOND Support: info (at) agilo (dot) ca.
The deadline for signing the petition or submitting letters of support is NOVEMBER 7, 2011.
All names on the petition and letters received will be used as support material for funding applications to public and private sector agencies at the municipal, provincial and national level.
