Canadian Arts Summit
Convening the Leaders of Canada’s Cultural Institutions
Shaping the future of the Arts.
The Canadian Arts Summit is a gathering of senior art leaders, including artistic directors, executive directors and volunteer board chairs of Canada’s largest arts institutions. The Summit plays a vital role in bringing together leading voices from Canada and internationally to help shape the future of the arts in Canada.
Inspire. Engage. Connect.
From 2014 - 2019, I served as the Program Director for the Canadian Arts Summit at Business/Arts, realizing six annual Summits in partnership with Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, designed to inspire, engage and connect Canada’s arts leaders working at the helm of large institutions. The Canadian Arts Summit is a signature initiative in the Canadian arts and culture landscape that supports critical learning, development, exchange, collaboration and collective action in the field. Working with a rotating Steering Committee of arts leaders from across the country, alongside a team of dedicated staff colleagues, this event was a purpose-driven labour for me, aimed at inspiring meaningful engagement in the arts for all Canadians, while championing the benefits of arts and culture to government, business and the wider public. The Summit is a place where critical relationships develop, new ideas are seeded, innovative collaborations and partnerships are brokered, and future leaders emerge.
CAS22// Culture Next
The 2019 Summit "Transformations culturelles / Culture Shifts", held in Montreal for the first time since 2013, was all about social impact. Keynote speakers Dominic Champagne gave an impassioned plea for climate action while Ed Burtynsky shared insights on how to expand the profile of Canadian artists on the international stage. Among other highlights was the presentation by Mohsin El-Udin of #mewesyria on empathy as a pathway to change, as well as the impromptu performance given by Patrick Léonard of Les 7 Doigts de la Main when the Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez cancelled his engagement at the last minute due to a family emergency. A full account of the Summit is available online, including video recordings of speaker presentations.
CAS21// Engage Now
The 2018 Summit "EngageNOW", held at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, was all about cultural engagement. Diane Ragsdale’s keynote address about the relationship between ethics and aesthetics is worth taking the time to read. A full account of the Summit is available online, including video recordings of speaker presentations.
CAS20// CultureNEXT
May 12-14, 2017, Canada’s Sesquicentennial year, marked the 20th anniversary of the Canadian Arts Summit's. It was held at the historic Confederation Centre for the Arts in Charlottetown, PEI and welcomed a record 180 delegates from across the country. Together, we imagined the future of Canada’s creative life, explored issues of inclusion, evolving digital technologies, cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary intersections, and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
There were many highlights, but for me the most memorable one was a presentation by Aboriginal Healing Foundation Director Mike Degagné. He provided context about the evolution of Canada’s relationship with Indigenous Nations including the intent of treaty agreements and the eventual oppression, abuse and loss of identity of Indigenous people. Over 100 commitments to action were made and recorded by Summit delegates, signalling an intention to actively and personally steward reconciliation from among a group of influential change-makers within the cultural sector. A full account of the Summit is available online, including video recordings of key speaker remarks.
CAS 19//
In 2016, the 19th annual gathering of arts leaders, New Directions in Arts Leadership, was held at The Banff Centre, chaired by Ross Paul of Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre. Keynote speaker Sue Hoyle of the Clore Leadership Programme in the UK gave an inspired address, inviting delegates to reflect on how our cultural institutions can become agents for social cohesion, helping to deepen the understanding of different cultures and build a more open society.
CAS18//
The Summit hosted its 18th annual event - An Inspired Future for the Arts - in 2015 in Toronto at the newly opened Aga Khan Museum and the Canadian Film Centre. Chaired by David Binet, then Chair of the National Ballet of Canada, the two day program aimed to look to the horizon and imagine how arts institutions can both lead and adapt to change. Contemplating our collective future sparked discussions from the macro to the micro where delegates considered both big picture trends that are affecting our future, as well as the specific ways in which the industry is adapting to change.
CAS17//
The 2014 Summit, Transformation: Evolution or Revolution?, focused on how arts organizations can matter more to the communities they serve. Spearheaded by then McMichael Gallery Chair Upkar Arora, the event underwent a refreshing transformation this year, introducing a day of live streaming courtesy of The Banff Centre, as well as a fellowship program that sponsored a national group of seven diverse thought leaders from beyond the institutional pool of participants to join the conversation.
Organized by Business/Arts, in partnership with Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
