Thank you from Ontario Presents
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And that's a wrap on Contact ONtour 2022! We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation, thanks, and gratitude to everyone who made this year's Contact ONtour a wonderful success.
Over the past couple of years, the touring and performing arts sector have been presented with challenges under the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of these challenges, Ontario Presents continues to provide opportunities to build and foster connections and relationships because we believe in the strength and resilience of our community.
To the agents, artists, facilitators, funders, managers, speakers, sponsors, staff, volunteers, and well-wishers—we extend our deepest thanks and gratitude. Without you, there would be no Contact ONtour.
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We Send our Thanks and our Gratitude
The team at Ontario Presents extends our gratitude and appreciation to our Contact ONtour Advisory Circle, Host Committee, Selection Committee, Contact ONtour crew, workshop leaders, venue staff and crew for their invaluable insights and contributions as we planned this year's Contact ONtour.
Advisory Circle:
Glenn Brown, Danielle Lefebvre, Pam Patel, Crazy Smooth
Contact ONtour crew:
Allan Hoch, Leelind Keary, Dan Wood
Host Committee:
Stan Passfield, Wendy Fairbairn, Emma Ross, Don Atkinson, Julie Poore
The MCs:
Jesse Cook, Kate Hilliard, Michael Martyn
Selection Committees
Michael Grit, Derek Hines, Andrew Kwan, JP Longboat, Katharine Myers
Workshop Leaders and Facilitators
Don Bourgeois, Alex Glass, Michael Grit, Kate Hilliard, Andrew Kwan, JP Longboat, Marcus Lundgren, Eoin Ó Catháin, Ross Paton, Tatiana Poluch, Stevie Tea
We send a huge chi miigwetch to Shawn Corbiere who started our mornings off in a good way and closed the circle on Saturday in sending those who remained off safely. To the staff and crew at the Orillia Opera House, St. Paul's Centre, and Creative Nomad Studios: we express gratitude for your hospitality and hosting. We send our thanks and recognition to Ruth Howorth of Sunray Group, our ambassadors, and to the many others who contributed and worked behind the scenes to make Contact ONtour possible. To all of the artists, agents, and presenters who participated in focus groups over the past two years and contributed their perspectives and suggestions to help us improve Contact ONtour - Thank you!
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Showcase and Pitch Artists
We send our thanks to the collective of visionary artists who applied to be a part of this year's conference. Our jury had the difficult task of selecting this year's Showcase artists and Pitch artists, and we were so excited to see such a strong pool of artistic talent.
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Delegates who registered for the conference through the Brella app will have the opportunity to connect with artists and presenters after the conference. Access the notes, conversations, and connections made at the conference by visiting the event page under the "Past Events" tab in the mobile application or on the desktop application.
If you would like a refresher on each of our talented artists and their works, we welcome you to view the artists' profiles available on the Contact ONtour webpage.
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Funders & Sponsors
We give our special thanks and appreciation to the Ontario Presents Funders: The Department of Canadian Heritage, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council for the Arts for their continued support of the conference.
We would also like to thank our sponsors, event partners, and venue partners for supporting this year's conference: AASPAA Canada, ArtsBuild Ontario, Arts Orillia, Cheryl A Ewing Consulting, Creative Nomad Studios, the City of Orillia, Orillia Opera House, Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, Performing Arts Brampton, Shipyard Kitchen Party, Sustainable Orillia, St. Paul's Centre, and Sultans of String.
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Contact ONtour Hiatus — Time for Reflection and Rebuild
As we close the curtains on the conference, we are excited by the possibilities that 2023 holds for the touring and performing arts sector. We see this as an opportunity to measure what is happening in the sector, province, and nation to understand how to serve you better. Ontario Presents looks forward to engaging and learning from our community over the next two years as we continue towards building a revitalized and renewed program. We will continue to provide opportunities for agents, artists, managers, and presenters as we begin to critically interweave equity, diversity, inclusivity, accessibility, and decolonization (EDIAD) lenses into all of our work.
To learn more about our scheduled hiatus, read our statement on the Contact ONtour website. We will also be sending out a survey later on this week to understand how we can improve Contact ONtour from our community. Later this week, you will have the opportunity to share your thoughts with us from the conference in Orillia. We encourage you to look out for that email, as we are always keen to listen, learn, and understand how we can improve the ways that we support you.
We look forward to your feedback, and to what the future holds for the touring and performing arts community across Ontario.
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We thank you for joining us at this year's Contact ONtour conference,
and for being an important part of Ontario's live touring performing arts sector!
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