Anishinaabekwe selected for Toronto Arts Foundation’s ArtWorksTO: Indigenous Program

By Rick Garrick

TORONTO — Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory’s Avalonne Flamand is looking forward to creating a production video for an organization in Toronto through the Toronto Arts Foundation’s ArtWorksTO: Indigenous Program. Flamand is one of six Indigenous media artists working across disciplines, including graphic design, digital illustration, videography/film, photography, and tattooing, who were selected for the first cohort of the program, which is a culturally grounded, paid workforce development initiative for artists aged 18-35.

“Right now, my main focus is on videography and filming,” Flamand says. “I’ve been all over Ontario doing filming and production work and I kind of want to branch off and start to create connections over Ontario to one day create my own film.”

Flamand says she first got involved with film by doing background acting in North Bay.

“I found an interest into film and I kept going to do my background, and the more I was learning about the production, I wanted to learn more of behind the scenes instead of being in front of the camera,” Flamand says. “I found Toronto was the spot to be for filming because there’s multiple different programming, there’s multiple different production companies.”

The ArtWorksTO: Indigenous Program includes a $5,000 paid creative contract with partner organizations; credentialed training through OCAD University; mentorship from Indigenous media professionals; workshops centred on wellness and cultural practice, including full-moon sharing circles; and a culturally grounded learning environment where Indigenous worldviews guide the work. The other Indigenous media artists in the program are Ameena Buchanan, Brenna Nanie, Brianna Wheeler, Glamma Kimaiyo, and Sarah Carmichael.

“We just completed our (OCAD) course, we are now putting our work into the field to finish off our final project that is due in April,” Flamand says. “We’ve already completed our bids and we are just waiting for our $5,000 contracts and we’ll find out who we get partnered up with.”

Flamand says she applied to some videography bids that involved the creation of small production videos for organizations in Toronto.

“We had to submit three bids,” Flamand says. “We don’t know what we’re going to get yet until the end of this month (March).”

Kennedy Salloum, program lead for the Indigenous ArtWorksTO cohort, says the participants are paired with a media arts project through the bids process.

“The projects are determined before the program starts,” Salloum says, noting that different organizations, companies or government bodies apply to have a media arts project done. “The participants pick their top three favourites and they make bids for the projects, so it’s basically like a pitch that kind of summarizes their ideas for the project and who they are as artists.”

Salloum says the ArtWorksTO: Indigenous Program is similar to the ArtWorksTO: Youth Program.

“The only differences between the Indigenous Program and the Youth Program is that we wanted to space it out more, so we want to give more time while they’re doing their OCAD University course, and more time with their mentors and more time to complete the projects, too,” Salloum says. “We also have sharing circles, which is new, so every month, we get together. There is an opening from an Indigenous Elder and then we basically just talk about how the program is going and how everyone is feeling — that’s been helping a lot I think with program retention and the participants feeling like they’re being supported.”

ArtWorksTO is a partnership between the Toronto Arts Foundation, the City of Toronto, and OCAD University that has been connecting creatives since 2015 to paid contracts, mentorship, and hands-on skills training, and helping build meaningful and sustainable careers in Toronto’s creative industries.

“ArtWorksTO helps artists nurture, explore, and redefine their creative practice,” says Angie Aranda, senior manager, arts and community development at the Toronto Arts Foundation. “What began as an initiative supporting Indigenous, Black, and Persons of Colour (IBPOC) youth entering the creative industries has grown into a thriving initiative with three distinct programs: Youth, Newcomer, and Indigenous. Each one opens doors to equity-deserving artists and organizations who continue to face disproportionate barriers to funding, resources, and visibility.”