intro
We’re aka, a collective of artists, for artists.
We're led by three core members: Métis contemporary dance artist Jeanette Kotowich, dance artist and designer Deanna Peters, and street dance artist Victor Tran.
We also have “mirror” members… artists from other disciplines, who help us expand dance’s reach and relevance. There are three of them, too: photographer sharai mustatia, visual artist Evann Siebens, and media artist Sammy Chien.
Most of our work happens on unceded MST Territories, but Victor just moved to Tiohtià:ke, so we're stretching out across Turtle Island.
See the current + recent projects that aka's co-produced.
mandate
A producing and curating collective, aka offers empathetic artist-to-artist support on one another’s projects.
We put our skills into the circle, to share knowledge and resources. We ask each other for help. We hang out and talk. Our collective work supplies the comradeship and care that we’ve been missing as mid-career dance artists.
The dance sector’s in crisis. Instead of forming non-profit companies that bog us down in administration, aka’s in search of new artist support models that prioritize artistic process.
"sounding board" meeting w/ Evann Siebens
mission
As well as creating, parenting and touring, we’re ameliorating the systems that affect our dance work. Here’s how:
- We meet for monthly “sounding board” meetings where we test ideas and offer support.
- We conduct ongoing sector research, delving into new-to-us models that don’t usually appear in dance.
- We extend the discourse by sharing our findings, resources and dreams via a digital zine called moving manifesto.
core values
“It’s something I think about a lot, actually: how this energetic form is bounded, enabled, strangled, so often by the inert. Maybe this is why there is so little support for dancers…” — Claudia La Rocco
It’s crucial that our research involve movement. Dance is all about action. aka prioritizes movement in all our activities. How do we come together differently after moving? How does movement affect the way we think and communicate and dream?
aka asks: What are the possibilities in a “Moving Artist-Run Centre,” a decentered entity led by dance artists, that moves from place to place, and supports movement-based practices?
We think it can work. We’ll let you know :>
L to R: Jared Tobias Herring, Sekou Heru, Deanna Peters, Victor Tran + DJ Scott G
policies
Our policy is a two-fold groove: firstly, to spotlight and elevate the wisdom and practices rooted in BIPOC bodies; secondly, to champion indie artists who are the heartbeat of the arts sector.
aka mandates that at least 66% of our leadership and collaborators are BIPOC; that 88% of our budgets go to artists; and that we pay above minimum rates.
Led by Jeanette, aka enacts decolonial approaches to better understand our connection to one another, to nature/land, and embodied knowledge of universal kinship.
aka prioritizes artistic process over bureaucratic work. We eschew corporate platforms in favour of DIY, open-source and grassroots initiatives.
One advantage of being excluded from systemic power is that we’ve had to be effective with very little. We've got the tools and solutions for what's happening now. Our model isn't just timeless; it's stepping up to tackle the scarcity issues in present and long-standing struggles.
background
As a collective of independent artists, we find ourselves at the bottom of a hierarchy with more established institutions. We’re caught in a harmful cycle of sustaining those 'above us' in the form of unpaid labour, self-taught skills and creative energy.
We’re repeatedly told that funds will ‘trickle down’ to independent artists from larger organizations, a demonstrably false assertion. Historically, non-operating organizations, collectives and independent artists all applied together for funding. Yet during the pandemic, almost all relief funding was NOT available to independent artists.
Too often the artists who provide the content for festivals, programs, exhibitions, etc. are paid the least. Death to box office splits, pitch events and unfair pay rates!
With so much focus on ‘emerging artists’ lately, aka asks: emerging into what?! What comes after the first few gigs? What supports are there to extend and mature in our careers?
We each mentor other artists, and have colleagues coming to us for support. We want to give this support, but we’re burning out. With 1%–15% success rates on grants and other applications, conditions in our sector need to change.
As a collective, we can access funds not directly available to independent artists. We also partner with organizations to sponsor our applications for funding when we’re not eligible. We innovate within the system to lift each other up.
post-show talkback w/ interplay_2022 artists + audience
support aka
If you’re interested in connecting and supporting aka's activities, please email us +/or follow @aka_th3r3al.
Not being paid for our labour is unsustainable. aka seeks support via grants, residencies, partnerships and donations.