Feature ~ Blog

I recently had the pleasure of chairing the organizing committee for the annual “Indie Trade Forum” presented by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), an annual professional development forum for the independent theatre and dance community in Toronto. The ITF has been around for close to twenty years now – an impressive length of time for a professional development series!

This is my third time planning an ITF, first time as chair, and as I was running around on the day of the conference making sure the coffee was refilled, the sessions were beginning – and ending – on time, I had a few moments to think about why a forum such as this is so important, even vital, to the health of a community such as the performing arts.

The ITF is not like most professional development series’ that I’ve attended or heard about. It’s more of a community get-together. We have, in the past few years, encouraged attendees to really break out of their shell and become more familiar with one another. We all want to learn from the panelists that are presenting their topic of knowledge, but we can also learn from one another. One of the things I love the most about the ITF is watching the attendees at the top of the day stand up, tell everyone who they are, why they’re in attendance and see the connections take place.

Networking is key.

If everyone held all their secrets in all the time, everyone would be constantly re-inventing the wheel. What’s the point in that? By sharing and getting to know one another, we share our ideas, our struggles, failures, and victories … and the process that brought us there.

That is what we have tried to focus on at the ITF these past few years – to bring the community together and facilitate a discussion. That is a form of professional development in and of itself.

But I would encourage this type of discussion to go even further! Why does the discussion have to be in such a formalized setting? I think professional development can, and should, take place over a cup of coffee at a coffee shop. We shouldn’t be afraid to call up someone we look up to and ask them to have a chat … to sit down with them and pick their brains about a problem, question, or just to soak in any advice possible. I believe one-on-one talks can be the best kind of professional development out there.

However, I strongly encourage everyone to check out your local arts council and see what kind of professional development series they offer – or another arts organization like TAPA, the Cultural Careers Council of Ontario or other such organizations across the country. If you haven’t heard of Performance Creation Canada (PCC), check it out. It moves around the country and is produced twice a year – it is definitely worth checking out for a different kind of professional development.

And if you want to branch out of the arts a bit and experience something really cool, check out the “Camp” phenomenon that seems to be sweeping through the socially-conscious community. One of the more popular ones in Toronto is called Case Camp (http://www.casecamp.org). “Camps” are considered “un-conferences,” or the opposite of a formally organized conference. Camps usually take place in a social setting like a bar, have no more than 4 or 5 speakers who only have 15 minutes to speak and the rest of the time is spent fielding questions and getting ideas from the audience on the particular topic they’ve covered. This is a really great way to learn something new and meet some really fascinating people who may not necessarily work in the arts, but can offer a lot of great advice. And anyone can start a camp on any topic … like the Transit Camp that was recently held in Toronto regarding urban transportation. The Emerging Arts Professional Network is looking to create one for the arts community starting in the fall.

Whatever kind of professional development you seek out, remember that you are there to learn from the speakers, but you can also be one of the informed and you can learn from the other informed attendees around you!