Tuesday February 7, 2023

Navigating the Artworld with Dr. Syrus Marcus Ware and Elsa Robinson

Online Webinar • Register on Eventbrite

This Black History Month, The Art Gallery of Alberta and CARFAC Alberta are excited to have Dr. Syrus Marcus Ware and Elsa Robinson speak on the topic of how to navigate the artworld from their perspective and experiences. This professional development program is open to artists and cultural workers who are looking for advice and resources in building their career in the arts in Canada. Highlighting experiences, education, and opportunities that showcase the artistic and cultural contributions of Black artists and cultural workers in Canada.

You can participate in this hour-long program online through watching our free livestream. At the end of this program, we will reserve time for an audience Q&A. Please register in advance.

This program is part of a partnership between CARFAC Alberta and the Art Gallery of Alberta, which supports the professional development of creatives in Alberta.

This event is free, registration required. Get tickets

About the Speakers

Dr. Syrus Marcus Ware
Dr. Syrus Marcus Ware is an Assistant Professor at the School of the Arts at McMaster University. A Vanier scholar, visual artist, activist, curator and educator, Ware uses painting, installation, and performance to explore social justice frameworks and black activist culture. His work has been shown widely across Canada in solo and group shows, and his performance works have been part of local and international festivals. He is part of the Performance Disability Art Collective and a cofounder of Black Lives Matter-Canada. Syrus is curator of the That’s So Gay show and a co-curator of Blackness Yes!/Blockorama. In addition to penning a variety of journals and articles, Syrus is the co-editor of the best-selling Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada (URP, 2020).

Elsa Robinson
Elsa Robinson is an Edmonton-based mixed media artist, sculptor and painter whose decades-long devotion to artistic practice has imbued her work with vibrancy, versatility and an intuitive spiritual poignancy. Through her years of study, both as a self-taught artist and as a graduate of the University of Alberta’s Art and Design program, Elsa has honed the ability to transmit, through a range of visual modes, her deep love and care for humanity.

Through careful attention to colour, shape, texture, intuition and the power of cultural symbols, Elsa is able to express the notions of love, friendship, inner strength, equality and ancestral connection that most powerfully guide her own life. For her ability to distill, in the space of a single image, the wisdom and experiences that are most important to the human condition, Elsa Robinson has become a celebrated and award-winning artist. Most notably, Elsa was the recipient of the 2012 Fill Fraser Award for Outstanding Work in Visual Arts, as awarded by the National Black Coalition of Canada.

CARFAC Saskatchewan / CARFAC Alberta Wednesday Webinar

Know Your Copy/Rights: A Copyright Primer for the Visual Arts
with Sydney Lancaster and Marcia Lea

Wednesday February 8, 2023 6:30-8:00pm MST / 7:30-9:00pm CST

Register on Eventbrite

This webinar will cover copyright basics such as what is copyright, what are moral rights, how copyright is related to artists’ fees and other sources of revenue. There will be some discussion on how COVA-DAAV manages copyright for artists, the recent extension of copyright protection to 70 years, the acquisition of SOCAN’s visual arts portfolio and the potential for the Artist Resale Right in Canada.

Sydney Lancaster is a practicing visual artist and writer based in Amiskwacîy/Edmonton in Treaty 6/Metis Region #4 Territory & Mtaban/Wolfville in unceded Mi’kmaw Territory. She has served the visual arts community regionally and nationally on the boards of CARFAC Alberta, CARFAC National, and Copyright Visual Arts/COVA-DAAV. Her professional training includes a certificate in Canadian Copyright Law.

Marcia Lea is a visual artist working primarily with paint and installation. She graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Ottawa, with an exhibition at Galerie Axe Neo-7 in Gatineau, Quebec. She has exhibited across Canada, in the United States and Great Britian. Her artworks are included in collections such as the Bank of Canada, Toronto Stock Exchange, City of Ottawa, CIBC and Omex Middleware of Zurich. She has a long association with CARFAC and is currently on the Board of Directors for Access Copyright and is Executive Director of Copyright Visual Arts (COVA-DAAV).

This session is hosted and moderated by Chris W. Carson (Executive Director, CARFAC Alberta) + Wendy Nelson (Executive Director, CARFAC Saskatchewan). In this ninety-minute session, Sydney Lancaster and Marcia Lea will presnt for the first hour, leaving time for all your questions about copyright.

Join us on Wednesday February 8 and learn more about what rights you have as an artist. Register on Eventbrite for this online webinar. Free for all CARFAC members across Canada. $25.00 for non-members. If you cannot afford the fee, email general@carfacalberta.com.

Grant Writing (presented by Elephant Artist Relief) online
Wednesday February 15

Elephant Artist Relief and CARFAC Alberta are teaming up to provide a professional development session on how to write a grant. This session will feature tips from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and Calgary Arts Development.

This is a free workshop. Register for this session online.