Arts Mentorship for Newcomer Women

The Cause

Background
In 2021 Handsome Alice embarked on a project called Uprooted. It was a storytelling workshop and theatrical presentation for women new to Canada. The purpose of Uprooted was building connections and skills among the participants and for audiences to gain understanding of the experiences of new Canadians. We developed the concept with focus groups through Calgary Centre for Newcomers; because we aim for our art to be a service to the community and thus our offerings are built by the people they benefit #ArtWithHeart. Uprooted was such a success we offered a second round in 2023. It was during these sessions that two of our participants came forward asking for mentorship in producing their own creative works and learning about the Canadian arts industry in order to take on arts administration work.

We believe this is needed because women immigrants and refugees often experience feelings of isolation based on the many barriers they may encounter upon arriving in Canada. In speaking with newcomer artists, many of them expressed that finding connections to the arts community proves very difficult. We determined that this mentorship is necessary to serve as a bridge bringing newcomers and our local theatre scene together.
The Big Plan
Together Handsome Alice and our interns have developed a mentorship program. Over the course of the next year our plan includes
1. Monthly meetings about core topics pertaining to art making in Canada including: Grant Writing and Funding, Marketing and Communications, Box Office and Front of House, Contracting and hiring artists, Creative project development.
2. Networking opportunities for the mentees to make connections in the arts community by:
• Attending Arts Events (Many organisations offer complimentary tickets for this type of outreach)
• Hosting an opening night meet and greet for the upcoming Handsome Alice production in March 2025.
3. Obtain practical experience – Interns will take on aspects of producing Handsome Alice projects along with, Sage Theatre’s Ignite festival in June 2025. We are excited about the partnership with Sage Theatre as another avenue for our interns to build working relationships in the local arts scene.
We are so excited to embark on this special project, these kinds of programs don’t exist in formal training, and learning how to do this special kind of work can take a lot of trial and error which is a barrier for newcomers to Canada.

Who Will it Benefit?

The Newcomer Arts Mentorship has many far reaching benefits for individuals and the greater community.
1. The primary beneficiaries will be our interns, they are the centre of the project. The key outcomes we have collectively identified for them are:
o Hands-on experience producing theatre, so in the future they can both produce their own creative works and will have practical skills they can lend to other arts organisations.
o Developing their professional network, this inevitably leads to more working opportunities. (Working in the arts is primarily contract based, often described as gig work. The great news is work leads to work, because as arts workers make connections on their projects those connections lead to the next gig.)
At Handsome Alice we know establishing a network while gaining practical experience will lead our interns to future contracts.
2. The next to benefit is the Calgary theatre scene. The local arts scene is short on producers! We are in need of this vital role to deliver our creative projects to audiences. Infusing our community with unique perspectives and diverse cultural practices along with practical skills unique to Canadian art making will certainly add to the vibrancy to the local theatre landscape.
3. Finally Handsome Alice benefits from the Newcomer Arts Mentorship by increasing our capacity for outreach. When we engage with new art voices our ability to produce compelling theatre grows. Our mandate is met when we provide creative opportunities for women in our city, and we are thrilled to continually learn how to innovate new ways to connect with our community.