Call For Artists: tdsbCREATES Artist Roster – 2023-2024 & 2024-2025
tdsbCREATES celebrates student voice and creativity through the arts while honouring the unique and powerful exchanges that take place between professional artists, teachers, and students in TDSB schools across the city. tdsbCREATES is presented by the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Arts Council with support from Prologue Performing Arts. Each year, students are encouraged to explore the festival theme through artistic creation in one or more of the arts.
More information about tdsbCREATES can be found on the tdsbCREATES website.
A roster of artists supports the following tdsbCREATES initiatives:
- Residency Program (grades 1-8)
- Mentorship Program (grades 7-12)
About Residency and Mentorship:
Toronto-based artists in all arts disciplines are invited to submit an application to work with students during tdsbCREATES in two ways:
1. Residency Program:
- Timeframe: October 2023 – January 2024
- Working with students in grades 1-8
- Structure: Each residency is five full days working in two classrooms (120 minutes of instructional time with each class per day)
- Residency Launch: Artists will participate in a mandatory pre-planning and professional learning day with teachers in advance of the residency.
Residency Remuneration:
- Residency Launch Day = $365.00
- Planning Day (completed by artist after residency launch) = $365.00
- 5 residency days in school = $1,825.00
TOTAL = $2,555.00
2. Mentorship Program:
- Timeframe: February – April 2024
- Working with students in grades 7-12
- Structure: Each mentorship school will receive between 6 – 7.5 hours of mentorship depending on school needs and number of participants. There may be opportunities for artists to mentor at multiple schools.
Mentorship brings artists to TDSB classrooms to work with teachers and students in grades 7-12 throughout the creative process as students are developing their original work. Mentors are not facilitating workshops but rather are there to support students and collaborate with teachers. The role of the mentor artist is to provide feedback on work and ask guiding questions, help students clarify their message and connection to the theme, assist students with the development of specific techniques or skills, as well as help students realize their artistic goals.
Mentorship Remuneration:
Grade 7-8 mentorship:
1 hour planning with teacher
1 hour personal planning
7.5 hours in class (5 sessions x 1.5 hours)
TOTAL: 9.5 hours = $693.50
Grade 9-12 mentorship:
1 hour planning with teacher
1 hour personal planning
6 hours in class (4 sessions x 1.5 hours)
TOTAL: 8 hours = $584
Requirements:
- Experience working with students in guiding them through a creative process
- Demonstrated ability to take actions that promote Equity, Anti-Racism, and Anti-Oppression
- Learn more about the TDSB’s commitment to Equity, Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression
- Willingness to collaborate with teachers to develop unique mentorship/ residency plans that reflect the students in the classroom and meets their needs
Application Process:
For tdsbCREATES 2023-2024, the focus of hiring will be artists working in visual and media arts as well as drama, however, we are open to applications from artists that work in all styles and media within each artistic discipline. Below is a list with some examples of areas of interest for mentorship and residency:
- Visual Arts, Film, Media Arts (painting, drawing, photography, film, sculpture, mixed media, etc.)
- Drama (script writing, process drama, physical theatre, improv etc.)
- Dance (all forms)
- Spoken Word (poetry, rap, choral speaking, monologues, storytelling etc.)
- Music (group improv/composition, song writing, digital production, instrument creation)
- Fashion
- Multidisciplinary (combinations of multiple artforms)
tdsbCREATES takes place in person and artists may be connected to support any school across the geography of the TDSB. Artists must be available to travel to schools to work with classes in person. We welcome applications from artists across Toronto, including from artists that live outside the downtown core.
Please note, working on the tdsbCREATES roster does not grant you partnership with the TDSB.
Eligibility
To be eligible to work with the tdsbCREATES program, applicants must be professional artists.
A professional artist is someone who has developed their skills through training and/or practice; is recognized as such by artists working in the same artistic tradition; actively practices their art; seeks payment for their work; and has a history of public presentation.
Applicants must be Canadian Citizens, or Permanent Residents (Landed Immigrants), or have an application pending for Permanent Resident status, or be a Protected Person (approved refugee claimant).
We strongly encourage applications from those who self-identify as Black, Persons of Colour, Deaf Persons, Persons with Disabilities, Persons Living with Mental Illness, Indigenous Artists, 2SLGBTQIAP Artists, newcomer and refugee artists, young and emerging artists, and artists working outside the downtown core.
Artists must have been a resident of the City of Toronto (“M” postal code) for at least one year prior to the application deadline, and live and work in Toronto for at least 8 months a year. A post office box address cannot be used to meet the residency requirement.
Artists working in TDSB schools (all positions) are required to provide an approved Vulnerable Sector Screening (through Toronto Police Services)
Application Details – How to apply
To be considered for the tdsbCREATES roster, please complete the application by following the link below.
Application Form – please fill out the tdsbCREATES Artist Roster application form and send your resume to [email protected]
Application deadline: The application will be open year round. Applications will be reviewed twice during the year: September 2023 for tdsbCREATES 2023-2024 and April 2024 for tdsbCREATES 2024-2025. Please note that the program structure may change for tdsbCREATES 2024-2025.
If this model of submitting an application doesn’t work for you, please don’t hesitate to contact [email protected] and we will find an alternative method that works for you.
If you have any questions, contact [email protected]
tdsbCREATES is a unique partnership of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and the Toronto Arts Council, with administrative support from Prologue Performing Arts.
