The three key areas where I offer my services (in any combination):
advising
… for advice about art and the ecological crisis, including adaptation strategies, artistic programming, artistic assessments, eco-anxiety, foresight, government relations, greening practices, visioning, etc.
I enjoy exploring ideas and possibilities, but also how to get there. My experience at the Canada Council was both operational (managing the granting programs of the Inter-Arts Office for 17 years) and strategic (working with program directors and senior management on policy, planning, training, community relations, greening of operations, etc for 4 years). Before that I was a composer and event producer mostly in acoustic ecology and soundscape composition but I was also an arts administrator in various roles. I’m now interested in helping artists and arts organizations understand and adapt to the climate emergency, but also how to draw upon upon the ‘unique value proposition’ of the arts, as Dr. David Maggs writes in ‘Art and the World After This‘, and create a mass movement of change. Anything less seems like a a waste of time.
Speaking
… for speaking on panels or at events, including brainstorming sessions, consultations, debates, meetings, retreats, evaluations, facilitation, etc. about any artistic or cultural activity, notably my specialty in art and the ecological crisis.
I enjoy engaging in conversations with artists. That is why I’ve produced 100 episodes of the conscient podcast so far, which has allowed me to deepen my knowledge about art and the ecological crisis from thought leaders and to share this knowledge. My focus now is on the urgent need for dialogue within the arts and with other sectors, as Shannon Litzenberger points out in e90 shannon litzenberger – state of emergence : why we need artists right now. My facilitation method is simple : ask good questions, actively listen, make sure all voices are heard and help shape a positive outcome from the conversation.
creating
… for creative activities, including journalistic content (such as a podcast or radio series), the creation of original sound works or collaborations on cross-sectoral artistic projects.
I’m a composer by training and have always had sound as a through-line in my work and life. Now, as a (semi) retired person, I have some freedom to create art work and cultural products. For example, episode 99 of the conscient podcast is called ‘winter diary revisited‘ and is a soundscape composition dedicated to the memory of the great composer and educator R. Murray Schafer, based on an unpublished essay that Schafet wrote after a 10-day field recording trip that he and I undertook to rural Manitoba, in February 1997, to record a radio program about winter soundscapes for the West German radio. This is the kind of work that excites me deeply : the layering of words and soundscapes to create new listening contexts. I’m open to collaborations.
