US and Canada Elections: A Primer for Arts, Culture and Creative Industries

Cultural Policy Hub at OCAD U

Join the Cultural Policy Hub at OCAD U, PAA Advisory | Conseils  as we prepare for the upcoming elections in the US and Canada.

What are the current dynamics at play for the upcoming Canadian and United States elections? What do Canada’s arts &amp; culture sectors and creative industries need to be aware of, politically and strategically? What can Canadians learn from our neighbours to the south in how they are preparing for their elections? What are some of the key election issues impacting our sectors and industries?Join the Cultural Policy Hub at OCAD U, PAA Advisory | Conseils and our panelists to get the current political intel and strategic considerations as we prepare for the upcoming elections.Panelists: Jamie Bennett (Interim co-CEO, Americans for the Arts), Andrew Walker (Director Arts, Culture and Procurement, PAA Advisory | Conseils) and Karla Etienne (Executive Director of the Canadian Dance Assembly).Moderated by Tara Mazurk (Senior Counsel, Arts &amp; Nonprofit, PAA Advisory | Conseils), with an introduction by Miriam Kramer (Executive Director, Government &amp; Community Relations and Public Policy, OCAD U).

About the Speakers:

Jamie Bennett (he/him) is the interim co-CEO of Americans for the Arts, working alongside Suzy Delvalle. Through a partnership with Lord Cultural Resources, Jamie consults with nonprofits, philanthropy, and governments across rural, suburban, Tribal, and urban geographies. Previously, Jamie was the Executive Director of ArtPlace America, interim CEO of United States Artists and Chief of Staff at the National Endowment for the Arts in President Obama’s administration and at the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in Mayor Bloomberg’s administration. Jamie worked at the Agnes Gund Foundation, New York Philharmonic, The Museum of Modern Art, and Columbia University. Jamie lives, works, worships, and plays in Brooklyn, NY and Toronto, Canada and has been sober since 2009.

Karla Etienne (she/her) is the Executive Director of the Canadian Dance Assembly and co-artistic director of Furies Festival in Gaspésie. She is a dance artist who has worked with Zab Maboungou/Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata for more than 20 years. Karla Etienne has a degree in environment and cultural management and continues to contribute as a performer, mentor, advisor and new philanthropist to artists and arts organizations. Interested in community philanthropy, she is co-founder and co-chair of Philanthropic Conversations in Culture. Her commitment is recognized today, notably for the renewal of cultural policies concerning equity in the field of art, on all levels of practice, management and dissemination with the institutions and organizations that are responsible, including the Conseil des arts de Montréal. In 2021, she received the Nyata Nyata Stellar Award for service to the greater dance community.

Andrew Walker (he/him) is the Director (Arts, Culture and Procurement) for PAA. He has extensive experience in both provincial and federal politics, technology, arts, and culture advocacy, and as a working professional musician. Andrew speaks both English and French and brings his experience and expertise to help PAA clients achieve their advocacy goals. Based in Ottawa, Andrew has previously worked for Members of Parliament in both government and opposition, including the former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. He also has extensive experience in the advocacy sector, having worked for TECHNATION, an association representing over three hundred technology companies that work in Canada. Andrew has also worked in advocacy for over thirty arts and culture organisations, ranging in interests from arts infrastructure funding and grant applications to cultural policies, such as broadcasting and copyright. Andrew is also a working professional musician, having sung for over fifteen years with Grammy- and Juno-nominated groups around Canada, Ontario, and abroad. He is currently President of Choirs Ontario, the arts service organisation which represents over 1 000 choirs, musicians, and administrators across the province of Ontario.

Tara Mazurk (she/her) is PAA’s Senior Counsel for Arts &amp; Nonprofit. She brings over 10 years of experience in arts management and cultural policy, with a particular focus on the not-for-profit and charitable sector, network stewardship and coalition-building Tara joined PAA in 2022. Her expertise in policy writing, strategic monitoring, and stakeholder engagement helps clients easily work in systems environments to affect policy. She also manages and delivers arts advocacy training through PAA and OCAD U’s micro-credential course in arts advocacy: Developing Effective Government Relations and Advocacy Strategies for Canadian Arts Organizations, which runs yearly. Outside of her work at PAA, Tara helped co-found Mass Culture, a Canadian cultural research network. She also teaches Cultural Policy at Centennial College, has an active visual arts practice, and runs group meditation, mindfulness and wellness programs.

Miriam Kramer (she/her) is a senior government and community relations professional. Miriam has more than 20 years’ experience working in policy, research, community relations and advocacy. She has a strong research background and is a professionally trained focus group facilitator. As OCAD U’s Executive Director of Government &amp; Community Relations and Public Policy, Miriam is responsible for public and community relations, strategy, policy and funding, accumulatively, leading the university’s multi-tiered government relations portfolio. Miriam is on the STEPS Board of Directors, was a CivicAction DiverseCity Fellow in 2014/15 and a Maytree Policy School Fellow in 2020/21.

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US and Canada Elections: A Primer for Arts, Culture and Creative Industries

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