Walrus Arts Management is now (mostly) Indigenous Performance Productions, a non-profit company

It was mid/late 2015, I was working for a foundation serving Native artists when the idea first occurred to me. I had just attended the Western Arts Alliance Conference with Indigenous Performance Symposium in Vancouver, BC and I had come to realize that no matter how much money was granted to these exceptional Native performing artists - without the help of an agent, they would likely never truly break into the performing arts touring market. Six months later I had incorporated Walrus Arts Management and Consulting as an LLC and had taken on my first five clients (three of whom are are now clients of Indigenous Performance Productions).

This year, Walrus Arts Management transitioned all booking clients to Indigenous Performance Productions, a non-profit company. Simply put, the needs of touring Native performing artists are better suited by having a non-profit backing them - who can, among other things help them fund-raise for their projects, expand educational efforts and receive and distribute project monies. Also, as a production and tour management and booking company IPP can employ far more Native artists by matching need in the field with shows designed to fit this need that also speak truth (stories that are by Native people - rather than the predominant narrative in this country today which is written about Native people by non-natives).

As part of this transition, we are also able to expand our services and invite more Native performing artists to partner with us - through production projects such as show development or festivals and through our touring operations. For more information about opportunities please reach out to andre@indigenousperformance.org

You (probably) don't know all of what you think you know (and I don't either) - A reminder

We all like to be good at things, to know things and perhaps be the best at something or another. This, I think is human nature. It reassures us of our value and place in our community, within our family and within our work environment. The balance to the equation - the quality that prevents competent and confident people from becoming ****'s, is humility.

Humility is a quality that is a) all too rare in an increasingly specialized world, b) generally not valued in rooms where western white & male values dominate and c) has been, in my observation, a core value for the many many Native cultures that I have grown up with, worked with or been exposed to in some form or another. Humility is a value that I would encourage development of as progress is made towards ideas such as equity. It is a value that will serve you well if you wish to better understand the multitude of Nations that have inhabited Turtle Island (North America) since time immemorial.

In a time of the year that many people use to pause for self-reflection (which should be year-round really - really), I would like to encourage you to take a moment and let go of your attachment to being an expert, specialist or the like. Unless you are an elder - which I won't hazard to give you advice, because you are an elder. Humility makes for better humans, always.

Decolonizing Performing Arts: Doing things the right way

It takes time, thought and frequently humility to do really anything complicated well. This is frequently the largest barrier that I see in potential partner to engaging in Native arts and culture – the largest barrier to creating equity for Native performing artists. I recently was a panelist from a granting organization with national reach and I was struck that the few proposals that had any mention of Native performers or community were sparing in their approach, or used Canadian First Nations performers (nothing wrong with it but it is emblematic that US presenters have no idea that there are US Native performing artists they could engage with – sometimes who are in their regions). Caveat these observations within the context that I understand that many performing arts venues are consistently under-resourced with little time or money available for equity related training and less time than they generally need to do community engagement well. Having said this – here are some thoughts about how the performing arts industry **SHOULD** be moving forward with regards to equity and Native performing arts.

First, accept the fact that you don’t have the answers – you will have to ask for help. Humility is, in my experience, a core shared value in Native communities (at least around Turtle Island). Accept that you will make mistakes and resolve to take responsibility for these mistakes. It’s OK to make mistakes!

Second, it (probably) isn’t about you. Doing work in Native communities is about the community. For that matter, doing work for ANY community shouldn’t be about you. There is a common colonial mindset that your community needs to be educated. I would invite you to flip the script – what do you have to learn? The answer might not be apparent – it might unfold over time.

Third, you can do things faster, but it will take more money. The old saying: fast, cheap or good – choose two, applies here. Native communities are great at doing things on slim or non-existing budgets, but they take time, lots of time.

Fourth, you have to commit. It can’t be a one day a year type of thing. Sometimes it takes showing up for years to gain the trust of Indigenous communities. By committing I mean giving without expectation of receiving – time, energy and resources. When your commitment becomes clear to the Native community, they will start reciprocating (in my experience again).

#decolonize #NativeAmerican #performingarts #equity