2024 Connections & Exchanges Initiatives grant recipients

The Connections & Exchanges Initiatives program was created in 2019 as an opportunity for arts and festival organizations to contribute to the actions of the Connections & Exchanges 10- year plan. Through this program, the EAC invests in new and existing arts and heritage activity, enables resiliency and innovation, invests in collaborations and creations, supports the artistic work of not-for-profit organizations. 

In 2024, 32 applications were recommended for funding, for a total investment of $703,203.

Learn more about the recommended projects below: 

A Joyful Noise Choir will commission and première a major choral piece from Canadian composer Stephanie Martin to mark the organization’s 20^th anniversary. 

African Society for Culture, Economic Development and Arts organized Africanival from June 8 – 9, 2024, celebrating Black heritage with vibrant performances, vendors, and diverse cultural activities that promoted community and inclusivity. 

Art Gallery of Alberta is dedicated to removing barriers that exclude marginalized groups from equitable participation. Their project aims to address these barriers through improved accessibility of interpretation and programming. 

Arts on the Ave will engage with local artists to bring healing to the Alberta Avenue District after over 200 devastating fires in the community over the past two years. 

Azimuth Theatre will launch the Constellation Crossover – Mentorship Series which will connect local artists with diverse national performers at the 2025 Expanse Festival for meaningful cross-cultural exchange and artistic development. 

Ballet Edmonton​’s 2024/25 tour will see the company presented at the prestigious Fall for Dance North international dance festival in Toronto, the Banff Centre, and two communities in BC. 

Citadel Theatre will hold a one-week workshop with local actors and orchestra performers, and free public concerts, as part of the creation process for a new musical in December 2024. 

CRIPSiE will offer four technical production workshops for disabled artists, in partnership with a theatre technician, from November 2024 to March 2025. 

Common Ground Arts will present two large-scale independent theatre productions to elevate local theatre-makers while developing the organization’s capacity for more consistent artistic presentations. 

Edmonton Jazz Festival will deliver an inaugural presentation of jazz repertoire showcasing the rich talent of local musicians featuring a collaboration with the Edmonton Jazz Orchestra and members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. 

Edmonton Poetry Festival will produce a poetry anthology called ​“The Twenty” featuring 20 young Edmonton poets under the age of 20 to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the Edmonton Poetry Festival. 

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra will collaborate with Platypus Theatre to film and release Charlotte and the Music Maker, an innovative children’s show featuring original music and illustrations by Canadian artists. 

Firefly Theatre and Circus’ Studio Residency program will foster and support professional development for six emerging contemporary circus artists based in the Edmonton region. 

GeriActors will produce FEST, a unique festival celebrating senior and intergenerational theatre. The festival will showcase the skills and talents of older adults through various performances, workshops, and networking events. 

Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation will launch the Newcomer Arts Professional Program (NAPP) in Edmonton, offering paid mentorship to newcomer arts professionals. 

Latitude 53 will work with artists to create miniature works for a toy capsule machine that will be housed at Latitude 53 and pop up around Edmonton. Workshops will be programmed alongside the launch of each piece.

Meet with Pride Association will present Edmonton Drag Fest, a vibrant and diverse festival celebrating the art of drag. The festival offers a platform for drag artists to showcase their talents and express themselves creatively.

The Mexican Society of Edmonton​’s collaborative art project, Alas Para Volar, will support Mexican-Canadian artists in creating works that reflect their migration journeys, culminating in a travelling exhibition that will be on display across Canada.

Mile Zero Dance will launch a new production residency designed to support artists in dance, choreography, and performance who are ready to put the finishing touches on their performances, with support from Mile Zero Dance.

Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts will support 12 artists with developmental disabilities in their work with an award-winning artist from Sri Lanka (now based in Edmonton) to create a sculpture created from recycled materials.

Northern Light Theatre will engage three emerging stage management graduates (Kade Mazury, Isabelle Martinez and Julian Padalec) to be mentored by established and award-winning professional Production Manager, Tiana MacLean.

Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre Society will showcase the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre through a weekend of sessions featuring songs and stories of four Edmonton musical communities: blues to rock, Celtic folk, hip hop, and electronica.

Orchesis Dance Society will bring African drum music, dance, and storytelling to elderly residents in Edmonton. The program promotes physical, emotional, and social wellbeing while fostering a greater appreciation for cultural diversity.

Ortona Armory Tenant’s Association​’s project Ortona Diaspora will be a unique opportunity for the Ortona Armoury Arts Community at large to assemble, celebrate, and share their artwork, showcasing varied art mediums and engaging the public with visual art group shows; film screenings; sound and music performances; a late-night variety show; an all-ages free drawing marathon; and a dance party with projection art.

Punctuate! Theatre will hold an inaugural fall intensive for four Edmonton-based playwrights to polish and finalize four new plays.

Shadow Theatre will develop and produce the new Canadian play by Neil Grahn, The Battles of Francis Pegahmagabow, about an Indigenous WWI hero and political leader.

SkirtsAfire aims to support a roster of local women playwrights, starting with award- winning playwright, Louise Casemore, in developing and workshopping her new play about female whistleblowers, Put Your Lips Together.

SNAP will host ​“In Community: Expand Edition”, an artist residency and mentorship initiative to provide studio space, technical support, materials, and financial resources to a cohort of four local print-adjacent artists.

Sugar Swing Dance​’s Lindy Harvest 2025 will offer a significant, unique expansion in their annual festival, celebrating the music and dance of the swing era with live music, dance classes, cultural presentations, competitions, and performances.

The ToneArt Collective will use a poem by Natasha Riddell as a prompt for local photographers; each will present an image at a local gallery night, alongside a reading of the poem.

Theatre Yes will present The Doorstep Plays, one-act plays that can activate sites anywhere in Edmonton – including your own backyard! Theatre Yes will commission emerging Edmonton Playwrights to create these pieces.

Young Alberta Book Society will work with local literary artists and role-playing game facilitators to provide collaborative storytelling workshops for youth at no cost to the participants.