In March 2017, the Canada Council hosted The Arts in a Digital World Summit in Montreal. Participants engaged in cross-sectoral discussions, which raised awareness of current technological realities while also furthering the collective capacity of the arts sector to meet the exciting possibilities of tomorrow.
The Summit was not about Digital Arts, which is recognized as an artistic discipline in the Council's new funding model programs, nor was it about using digital technologies to make art. Rather, it was a discussion about the transition and transformation of the Canadian arts sector to thrive in the digital era. The Summit sparked a series of crucial conversations within the arts community on how to scale up its use of digital technologies to reach a wider public and be more sustainable in the long term.
In March 2017, some 300 arts leaders, digital experts and strategic thinkers gathered at l'Arsenal, in Montreal, to participate in the Council's Arts in a Digital World Summit. With its hackathon-like format, the Summit's sessions, conferences, workshops and human libraries highlighted the importance of digital literacy, transformation and collaboration to take full advantage of digital's potential and the access and cultural engagement opportunities it offers.
USD 666 thousand (CAD 870 thousand)
A post-event survey was administered, and a recap is available on the Canada Council website:
https://canadacouncil.ca/spotlight/2017/06/recap-of-the-arts-in-a-digita...
Most of the participants expressed the desire to collaborate with people they met at the Summit in the future. Becoming "ambassadors" and bringing back info and messaging from the Summit to their communities were also noted as important for many participants.
This event gathered people together to discuss the countless changes brought about by the digital age; the philosophical, ethical and organizational transformations needed to adapt to it; the issue of digital literacy in the arts sector; and the endless potential of digital technologies to reach new audiences. The Summit also helped validate the approach the Canada Council would take with the Digital Strategy Fund, which was launched later in 2017