CREATING AND CONNECTING IN A VIRTUAL WORLD

Connecting artists with communities across Saskatchewan has been at the heart of our work since 1992. Bringing people together in a province whose population density is under two people per square kilometre means that increased costs, time, and environmental barriers (such as extreme weather) are always factors in program development. When the COVID-19 pandemic further restricted our ability to physically connect, our team investigated the integration of virtual platforms into our practices. This was the impetus to engage Lacy Alana, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, educator, and multidisciplinary artist, to develop training sessions on working with communities online. 

Lacy provided a unique, expansive approach to virtual workshop design and facilitation, sharing knowledge with our team and the broader arts community. Training began with a free public workshop, Creating and Connecting in a Virtual World, which was attended by over 40 Saskatchewan artists and arts professionals from organizations including MacKenzie Art Gallery, SK Arts, Regina Folk Festival, Dunlop Art Gallery, Remai Modern, and the Regina Improvisation Studies Centre. The workshop shared tools for engagement within the Zoom platform and addressed challenges, including how to create a safe and accessible space online. Feedback from this session was positive, with participants stating they would be applying what they learned immediately. 

Following the public workshop, Lacy ran a five-week artist training series with our Artistic Directors and nine Common Weal Project Artists, creating an intimate space for connection and artistic dialogue. Participants explored how to adapt their community practices for a virtual environment and worked through the challenges and creative opportunities that online platforms offer. Lacy shared insight on how to leverage tools like Zoom while prioritizing participant privacy, safety, and ownership of their experience. This supported training participants in online facilitation strategies focused on workshop design, use of language, and modeling of inclusive and transparent behaviours to meet needs that would otherwise be met in person and reduce barriers to virtual participation. Many of the artists who participated in the training series work with other organizations in the province, meaning the tools they learned will support not just Common Weal programming but also their work with FadaDance, Listen to Dis’, Sum Theatre, Buffalo People Arts Institute, and beyond.