Art from Acknowledging by Kris Alvarez. Art created by Jayda Delorme.
Untitled Peter Tripp Project by Johanna Bundon, Jayden Pfeifer, and Lee Henderson (Johanna Bundon pictured). Photo by Shelby Fenlon.
Extra ease and comfort in the making of art. A stronger connection of understanding and respect with the people I’m collaborating with.
Curtain Razors
Curtain Razors
Relational Models of Compassionate Support
Level UP! Strategy Area: Compassion Fund
Pilot Project: Investigating relational pathways for offering and providing support
Project Duration: 2022 – 2023 Season
Continuing to Implement: Yes
Resources Shared: Project Field Notes, Reflections from Consultations on Care, Testimonial from Artistic Associate, Kris Alvarez
About Curtain Razors
Location: Treaty 4 / Regina, Saskatchewan
Artistic Discipline: Theatre
Curtain Razors nurtures, develops, and presents original Saskatchewan work that challenges the boundaries of theatre and upholds the artist and audience as co-creators of live performance. We are committed to creative self-determination. We support local, interdisciplinary artists in developing unique, sustainable, and meaningful processes. We explore the boundaries of theatre—both in how we create and how we define what constitutes a theatrical event. Curtain Razors’ artistic leadership model, fully embraced in 2020, allows for a responsive quality and an expansive artistic vision. Six practicing artists share leadership in an intentional model that considers these questions:
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- How do we create sustainable organizational structure over time
- How do we appreciate multiple viewpoints and ways of being and seeing?
- How do we imprint the rhythm and idiosyncrasies of artistic practice in an organizational structure?
Curtain Razors Level UP! Project
Kris Alvarez, Johanna Bundon, Terri Fidelak, Joey Tremblay, Jayden Pfeifer, and Judy Wensel (Curtain Razors Associate team), act collectively as Curtain Razors’ artistic leadership. Desiring to offer a Compassion Fund for independent artists throughout their 2022–2023 offerings, but wanting to work in a different way, the Curtain Razors team explored and attended to the vulnerable aspects of offering, providing, and receiving support.
Project Highlights:
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- Ongoing conversations with the artists. Learning what kinds of supports were needed and what approaches to offering support would be most readily useful and accepted.
- Choosing face-to-face conversations instead of applications and forms. Responding to emergent needs with cash on hand and offering support through conversations.
Resources
Curtain Razors | Project Field Notes
About This Resource Curtain Razors shared these field notes in 2023 as part of their Balancing Act Level UP! Pilot Project. Their project included a Compassion Fund for artists that took a responsive and relational approach to offering and providing support.
Curtain Razors | Consultations on Care
About This Resource Artistic Associate, Johanna Bundon, consulted with three guiding artists who supported Curtain Razors's Level UP! Project: Fritz Pino, Curtain Razors Board Member; Pete Kytwayhat, Artist and single dad; and Erin Goodpipe, Artist and new parent....
Curtain Razors | Artist Testimonial
About This Resource Curtain Razors shared this Artist Testimonial from Artistic Associate, Kris Alvarez in 2023 as part of their Balancing Act Level UP! Pilot Project.
More Information
For more information about the Curtain Razors visit www.curtainrazors.ca.
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