Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre Co-Artistic Directors (left to right: Mark Hopkins, Kris Vanessa Teo Xin-En, Mpoe Mogale). Picture by Mike Tan.
The Prairie Place-Ancestors Collective (left to right: Cheryl Foggo, Masani St. Rose, Lebogang Disele, Lisa LaTouche, Mpoe Mogale). Picture by Mike Tan.
We’ve been working really hard, over the past couple of years, to create a more caring and abundant work environment—but it’s been a gradual and emergent process, and often feels like we’re not making enough progress. Level UP! prompted us to document our care practices, and it was a delightful surprise to see how much we’ve already put in place, and how much of a difference these care practices have made for us!
Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre
Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre
Inventory of Existing Care Supports
Level UP! Strategy Area: Pathways to Agreement
Pilot Project: Taking an inventory of existing care supports in order make workers and stakeholders aware of the working culture at Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre
Project Duration: 2023–2024 Season
Continuing to Implement: Yes, with the intention to add more childcare supports and develop new policy documents
Resources Shared: Integrated Care Practices
About Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre
Location: Alberta
Artistic Discipline: Theatre
Operating Budget: $100,000 to $1,000,000
Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre envisions a world free of margins and borders, where everyone has a space to create and share outside the confines of capitalism and oppression; a world where nourishment, imagination, and joy abound.
Swallow-a-Bicycle’s mission is to create “productive discomfort” through art. “Productive” as in working in service of the health, wellbeing, and joy of artists, audiences, and communities. “Discomfort” as in: challenging the status quo of art and society; breaking down imposed boundaries; challenging what is considered “normal”; and sharing artistic work that doesn’t fit neatly into the silos of conventional disciplinary categories. The company makes art that leaves an impact, through processes that are nourishing, equitable, and community-engaged.
Swallow-a-Bicycle‘s Level UP! Project
Swallow-a-Bicycle originally intended to create a “Philosophy of Care” that would ground how care is implemented in each process embarked on, regardless of scale, resources, and capacity. The plan shifted, partly due to limited resources for the 2023–2024 season, and partly because they realized the value of what they were already doing. This led Co-Artistic Directors Kris Vanessa Teo Xin-En, Mark Hopkins, and Mpoe Mogale to develop an Integrated Care Practices resource that documents the company’s care work and practices.
Resources
Swallow-a-Bicycle | Integrated Care Practices
About This Resource Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre created this Integrated Care Practices document in 2024 as part of their Balancing Act Level UP! Pilot Project. It serves as an inventory of both esteablished and in-development care practices at the company.
More Information
For more information about the Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre visit swallowabicycle.com.
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