The Art of Care
Celebrating the artists and impact of Balancing Act
Welcome to Balancing Act Canada!
We are a national arts service organization dedicated to increasing equality, access to employment, and artistic opportunities for mothers, parents and caregivers in the arts sector in Canada.
Balancing Act was founded in 2019 by Theatre Direct Executive Artistic Director, Lisa Marie DiLiberto.
Supporting Parents and Caregivers in the Arts
Parents and caregivers face significant structural barriers working in the arts industry: gig-based work, low wages, inflexible schedules and late hours, constant travel, and persistent stigma. These barriers are disproportionately faced by women and gender-diverse artists and contribute to workforce attrition, lost productivity, and inequitable access to opportunity.
Our work illustrates how care infrastructure functions as economic infrastructure, and how with proper support, parents and caregivers can thrive in their artistic careers. We are thrilled to showcase our work and the work of our partners through the Level UP! Initiative and Level UP! Sector Expansion in exploring care-centred strategies in the workplace.
3 Ways to Get Involved
We are deeply honoured by your presence at The Art of Care.
Balancing Act invites you to continue to follow our work and join the movement for equitable access to employment and artistic opportunities for mothers, parents and caregivers in the arts sector in Canada!
Donate to Balancing Act
To donate directly to Balancing Act, please choose ‘Balancing Act Project’ from the drop down menu of the ‘FUND’ section on the Theatre Direct Canada Helps page.
Donations will go towards the programs and operations of Balancing Act. Thank you!
If you have any questions or would like to discuss your donation, please contact Balancing Act HERE.
Let's Advocate Together
Here are two email and letter templates to help folks advocate for more equitable practices for parents and caregivers in the workplace.
1) As care champions, Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence has developed a Federal Advocacy Toolkit to help our efforts in making caregiving a national priority. Access the Federal Advocacy Toolkit here.
2) Balancing Act’s letter template for artists and arts workers can be used to write your MP and local officials or to reference for funding applications. Access the Balancing Act Letter Template here.
The Art of Care
Celebrating the artists and impact of Balancing Act
March 27, 2026
The Art of Care: Media Conference
On Friday, March 27th, from 12:30 to 2:00 pm, Balancing Act introduces a new network of cultural leaders, policymakers, and media to the measurable progress toward gender equity and economic inclusion for artist parents and caregivers in Canada’s arts sector.
Jump to the Media Conference section for full event details.
The Art of Care: Reception
Later in the evening, we celebrate our Level UP! partners and affiliated artists & arts workers at a family-friendly community gathering.
Jump to the Reception section for full event details.
Our work with Balancing Act will give artists the courage to believe that having a career in the performing arts and having a family is an attainable dream, knowing that they will be supported and encouraged instead of shut out and looked over. But let us not fool ourselves: caregivers are not the only ones who will benefit from this revolution. The art form itself will be richer by the creativity these artists will bring, most of whom are at the height of their careers as they become parents.
Level UP! Initiative
Through the generous funding to Theatre Direct of Women and Gender Equality Canada, our Level UP! Initiative invests in artists, collectives and organizations as they pilot strategies to develop inclusive, care-led workplace policies and practices. Level UP! offers financial support, consultation, and evaluation as partners explore the implementation of supportive measures for artists and arts workers who are parents and caregivers.
Level UP! Sector Expansion
From 2021 to 2024, we engaged partners in the Performing Arts from coast to coast to coast. By 2024, with additional support from Women and Gender Equality Canada, we expanded to engage partners in Music, Visual Arts, and Screen-based Media, alongside our continued work in the Performing Arts.
The Level UP! Initiative and Level UP! Sector Expansion are projects supported by Women and Gender Equality Canada.
Balancing Act is also supported by strategic funding from the Canada Council for the Arts.
We also acknowledge the incredible support of our Indigenous Arts Consultant, Cynthia Lickers-Sage, Executive Director of Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance,
Evaluation Consultant Rebecca Thomas Kahn of RTK Consulting,
And our Sector Leads:
MOTHRA: Artist-Parent Project
Visual Arts Sector Lead
Women in Film & Television – Toronto
Screen-based Media Sector Lead
Women in Music Canada
Music Sector Lead
Balancing Act was incubated by
Learn more about our Level UP! work through the video below!
Level UP! Partners piloted care-centred strategies in the workplace
resources created by Level UP! Partners
artists, arts workers, and audience members engaged in 2021-2025
Partners funded through Level UP! have created resources and templates for our Resource Hub, inspiring a sector-wide shift toward a culture of care.
Jump to Media Conference
Jump to Reception
Jump to Venue and Access Information
Back to Ways to Get Involved
The Art of Care: Media Conference
Celebrating the artists and impact of Balancing Act
March 27, 2026
The Art of Care: Media Conference introduces a new network of cultural leaders, policymakers, and media to the measurable progress toward gender equity and economic inclusion for artist parents and caregivers in Canada’s arts sector.
Media Conference Details
Event Details
Time: 12:30–2:00 pm ET
(Doors & Exhibit open at noon)
Location: Society Clubhouse, 967 College Street, Toronto, Ontario
The Society Clubhouse is fully accessible, with all-gender washrooms, change tables, and varied seating options.
Program Outline
- Dignitaries & Remarks
- Call to Action Panel moderated by Maryam Monsef, former Minister of Women and Gender Equality Canada
- Musical Performance by Jill Barber
- Reception & Art Exhibit
About the Panel
Our panel consists of Allison Venditti (Moms At Work), Martha Friendly (Childcare Resource and Research Unit), Erin Goodpipe (Film & TV actor and director, Level UP! Partner), Susie Burpee (Balancing Act Canada).
Moderated by Maryam Monsef, former Minister for Women and Gender Equality, and founder of ONWARD.
Special Performance
Jill Barber is a three-time Juno Award nominated singer-songwriter, and certified Gold recording artist, with an unforgettable voice once heard, never forgotten. Her critically acclaimed repertoire spans a transformative spectrum from folk, to vocal jazz, to pop, and includes songs in both French and English.
Jill has served on the Level UP! Music Sector Advisory Committee since 2024.
Stay connected! @balancingactcanada
Thank you to our Radical Act Mothers and babies in attendance!
They are an embodied testimony of the ‘invisible production’ of care work: Artists Natalia Arancibia, Sarahi Cardenas, Kira Guloien, Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks, Jane-Alison McKinney, Carmen Osahor, and Katherine Sawicka.
Back to Top
The Art of Care: Reception
Celebrating the artists and impact of Balancing Act
March 27, 2026
The Art of Care: Reception is a joyful gathering celebrating Balancing Act’s Level UP! Sector Expansion and the partners who made it possible.
Join us for a relaxed afternoon of connection, conversation, and creativity as we celebrate our Balancing Act partners and the work we’ve built together.
Reception Details
Event Details
Date: Friday, March 27, 2026
Time: 3:00–7:00 pm ET
Location: Society Clubhouse, 967 College Street, Toronto, Ontario
The Society Clubhouse is fully accessible, with all-gender washrooms, change tables, and varied seating options.
Program Overview
Expect a welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere with great food and drinks, light music, and an exhibition featuring projects and artwork from across the Level UP! community. Remarks will take place at 5:00 pm.
3:00pm – Exhibit Opens
4:00pm – Reception Begins
5:00pm – Remarks and Special Performance
About the Artists
A few of our Partners will be sharing the work they did during their time with Level UP!, including:
- Naomi Johnson and Lindsey Monture from imagineNATIVE
- Karen Miranda Augustine from Ancestral Arts Collective
- Sedina Fiati from the Black Pledge Collective
With a special presentation from Balancing Act Founder, Lisa Marie DiLiberto
Hosted by Amy Matysio
Special Performance
A special performance by Witch Prophet, 2025-2026 Level UP! Sector Expansion Partner
Stay connected! @balancingactcanada
Don’t miss the exhibit!
- 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective
- Cassidy Civiero and Alanna Schwartz
- Jennifer Long
- Sandra Lamouche
- Sophie Gee
- Abigail Lapell
The Mother Artists Campaign
A bilingual print-media and online project addressing the lack of visibility around art-making and motherhood
The 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective is a growing group of women artists working on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. Positioned at the intersection of motherhood and art, our collective shares knowledge, encourages creative self-actualisation, empowers professional advancement, and advocates for representation and support for mothers and caregivers in the arts.
The 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective participated in Level UP! Sector Expansion in 2024-2025, creating and launching these slogans in their third and final campaign.
Learn more about 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective.
Needle Tips
A documentary examining the intersection between trans health care and reproductive health care, as a transgender man helps his friend undergo IVF injections
Cassidy Civiero participated in Level UP! Sector Expansion in 2024-2025 along with co-director and co-star, Alanna Schwartz, piloting a flexible filming schedule to accommodate different needs and schedule, as well as a compassion fund for the cast and crew available throughout filming.
Learn more about Cassidy Civiero.
Intertwine Series
“My creative practice pulls from the quiet moments in women’s lives where seemingly nothing (and everything) occurs. I am interested in the complex emotions that underlie these mundane points in time. Themes of vulnerability, transformation, memory, and community are explored within my practice as I examine daily life and my rituals within it.
During my early years of mothering, I developed the Intertwine series (2015, laser cut wood) in response to the physicality of caregiving. Using personal photographs as source material, I minimized the scenes into line drawings of blended child-parent bodies. The resulting pieces reflect on everyday moments of play, care, and exasperation.”
Jennifer participated in Level UP! Sector Expansion in 2024-2025 with a project that was in collaboration with artist Shea Proulx and Gallery@501 in Sherwood Park, Alberta. The initiative centred on Sustaining & Growing: Artist-Parents in Conversation—a relaxed, child-inclusive community engagement session designed to explore sustainable creative strategies for artist-parents and caregivers.
Life Giver / Circle of Life
A short dance film
Sandra Lamouche is a member of the Bigstone Cree Nation residing on the land of the Nitsitapi (Blackfoot people) of Southern Alberta. She is a champion hoop dancer, award-winning Indigenous educational leader, TEDx and keynote speaker, award winning children’s author and transdisciplinary artist.
Sandra participated in Level UP! Sector Expansion in 2025-2026, piloting a caregiver support case study during the creation and filming of Dance Film Title, a project exploring hoop dance and pregnancy.
The Ten of Wands: caregiving, parenting, and making theatre
Sophie is a director/theatre maker working in English and French. Sophie is a graduate of the directing program at the National Theatre School and the recipient of the 2024 John Hirsch prize.
Sophie participated in Level UP! Sector Expansion in 2024-2025 with a case study on her practice as a director & creator and a co-parent to a child & caregiver to an adult member of her family.
Watch Sophie’s “A Day in the Life” video.
Supported by Level UP! Sector Expansion Projects by The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences/JUNOS and Folk Canada
Childcare Support for Awards Events
In 2025, Abigail Lapell won Album of the Year at the Ontario Folk Awards. Now rebranded as Folk Canada, this organization offered on-site childcare—“Little Folkers”—at their annual conference. Also in 2025, The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) piloted childcare support for JUNO nominees, and Toronto-based Lapell was supported to travel with her little one to the JUNO Awards in Vancouver, BC.
Watch Abigail’s “A Day in the Life” en route to the Junos.
Back to Top
About the Venue
The Society Clubhouse is located on 967 College St, Toronto, ON M6H 1A6. It is fully accessible, with all-gender washrooms, change tables, and varied seating options.
The Society Clubhouse began as a collective, founded by Erica Campbell and Jaime Dobbs, with the goal of creating safe spaces for women to enjoy beer. Today, the Society Clubhouse is a women-owned, accessible, community-driven space that includes a taproom, cafe, bottle shop, artisan market, and event space.
FAQs
Will there be food and drinks?
Media Conference: Light refreshments provided
Reception: Light food and drinks available
Please note: alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks will be available. Coffee and tea are also served.
Are children & dependents welcome?
1,000%. Children and dependents are warmly welcome, with kid-friendly snacks (starting at 4pm), activities, and a quieter space available.
Where can I park?
There is street parking along College St, subject to availability. There are also a number of Green P lots nearby.
How can I get there by TTC?
- From Downtown (Yonge/College): Take the 506 Carlton streetcar West directly to Dovercourt Rd.
- From Bloor Subway Line: Take Line 2 to Ossington Station, then take the 161 Rogers Rd bus North to College St.
- From the North: Take the 161 Rogers Rd bus South to College St.