Applications for the 2024 SummerWorks Performance Festival are now open.

Scroll down to uncover more detailed information about SummerWorks, learn more about our Public Works programming stream, and apply!

Alternative formats for the Call for Submissions text:

• PDF
• Word
• Audio

Preview of Application Form text:

• PDF

NO APPLICATION FEE.

GUARANTEED ARTIST FEES.

Submission Deadline: October 27th, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST

SummerWorks expands the possibilities of performance. Approaching its 34th year, the SummerWorks Performance Festival is widely recognized as one of the most vital and necessary platforms for launching new performance work in the country.

We are currently seeking proposals within our Public Works programming stream for the Festival’s next iteration:  August 1 – 11, 2024, in Toronto, Canada.

Proposals are encouraged from established and emerging creators working across all disciplines and artistic traditions. In-person, digital, and hybrid performance projects will be considered.

Our SummerWorks Public Works programming brings artists and audiences together to reimagine possibilities in public space.

In 2024, we invite creators to consider: How are our bodies impacted by the surrounding environment – the city’s landscapes, waterways, and architecture? What is our sensorial relationship to public space and how can this be realized through performance? What is the role of the public in making, transforming, and reclaiming space?

Proposals for in-person, digital, and hybrid performance projects are welcome. Proposals for works designed for outdoors, site-specific or site-responsive contexts, and immersive environments are strongly encouraged.

Projects curated from this call will be provided a guaranteed fee of $1,000 CAD to $5,000 CAD (depending on the scale of the project and number of performances).

These performances will be offered free to the public and should be designed with accessibility in mind.

DEADLINE: October 27th, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST

APPLICATION: Online, via Airtable (below)

ACCESSIBILITY: If you require an alternative method for your submission, please contact submissions@summerworks.ca

NOTIFICATION: All applicants will be notified of curatorial decisions in *January 2024

*We are anticipating a high volume of applications for this Call for Submissions, which may impact our timelines. All applicants will be notified of any shifts or changes via email.

As an organization that brings together performance from across this land and beyond, we wish to acknowledge that SummerWorks takes place on the traditional territory, Tkaronto, “Where the Trees Meet the Water,” “The Gathering Place” of the Anishinaabe, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Haudenosaunee Peoples from the Six Nations Confederacy of the Grand River, and the Wendat, as well as many other Nations who have cared for this land since time immemorial. We pay our respects to all our relations who have gathered and will continue to gather in this place.

SummerWorks expands the possibilities of performance. 

Founded in 1991, SummerWorks is a leader, collaborator and community builder at the forefront of contemporary performance – asking crucial questions; nurturing artistic innovation; and presenting new works that reflect the complexity and diversity of our society.

We collaborate with emerging and established artists and curators to explore new directions, experiment in form, and develop their professional capacities.

We curate, produce, and present programming that provokes, excites, and engages the public.

We cultivate and contribute to progressive practices that foster greater diversity, accessibility, equity, and sustainability across our sector.

We create networks and engage in creative exchange locally, nationally, and internationally.

Creative Risk and Curiosity
We engage with artists, audience, partners, and staff who are inquisitive, willing to experiment and be adventurous. We encourage bold ideas, new directions, and big questions, cultivating space for exploration and innovation.

Care and Collaboration
We carefully consider all the choices we make, understanding that the works we curate, the time we give, who we work with, and spaces we use impact the experiences people have. We prioritize connection and dialogue, as well as community and relationship building. By working with artists and partners to exchange ideas and resources we’re able to multiply our impact.

Diversity and Difference
We celebrate diversity in arts and people, prioritizing inclusive and accessible processes and experiences. We look to introduce professional artists and audiences from diverse communities to each other and to be inspired by our similarities and differences.

Our Festival offers four distinct streams of programming designed to provide unique supports to creative projects and processes, while offering audiences a dynamic choice in how they engage with the work: 

SummerWorks Presentations
Fully-developed new works, offering a snapshot of contemporary performance.

SummerWorks Lab
A place for exploration, experimentation, and process, where new work is incubated or shared at crucial stages of development.

SummerWorks Public Works
Free performances, bringing artists and audiences together to experience and deepen our relationship to public space in new ways.

SummerWorks Exchange
A dynamic space for emergent creative thinking to come into focus and conversation, for the development of artistic practice and for skill-building, and for communities to gather together with intention around relevant and urgent topics.

SummerWorks year-round programming and activities are generously supported by a variety of public and private sources. Click here for a list of our current partners and supporters.

INFO SESSIONS:

• October 1st, 2023 // 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM // Zoom

VIEW RECORDING

• October 11th, 2023 // 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM // Instagram Live

VIEW RECORDING

• October 19th, 2023 // 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM // Facebook Live

VIEW RECORDING

All sessions feature ASL interpretation. In each session, Michael Caldwell, Artistic Director reviews the application materials and the overall curatorial process, responding to questions from online attendees.

DEADLINE: October 27th, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST

Applicants may be contacted via email in November or December, with questions about their submission, and possibly, to schedule a brief online meeting to follow-up on project proposals.

NOTIFICATION: All applicants will be notified of curatorial decisions in *January 2024

*We are anticipating a high volume of applications for this Call for Submissions, which may impact our timelines. All applicants will be notified of any shifts or changes via email.

FESTIVAL DATES: August 1 – 11, 2024

Selected projects will be featured during the 34th SummerWorks Performance Festival: August 1 – 11, 2024, in Toronto, Canada.

SummerWorks supports artists and creative collaborators with production resources and professional development opportunities, while sharing their work with diverse communities of practice, dedicated and enthusiastic audiences, and industry professionals. 

We provide mentorship and guidance for all productions in the Festival, so if an artist is unsure if something is possible, we encourage them to connect with us. We want to engage in big ideas and support artists’ efforts to realize them.  

SummerWorks is a presenter, and not a commissioner or a producer of new work. In the context of the Festival, artists and creative collaborators are the producers and owners of their work.

Projects curated within the SummerWorks Public Works programming stream will be provided a guaranteed fee of $1,000 CAD to $5,000 CAD (depending on the scale of the project and number of performances).   

The guaranteed fee is a Presentation Fee provided for the performance(s) in the Festival.  The guaranteed fees are based on industry recommendations from various organizations, including CARFAC, CAEA, and CADA East.

The Festival provides a robust framework, which includes a venue, technical staff, an overall Festival lighting designer, Festival publicity and marketing, technical and performance scheduling, and box office and front-of-house management.

Selected projects from the SummerWorks Public Works Call are typically offered up to five (5) performances at a SummerWorks venue. Short-form projects (30 minutes or less) are considered for presentation within shared double or triple bills, or as multiple shorter performances, providing the opportunity for audience cross-over and greater access and attendance. The number of performances for outdoor, online, site-specific or site-responsive projects, immersive environments, as well as projects designed for a small audience capacity, will be determined on a case-by-case basis. 

In addition to this overall project support, SummerWorks artists and creative collaborators also receive access to free professional development workshops, as well as discounted tickets and rates for all performances, events, and activities during the 11-day Festival.

SummerWorks is committed to continually increasing accessibility for our artists and audiences. This includes extending accessibility practices throughout the entirety of artistic and administrative processes.

At present, our primary application method is online, via Airtable (below).

If you require an alternative method for your submission, please contact submissions@summerworks.ca

If you have any accessibility needs or requests during this submission process, or if you have a question about accessibility at the SummerWorks Performance Festival, please contact submissions@summerworks.ca.

We strive to go beyond the bare minimum standard of accessibility practices in the performing arts and to support artists, programmers, and partner organizations in considering how access can be incorporated throughout all aspects of a production and throughout all stages, from development to presentation. It is our expectation that the artists we work with will also strive to put accessibility practices at the forefront of the creative process and implementation of their work.

To uncover more about accessibility at SummerWorks, click here to view our most recent Festival Accessibility page.

We welcome national and international applicants. However, all artists and creative collaborators are responsible for all expenses related to bringing your show to Toronto. SummerWorks will gladly provide support to Festival artists for any of their own travel and/or touring funding applications.

All artists and companies participating in the Festival are responsible for obtaining the relevant production rights for their shows and performers.

If any individual in the company or group has a membership in a guild, union, or other professional association, the artist or company must acquire the necessary releases, or pay the required fees to the respective organization. Please note: SummerWorks has a Festival Waiver Agreement with the Canadian Actors Equity Association to allow Equity members to perform in the Festival.

The artist and/or company is responsible for acquiring permissions, licenses, or rights for any and all copyrighted material in the project.

INFO SESSIONS:

• October 1st, 2023 // 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM // Zoom

VIEW RECORDING

• October 11th, 2023 // 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM // Instagram Live

VIEW RECORDING

• October 19th, 2023 // 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM // Facebook Live

VIEW RECORDING

All sessions feature ASL interpretation. In each session, Michael Caldwell, Artistic Director reviews the application materials and the overall curatorial process, responding to questions from online attendees.

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions for the 2024 Call for Submissions. Please visit our website, for further information about SummerWorks’ mission and mandate, our history, and for archives of previous Festivals.

For additional inquiries, please contact: submissions@summerworks.ca.

DEADLINE: October 27th, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST

We look forward to reviewing your submission to the 2024 SummerWorks Performance Festival!

If you require an alternative method for your submission, please contact submissions@summerworks.ca