Balancing Act Canada

The applications for Level UP! 2024-2025 are in! As we head into our next cohort - which will welcome new Partners in the Performing Arts sector, and welcome for the first time Partners from Visual Arts, Music, and Screen-based Media Industries - we look back to the first three years of the Level UP! Initiative: how we’ve grown, where it’s taken us, and what we’ve learned from our past Partners to propel us forward ✨ Watch the full video on our YouTube page! ▶️ youtube.com/@BalancingActCanada ▶️ (🔗 in bio) For more information about our Level UP! Initiative, visit BalancingActCanada.com Video Production by: @FixtPoint Arts and Media . . . . . #BalancingActCanada #BALevelUPInititative #Canadian #ArtistParents #ArtistCaregivers #Community #Peer #Support

📊Half of Canadians will become a caregiver in their lifetime. Every sector, including the arts, must consider robust support for workers as they navigate caregiving responsibilities. This week Balancing Act was honoured to meet with MP Chi Nguyen, a member of the National Caregiving Caucus (convened by @canadiancaregiving ) AND a member of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. ⭐️Arts leaders Sarah Cullen @artistparents and Jacoba Knaapen from our Balancing Act network, along with Executive Director Susie Burpee, advocated in support of artists and arts workers with caregiving responsibilities. We were thrilled to engage in a robust conversation with MP Nguyen. 📣 Do you want to get involved? 🔗🔗Visit the links in our bio for 💌Advocacy Tools 📪Letter Templates. 🧡Reach out to us if you want to learn more or would like to share your story. [email protected] #canadiancaregiving #mpchinguyen

🎉Today we are celebrating the inspiring work of mother artists on exhibition at our recent Art of Care event on March 27th @societyclubhouse in Toronto. Toronto-based artist Jennifer Long created the Intertwine Series (2015) during her early years of mothering, “in response to the physicality of caregiving. The resulting pieces reflect on everyday moments of play, care, and exasperation.” - @jenniferroselong (SLIDE 2 & 3) 💕Balancing Act proudly supported Jennifer’s Level UP! Sector Expansion project in 2024-25, which included a beautiful intergenerational exhibit at Gallery@501 in Sherwood Park, AB, with Shea Proulx @sheaproulx (SLIDE 1) 🔗Check out the link in our bio for: ⭐️Jennifer Long’s website ⭐️The Art of Care event page #visiblecaregiving

🎉Today we are celebrating the work of important mother artists, recently on exhibit at The Art of Care event March 27th @societyclubhouse in Toronto. The Mother Artist Campaign by @44point4 is a slogan campaign that takes the form of commercially printed signs, a publication, and public, private and online interventions. The Mother Artist Campaign calls for a new mindset at the intersection of motherhood and art. ❤️Balancing Act proudly supported the Ottawa-based 44.4 Mother/Artists Collective as a Level UP! partner in 2025! Special thanks to @jmartpilgrim consultant Jagroop Mehta. 🔗Check out the link in our bio for: ⭐️The Mother Artist Campaign/44.4 ⭐️The Art of Care event page #nomothersnoartworld 2 - We Created You, We Can Create Art / No Mothers, No Art World (2025) The Mother Artists Campaign 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective Double sided Chloroplast signs, editions of 24 18 x 24 inches We graciously acknowledge the support of Balancing Act for this campaign. Nous vous avons créés; nous pouvons créer de l‘art / Sans mères, le monde des arts n’existe pas (2025) 3 - Everybody Knows I’m a Mother / Nobody Knows I’m an Artist (2021) The Mother Artists Campaign 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective Double sided Chloroplast signs, editions of 24 18 x 24 inches Je suis mere, c’est bien connu / Je suis artiste, le savais-tu? (2021) 4 - Motherhood is Political / Mother Art is Political (2020) The Mother Artists Campaign 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective Double sided Chloroplast signs, editions of 24 18 x 24 inches La maternité : Un art politique / Notre art : La maternité politique (2020)

May is National Caregiver Month in Canada! Are you interested in the most recent data highlighting the state of care in Canada? Want to learn more about why it’s critical for our federal government to act on care? Join the Webinar: Caring in Canada 2026, hosted by @canadiancaregiving , revealing findings from their data-focused report, Caring in Canada 2026. 🗓️Wednesday, May 6 Online from 1 to 2:30 p.m. ET 🔗Info and registration at the link in our bio! #nationalcaregivermonth

It was an honour to have M.P. Karina Gould join us at The Art of Care: Media Conference on March 27, 2026. A mother, community advocate, and trailblazing leader, she spoke directly to the Radical Act Mothers—artist mothers and their babies—on the vital role caregivers play in shaping Canada’s future. In a powerful moment, she reminded us: “It's about making sure that we have qualified, talented people in the workforce who can contribute…we want you to be contributing. We want your ideas. We want your talent. We want your skills. That's what makes Canada a successful country.” Care work is essential work—and it deserves real support. Take action for childcare. Contact your representatives, share your story, and support a system that works for all families. Learn more with Child Care Now [childcarenow.ca] and Childcare Resource and Research Unit [childcarecanada.org]

Art of Care Spotlight: SOPHIE GEE Sophie Gee is a director and theatre maker working across English and French, with a practice rooted in bold, interdisciplinary storytelling. A graduate of the National Theatre School and recipient of the 2024 John Hirsch Prize, Sophie is also a mother and caregiver. As a Balancing Act Level UP! partner, Sophie created the Seven of Wands zine to bring visibility to her artist-caregiver journey. Featured at The Art of Care (March 27), the zine reflects on care as a structural issue. Sophie's latest work, Bonnes Bonnes (co-created with Tamara Nguyen), is a bold and intimate new production presented by Factory Theatre and Théâtre français de Toronto. Blending documentary theatre, live cooking, and multimedia, the piece follows three Chinese women as they unpack identity, internalized racism, and their complex relationship to whiteness—building toward a sharp, cathartic confrontation that is as personal as it is political. Now on at Factory Theatre April 15–19 (English) Avril 22–26 (français)

In the News 📰 The Art of Care is making headlines! Great coverage from Exclaim! for our recent March 27th event. Thank you again to music artists Jill Barber and Witch Prophet who made this day really special. Shout out to WIMC and Music Publishers Canada for the launch of their Sound of Support Survey mentioned in the article (link in our bio) Without real support systems, artist caregivers are being pushed out of the sector. At Balancing Act, we’re working to change that. Because care work shapes who gets to create—and who gets to stay in the industry/ Read more via link in bio. Photo: Artist Victoria Mata and her little one at The Art of Care #InTheNews #ArtOfCare #ArtistCaregivers #EquityInTheArts

📣 Exciting new workshop production opening soon!! For you and the 10+ kiddos in your life! Our pals @theatredirect present… A Period Piece A Workshop Production By Spicy Day (Lauren Welchner & Monica Bradford-Lea) Directed by Lisa Marie DiLiberto Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace For Ages 10+ Let’s talk periods. PERIOD. A Period Piece presents a wacky, honest, and musical unpacking of the relationship we have with our bodies and the things that come out of them. FOR EVERY BODY. Full of off-the-wall humour and down to earth truths, A Period Piece is a show that is for everybody and every body. Through sketch comedy, honest and personal stories, and a whole lot of heart, creators/actors Lauren Welchner and Monica Bradford-Lea open the conversation about periods and the stigmas that come with them. Visit theatredirect.ca/a-period-piece to learn more. All bodies of all ages need to have the facts about periods. Help the young people in your life to have menstruation conversations without stigma, through the music and comedy of this performance made just for them.

National Caregiver Day today! 📣Sharing an important new study released by @womeninmusiccanada and @canmuspub focusing on the needs of caregivers in the Canadian music industry. Balancing Act stands with our music partners and will continue to advocate for support for both artists and organizations. 🎶 THE SOUND OF SUPPORT was prepared by consultant Diane Davy and supported by @ontariocreates , @creativebcs and the Province of British Columbia. #nationalcaregiversday #caregiversinmusic

This past Friday at THE ART OF CARE, we celebrated our community of artists, arts workers and supporters in a joyful intergenerational reception! Following a media conference hosted earlier in the day, we kept the party going at the best venue ever - @societyclubhouse - with the sublime @witchprophet and speakers @amatysio , @naomicjohnson , and @ms.sehdehnah We were beyond happy to have our Level UP! Partners in the room, and we’re thrilled you brought your kiddos and loved ones. To those of you from far away who weren’t able to attend - you were with us in spirit! Thank you to 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective, Jennifer Long, Sophie Gee, Sandra Lamouche, Cassidy Civiero and Alanna Schwartz, whose beautiful work was on exhibition alongside a photo display of the change-making projects activated by our partners. Our event page is still live (link in bio) - learn more about the artists and how to get involved: /en/the-art-of-care-event/ Deep appreciation to our sector leads Women In Music Canada (Robyn Stewart), Women in Film & Television + Toronto (Karen Bruce) and Mothra: Artist-Parent Project (Sarah Cullen) as well as Amy Matysio and the advisory committees who steward our work. The dynamic and enthusiastic demonstration of support in the room for mothers, parents, and caregivers in the arts sector speaks volumes. Thank you to our donors and funders for supporting Balancing Act!

Incredible to celebrate the Art Audit journey with @balancingactcanada and artist-parents from all corners. It was a great night, filled with singing, dancing, and inspired speeches. Amazing to see what we can do when we all support each other. Truly grateful for the support and guidance, and already looking forward to next adventures. Ps. Also thrilled to get our copies of XPoetry Collage (@kolajmagazine ); great timing!