SEARA

Part 3 of @seara_program report reaction 🫡 Maybe one day we can all laugh at this and eat some fish about it. Ty for reading ty for inviting me to make these comics 🌸✨💙

Strip 2 of @seara_program report Screaming crying sleeping 0 in bank account

STRIP 1 of @seara_program report piece If u know u know u know?

@seara_program did a report on equity, anti racism in the arts. It was pretty illuminating but also frustrating to read thru it and see we’re all out here feeling this pressure, to do it all be it all present it show it share it perform it. ##i made some comic strips about it and put it in this broadsheet. To end on a positive note…. It’s getting better, I hope we can all look back at this later and laugh once we’ve completed all our gay bipoc agendas This things huge and it did its job. Made some ppl laugh so it’s all worth it now I can go back to the doom hole.

Deadline extended! If you are an artists and cultural workers in BC, we want to hear from you. SEARA’s Anti-Racism Data Project is conducting research to better understand racial equity practices in staffing, board composition, policy, and funding distribution in BC. Your insights can help inform policy development aimed at advocating for systemic change towards racial equity in BC’s Arts, Culture and Heritage sector. Help contribute to the advocacy towards racial equity in the Arts, Culture and Heritage sector. Complete the survey through the link in bio. Participants will receive a $20 CAD for their time. Big thank you to 221A (@221aweee ) and the Law Foundation of BC for supporting the pursuit of this research, and to our peers at BC Alliance for Arts and Culture (@bcallianceforarts ) and Mass Culture (@massculture_ ) for your endorsement in this important work. Photo by Elke Dick

A glimpse into Hide Time, a medicine skillshare, cohosted by @seara_fund and @art.ecosystem in commemoration of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Led by Sunkosi Galay-Tamang, this two-day hide-tanning workshop welcomed six participants in a gesture of BIPOC solidarity, collective work and healing. Hosted at x̱aw̓s shew̓áy̓, participants were visited by friends and community members who witnessed the process along the way. This event was generously supported by The Law Foundation of British Columbia. 221A is the fiscal sponsor of SEARA, supporting with administration, finance and facilitation. Together, we can create an equitable society where BIPOC artists and cultural workers have equal capacity, governance, social standing, and visibility within arts institutions in BC. Photos by 221A Anti-Racism Program Coordinator @danaqaddah

A Medicine Skill Share with art ecosystem, presented by SEARA (“Sector Equity for Anti-Racism in the Arts”): 12pm-4pm, Saturday Sep 28- Sunday Sep 29 at 271 Union St (221A x̱aw̓s shew̓áy̓ New Growth《新生林》) Join us for Hide Time: an intro to sheepskin making workshop, led by Sunkosi Galay-Tamang @burntsundreamz This workshop is an Indigenous medicine skillshare for folks who are navigating the hardships of settler colonialism’s impact on our lifeways. Spots are limited, and we are prioritizing holding spaces for six BIPOC community members. First priority given to youth applicants under 30 and host nations folks who have not tanned hides before. If you meet the above requirements and do not have much or any experience with hide tanning, please apply through the link in our bio by friday september 20th. 🌀🍂🌟 Hide Time: This will be a chill learner-centered environment where each participant can go at their own pace, guided by the material’s needs and limitations. Our focus for this workshop is to plant seeds of interest in hide tanning as a medicinal cultural practice, and to grow transferable skills for engaging with the emergent nature of traditional preservation practices. 🐑 💫🌝 This event is presented with the support of SEARA. Beginning in 2020 as a consortium of BC Arts Service Organizations, Sector Equity for Anti-Racism in the Arts (SEARA) was formed through the POWERSHARE 2020-21 campaign– a province-wide COVID relief fund supporting BIPOC artists during the pandemic. Today, and under 221A’s administrative and financial support, SEARA is launching its second chapter as a movement of Black, Indigenous and racialized BC-based artists and cultural workers to redistribute resources through data-driven action. learn more at searafund.ca

How big is BC’s arts, culture, and heritage sector? Adding $8.6B to BC’s annual GDP, the arts, culture, and heritage sector is 7 times larger than the sports sector ($1.16B annually), bigger than the forestry industry ($5.9B), and even bigger than the creative industries sector ($6.7B). BC’s arts, culture, and heritage sector is bigger than Netflix? While our province’s film industry is booming and shows ranging from the Last of Us, to Riverdale, to Supernatural are filmed in BC, the arts, culture, and heritage sector generates nearly a billion dollars more for BC’s economy than the entire creative industries sector combined. Passion doesn’t pay the bills. According to the most recent BC Coalition for Arts, Culture, and Heritage sector survey, nearly half (48%) of the individual artists in BC expect to make less than $30,000 this year - not a living wage based on the Living Wage for Families BC’s November 2022 rates for 2023. Arts, culture, and heritage workers are entrepreneurs. While 15% of Canadians are self-employed, 68% of artists are self-employed. 33% of all cultural workers are self-employed. BC is an arts, culture, and heritage leader. 154,800 British Columbians work in the cultural sector, representing 17% of all the country’s arts, culture, and heritage workers. Canadians trust arts, culture, and heritage organizations. A 2021 national study found that 80% of Canadians trust museums and cultural institutions, whereas only 48% trust newspapers and 33% trust television. Did you know that 93% of Canadians agree that cultural institutions “spark curiosity, provoke wonder, promote creativity, and support a love of learning?” For more information, visit: https://www.coalitionbc.ca #bcarts #bctheatre #vancouverarts #vancouvertheatre #yvrarts #yvrtheatre

#IfYouDontKnowNowYouKnow Crd: @mmfcanada 🇨🇦 • #blackcanadiancreators Grant funding opportunities and awards for Black music makers. Share with someone who would benefit from applying and comment below with any we may have missed! Opportunities include: @ontariocreates - AcceleratiON program for emerging Black- and Indigenous-owned music businesses @advancemusicca - ADVANCE Business Expansion Grant for local not-for-profit businesses supporting emerging Black music business professionals and entrepreneurs @torontoartscouncil - Black Arts Projects supporting Black artists, collectives, and organizations @socanfdn - Black Canadian Music Awards celebrating extraordinary Black music creators in Canada @seara_fund Fund for BC-based BIPOC Artists facing financial hardship @ontarioartscouncil - Skills and Career Development for Indigenous arts professionals and arts professionals of colour @ytcreators - #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund spotlighting and growing Black creators and music on YouTube.

It’s a new year and we have rounded up some great new orgs this quarter! @seara_fund / @dulfbc & GAF Distro will be the groups you’ll be able to donate to these next 3 months, please check out the info graphic for more deets! We were able to set aside over $1,045 from Oct to Dec that went towards the Black & Indigenous Self Care & Healing Fund / @pacesociety & @loafridge ! Our donation to LOAF will come in the form of groceries for our local spot to the tune of $293.16, we’ll be stocking it next week!

Krystal Paraboo of @seara_fund did an amazing job sharing Tangible Tools for Applying Anti-Racism in your Coworking Space yesterday at @coworkingcanada ! If you missed her talk, you can still get all the resources by taking the June Coworking IDEA Challenge, and join us at the end of the month when Krystal hosts the June IDEA conversation! Link in bio. . . @rocketqueen03 #CoworkingIDEA #coworking #Inclusion #Equity #Accessibility #Representation #community #Intersectionality #UnconsciousBias #supremacy #privilege #decolonization #ActiveListening #Validation #tools #AntiRacism #Actions #solidarity #SharedSpace #FlexSpace #InclusiveSpace #SafeSpace

We can’t wait for you to meet Krystal Paraboo! Be prepared for explosions of the mind. You don’t want to miss this coworking community favourite! Coworking Canada takes place on June 3rd 2021. Register today! Link in bio. . . @rocketqueen03 @seara_fund #CoworkingCanada #Coworking #Canada #Unconference #Conference #FutureOfWork #NewWorkLandscape #Inclusion #Diversity #Equity #Accessibility #Leadership #RemoteWork #FlexibleWork #WFH #Independent #Worker #Entrepreneurship #EconomicDevelopment #CommunityDevelopment #BuildingBridges #Collaboration #BuildBackBetter #Community #BetterTogether #JustRecovery