The Plummet Summit - An Un-Conference for Artists and Path-makers

After a successful event last year, we will be producing the Summit again!

The Plummet Summit emphasizes ollaboration and how artistry is elevated when people work together.

Themes for the 2026 Summit include; artist mental health, embracing

failure as a tool for growth, leadership by underserved populations, financial transparency, empathy and the arts and how to thrive creatively.

We aim to explore what it means to be a working artist in a region where;

- schools for artistic development exist, yet professional opportunities are limited,

- rehearsal halls and venues are scarce,

• attitudes toward the arts are often dismissive,
• support is minimal and unrealistic
• cultural infrastructure fails to reflect the needs of local artists.

The Summit is a way to integrate the community, artists and audiences into a shared, inclusive space.

For artists, this space will be a meeting ground to listen and learn, as well as a platform for expression.

The Summit includes auditions and pop-up points-of-view by multidisciplinary artists as well as local organizations and businesses that actively support the arts.

Artists gain experience performing in a public setting with live audiences, while the greater artistic community is introduced to a broader range of creatives.

The Summit is an arena for networking.

Many diverse artists from York Region and beyond listen, learn and create together.

The Plummet Summit addresses a growing gap as artists leave even while the region’s population rises. Let’s create a shared space where artists of all backgrounds and abilities can connect, exchange ideas and strengthen their practice (and their commitment to their practice).

Activating spaces like the Varley Art Gallery, encourages cross-disciplinary encounters and centres wellness in artistic life. Our goal is that the Plummet Summit is an important part of sustaining a vibrant cultural presence within a rapidly expanding region.

------The Plan------

Ipm - A Communal Land Acknowledgement

Welcome With Jacquie Lazar, Chair of Shadowpath

Words from Maissa Bessada and Andile Win.

Open auditions and thoughts from Apprentice hopefuls throughout.

Maissa Bessada – Empathy In The Arts - How Kindness Influences My Creative Practice

Season Song performed by Jona Villa

A Message from our Community Partners with Rachel Fell from the Varley Art Gallery and Simone Granieri from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.

Reframing failure as a necessary pathway to being unstoppable. The Art of

Falling: How Failure Became My Greatest Creative Catalyst

-with Sylvia Chan, Creative Director, Creative Genius Academy

Shadowpath Math: How much do we pay artists? How do we talk about money AND art? Financial Transparency in the Arts: A Pop-Up Proposition on Financial Wellbeing

-with Alex Karolyi, Founding Artistic Director of Shadowpath

The Show Can’t Go On Without Healthy People: An Executive Director Tries Wellness

-with Jacquie Lazar, Executive Director, Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology

2pm-ish BREAK------------------------------------------

What happens when the artistic thing we are exploring is temporarily absent? The empty space, the empty seats, the silent pauses and the display of nothing. Save a Seat for Silence.

-with Joanna Grace and her spirit drum, Creator of Clearly Musical Home

Concert series

When Diversity, Equity and Inclusion fails - Overcoming Resistance

-with Erin Jones, Convenor/Co-Director Curator of Transformational Change,

Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario

Why failure is so frightening and why reclaiming it is an important act of creative wellness. The Last Clown Laughing: Failure Is Funny with Sarah Magni, Artistic Director, Thatz Showbiz.

Artist of the Year Announced

Most Cultural Municipality Announced

Perserverance and Resiliancy, Starting an Arts Business at 18

-with Chantal Almeida, Founding Artistic Director of CDA Dance Inc.

The Future Path of Shadows with Alex Karolyi

4pm: A special elective to add onto your Plummet Summit Experience:

15 min Sound Connection Circle:Take 15 minutes to relax your mind and body and restore your natural ability to have a creative sound connection with yourself and others, led by Joanna Grace.

Pay-What-You-Can - note, donations of $20+ will receive a charitable tax receipt.