Resource Directory
Looking for resources and not sure where to start? The goal of this page is to provide a simple, evolving directory of relevant resources for the media arts community.
HUMAN RESOURCES & GOVERNANCE
HR Policies & Best Practices
Contract Templates – REPAIRE (Seulement en français) Here you will find sample contracts for the distribution of artists’ works. They are available free of charge and can be customized in PDF and Word formats.
Living Wage (by City) – IMAA This document can support any arts organization in advocating for a funding increase to meet living wage standards for your staff specific to your region. There are two suggested paragraphs that can be copy-pasted into your application: one is general to all organizations, and the other is listed by city.
IMAA Fee Schedule – IMAA The IMAA Fee Schedule establishes minimum remuneration rates for artist and professional work in the Media Arts sector. It is a widely recognized national fee structure for the presentation of independent time-based media. It ensures artists are paid for their work.
Organizational Policy Models – IMAA As part of our commitment to setting the standard for good workplace conditions across the arts community, IMAA has published our HR and operational policies. These resources can be templates for updating operational policies and integrating better equity-based practices into your organization.
Tools and Templates (Research focus)- Mass Culture Tools and templates from Mass Culture to support research projects. Includes a Compensation Chart for Research Participation; Partnership template on Intellectual Property in Research.
Anti-oppression & EDI
Basis of Unity (Anti-Oppression Document) – IMAA The Basis of Unity states the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA)’s position on and commitment to anti-oppression principles. It is a living document working towards building a more equitable, robust, abundant and interconnected sector.
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Policy and Resource Kit – Atlantis (Association of Artist Run Centres from the Atlantic) With the contribution of some amazingly skilled and knowledgeable collaborators, Atlantis put together a Policy and Resource Kit with contemporary resources and assessment tools that can be used and built upon uniquely for each organization.
Digital Practices & Security
Cyber Safe and Sound – IMAA What is cybersecurity? Why is it important to the media arts and the cultural sector as a whole? On this website, you’ll find everything you’ve ever wanted to know about cybersecurity and cybercitizenship.
Digital Toolkit Online Strategies for Artists and Arts Organizations – Kick Start Arts Created by three grassroots organizations, this digital toolkit contains resources to support the arts community: arts organizations, arts educators, and working artists who are looking for best digital practices and resources to support their work online.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
National
Arts Vest artsvest is a free, virtual, and accessible training and mentorship program for cultural organizations across Canada.
British Columbia
Arts Starts ArtStarts in Schools provides innovative arts programs for young people, practical resources for teachers and artists, and leadership in advocacy for arts in education.
Pathways program Pathways is a free program that supports BC-based arts, culture, and heritage organizations and collectives as they continue to embed equity and access into their work. Participants will find a supportive community, individualized and relevant materials, and the time and resources to grow and deepen equity practices.
Digital Course Licenses – Arts BC Courses, workshops, and templates offered to organizational members of Arts BC on topics such as bookkeeping and hiring.
Ontario
Developing Careers and Arts Services – OAC Grants OAC has a number of grant streams that support training, mentorship, career development and capacity building at the individual, organization and sectoral level.
Catalyst and Transformation Fund – Work in Culture The Catalyst and Transformation (CAT) Fund provides financial support to Ontario arts organizations to investigate and plan substantive change in their operations.
Québec
Workshop Programming – REPAIRE REPAIRE offers a continuing education program that reflects the needs and priorities of artists and cultural workers working in independent research and experimental arts.
ADVOCACY & RESEARCH
Databases
DNA (Data Narratives for the Arts) – Mass Culture DNA is a program that includes the DNA Platform, an unparalleled national resource of financial and operational data from 4500+ arts organizations and a Data-Utilization Learning Series that will enable arts professionals to utilize data in a practical way and enhance arts organizations’ ability to tell impactful stories through data.
Artifex – Research Database – Mass Culture, Creative Hubs and Networks Database, Critical Digital Methods Institute Artifex is a crowd-sourced repository of arts research resources. Resources are organized according to the following categories: datasets; models and frameworks; tools; projects and programs; advocacy and policy resources; resource repositories; and other resources.
IMAASource – IMAA IMAASource is a database of useful tools, documents, and information for media arts organizations, gathered by the IMAA team, close partners and counterparts in other fields.
Digital Resource base – Canadian Network for Arts & Learning A database focused on external directories, tools, teaching and learning resources for all arts and culture organizations, workers, and practitioners including performing arts, visual arts, museums, and dance, among others.
Palestinian Academic Boycott of Israel (PACBI) & Solidarity Resources
Summary Sheet – Palestinian Solidarity for Arts Organizations in Canada – BC Civil Liberties Association A summary sheet (not legal advice) on your right to boycott / your right to support the Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.
BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanction) Guidelines – PACBI (Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel) Guidelines on the participation in the Boycott Divestment Sanction (BDS) Movement.
What is BDS? – BDS Movement An explanation of the context and history of the BDS Movement.
Preservation (Archival Practice & Film History)
State of Blackness program The State of Blackness: From Production to Presentation website serves as an archive of the activities of a conference of the same name that took place in 2014. The site also serves as a repository for information about ongoing research geared toward making visible the artistic production and dissemination of works by Black Canadian cultural producers. Vtape Film Spreadsheet
Preservation Resources – LI-MA – Living Media Art Preserving and managing media art presents quite a few challenges, and nothing evolves as fast as hardware and software. How do you preserve a digital artwork if the software for it no longer exists? And how do you preserve the original experience of real-time generated work for future generations? This site contains resources pertinent to these questions.
Sectoral Reports
Climate Justice and the Media Arts – IMAA This project consists of preliminary research – including a needs assessment, environmental scan and community consultation – to find out what the media arts community needs in order to address the climate emergency in their work, and what role the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA) can play to support them.
Hill Strategies Hill Strategies is a leading authority on arts research and statistics in Canada. The analyses that we offer should help you: Keep on top of challenges and trends; Spur creative thinking about your local situation, or the situation in your discipline; Help in your advocacy or policy work; Assist in fundraising efforts and funding application.
Toolkits
Media Arts Advocacy Toolkit – IMAA The Toolkit was created by the IMAA Advocacy Committee in advance of the 2024 federal election. It outlines a set of value propositions and evidence–for multiple types of advocacy opportunities–on the importance of the national Media Arts sector
Online Presentation Standards – IMAA The sudden surge of new presentation models exposes an urgent need to formalize standards for streaming and other types of online presentation for the media arts sector. To address these issues, IMAA engaged in a national conversation with media artists, arts service organizations, media arts festivals and independent distributors, galleries, and other presenters. This project took place in 2021.
This page is a work in progress. If you have any resources that we should add to this page, please email Tessa at coord@imaa.ca .