Tiny Lights Festival ignites Creativity with

our Artist Development Series

We have been quietly working behind the scenes, doing the deep work of reflection while continuing to support equity and systems change in the BC arts landscape. While the non-profit organization's Tiny Lights ‘festival’ component had been on hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions, this turn of events led us to a new intimate way to be connected, close, and creative in 2021. In an innovative approach to skill and knowledge sharing, Tiny Lights asked established artists from the BIPOC community and other underrepresented groups, to offer their music and mentorship to the wider arms of the BC cultural scene. These artists then chose what they wanted to teach and which community to work with and participants were selected alongside the mentors. We were able to pioneer paying emerging artists to participate in professional development. This series has continued with the assistance of the BC Arts Council, Creative BC, and Columbia Basin Trust.

SONGWEAVER: From seed to sound with Thanya Iyer

A workshop on using healing-centered songwriting techniques in our own practice and in working with others. There are so many creative ways that we use songwriting and improvisation in our personal practice, with our collaborations and through education and facilitation. How can we align our creation process in songwriting and improvisation with healing-centered approaches that nurture individual and communal agency, support self-expression and provide ongoing opportunities for ourselves and the people we work with to experience creative freedom andchoice?

In this workshop, we're going to be writing and sharing songs! We'll talk about different songwriting and improvisational methods of creation, including lyric writing, melody formation and chordal harmony techniques. Together, we'll also brainstorm how we can align these specific creative practices closely to healing-centered/trauma-informed ways of being.

• Learners will be able to obtain a series of lyric writing, melody creation and chord techniques that they can use in their own practice and with their collaborators.

• Learners will be able to reflect on their individual entry points into songwriting and how they can share this with the people they work with in healing-centered, person-centered ways of being.

• Learners will create a communal song

This workshop is for anyone and everyone, but if people have a particular interest in working with youth/musical collaborators or in education/facilitation/music therapy field then we can really dive into that!

Ongoing Access And Community Building In Music with Rae Spoon

A generative workshop for underrepresented musicians on strategies around music creation, funding, career development, community building and access awareness/creation during the ongoing pandemic. Workshop participants will submit topics they’re interested in and meet three times to explore developing their own practices while creating space for themselves and others.

This workshop is geared toward under-represented (LGBTQI2S, IBPOC, deaf

spectrum,sick,immunocompromised and/or disabled, feminized) musicians who have an interest

in creating and maintaining access in the arts. A priority will be given to deaf spectrum, sick,

immunocompromised and/or disabled folks. For access needs, please contact

carla@tinylightsfestival.com

Embracing Your Learning Edge with Khari McClelland

Most of us shy away from discomfort and lean toward what is familiar and known. This workshop is about doing the opposite, meeting the edges of our discomfort in order to unlock a cache of personal and communal resources:

• Deeper relationships with self and others

• (Re)Discovering pathways to joy and fulfillment

• Increasing our strength, flexibility, and endurance for meeting life and our artistic practices

• It will be a heartfelt, hands on exploration using experiential arts based activities, storytelling and dialogue.

All disciplines and experience levels are welcome. I look forward to sharing and learning alongside you.

Music Production Strategies - Diverse strategies for producing music merging home recording with studio recording with Jo Hirabayashi 平林

In this workshop we'll explore the concept of the studio, discussing many facets of music production and how these aid practically in the process of music creation. We’ll be looking at ways for musicians to use entry level recording equipment as tools to work in tandem with full fledged recording, mixing and mastering studios in order to produce professional level recordings in all musical genres.

This workshop is open to both audio engineers/producers, self-recording musicians and anybody who’d like to gain a deeper understanding of bringing an

album to life using a variety of accessible audio recording tools and methods.

The Art of Building a Vocal Practice with Shruti Ramani

We will explore training for vocal malleability using Indian classical and Jazz vocal practices. Building on these concepts, we’ll find creative ways of improvising to keep our compositions fresh and spontaneous. We will workshop ideas and support each other in not only composing these exercises but also singing them. In subsequent sessions, we will learn about the use of different ornamentations in Hindustani and jazz musics and how they're related.

We will workshop a simple standard, applying ornamentation, and also explore the art of phrasing, singing a tune of one's choice

PAST WORKSHOPS

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO APPLIED FOR OUR FALL SERIES. THE RESPONSE WAS OVERWHELMING, WHICH SPEAKS TO THE NEED FOR ARTIST PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

We will be offering more opportunities thanks to the support of the BC Arts Council. Please feel free to explore our past workshops below.

The Rhythm of Funny: Writing Comedy Songs with Shirley Gnome

In this workshop, you'll marry songwriting structures with comedy joke writing. Tips and advice on cultivating your own signature style will also be explored. Get prepared to share your newfound hilarity during an in-the-round with your new community of collaborators!

Demystifying South Asian Music with Mohamed Assani

Whether you are a percussionist, instrumentalist or vocalist, if you want to deepen your knowledge of Raag and Taal - rhythm and melody in South Asian Music, this course is for you! Learn how to play in complex time cycles, like 7, 9, and 10; grow your confidence in cross-rhythms, and acquire skills in rhythmic vocalization and counting techniques.

Try Songwriting for a Change with Tariq Hussain

We’ll explore the craft of lyric writing, in this style, through close listening, discussion, experimentation, collaboration, and practice. Dig deeper into the genre of protest /commentary songs and prepare for the completion of your song that you will present to the rest of the group on the final evening.

Nature and We: models for creativity, justice and collective resilience

with Khari Wendell McClelland

Together we will investigate how nature and natural systems might influence our creative process and work. I believe nature holds a deep repository of wisdom for how we might approach creativity and life

What to Give and What to Hold Close with Rachael Cardiello

A conversation on writing from a therapeutic lens and an exploration of what we choose to bring to the stage. We will take a look at the necessity of creating versus the art of sharing and the murky waters where these areas overlap.

Applications are open to individuals who identify as professional musicians/performance artists with a minimum of 2 years of experience in their craft. To eliminate application barriers we are also offering verbal and video applications.

“This work takes time, and we recognize our privilege and complicity in the existing model and our responsibility to foment change. We also know that we are a very small and agile organization and can do bold things. Our first step is changing the way we deliver on the funding our organization has received by putting the power back into the hands of performers to choose what they want to present, instead of as presenters telling the artist what we require of them.” - Carla and Shawn Stephenson-Founders and Directors of the Tiny Lights Festival and its parent organization, Renascence Arts and Sustainability Society

TINY LIGHTS FESTIVAL IGNITED ITS ARTIST DEVELOPMENT SERIES

Last September we were able to offer a series of professional development workshops for artists. In this challenging time, artists have been deeply affected by isolation and lack of communtiy. These workshops offered authentic community building opportunities, they also allowed rural artists to access mentorship from estabilshed artist from around the province.