Arts Sector 2030

A collective and creative mapping of our future

ASOs: Positioning a Future Forward

The Convergence Space origin story

What this is

Welcome to the Convergence Space, a fictitious future world that exists as a collective vision to support a future thriving arts sector. Fragments of this space exist in every hard-working and innovative ASO art worker’s mind. For the sake of situating it, the Convergence Space is the Canadian arts sector in 2030. It is also an ideal vision of the arts sector that we ALL strive to bring into being.

During the conference in January 2023, we had the resources and time to collectively map it out!

In this creative map drawing game, Contributors (conference participants who sign up) don’t control specific characters or act out scenes. Instead, they act as abstract social forces within the Convergence space. Ideas are put forward and decisions are made on how to address them. Tensions will emerge that ultimately reveal the collective character of the Convergence Space.

Those who bravely decide to step forward (the Contributors) will provide glimpses into the Convergence Space. Led by Creative Futures (https://www.creativefutures.studio/), a session at the end of the conference was held to collectively analyze the map.

Contributors defined the future of this space by sharing their values and decisions with Betty Pomerleau, the Artist Cartographer. Keep in mind some decisions are altered by chance and the opinions of Contributors. Based on what is said by Contributors, the Artist Cartographer will add visual interpretations to the map, which will evolve throughout the ASO Convergence conference. When we reach the end of our two days together, a rich visual record of ideas, tensions and curiosities will be mapped out for us to further explore as we chart our way forward. We don’t know what the future will bring, but what we do know is that right now there is a moment and space to build something together.

The story has already begun!

For a long time, an abundance of curiosities and ideas on what a future arts sector should look like has been brewing. So much so, that a space has emerged. The Convergence Space. Now finally, a team of brave Contributors have stepped forward in an attempt to help illustrate a fraction of this ever-evolving imaginary geographic space that we are envisioning as the Canadian arts sector in 2030. Through the power of the arts, a glimpse of this space will be revealed for all to see in hopes that it inspires us as an ASO community to continue to collectively build a healthy and vibrant arts ecology.

How Arts Sector 2030 works

Contributors who have signed up will take a seat across from the Artist Cartographer
The Researcher will hand the Contributor the card from the top of the deck
The Contributor(s) will read the card’s provocation and instructions out loud
The Researcher can answer any clarifying questions or provide prompts
In fifteen-minute increments, the Artist Cartographer will illustrate the Contributor’s responses and the Researcher will write down a summary.
Once the fifteen minutes are up, the Contributor will leave, the Artist will add final touches and the next Contributor(s) will sit down for the fifteen-minute slot.
A projection of the map will be shared as a focal point throughout the conference and online
Once all of the rounds of Contributors have occurred, the cards will be laid out on a table in front of the projected map
A session led by Creative Futures will take part to work with a group of attendees during the conference to analyze what has been visually documented.