THE VOICE OF FRANCOPHONE ARTS
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represents and protects the interest of artists and organizations in
dealings with political and community bodies,
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supports professional training and development,
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promotes the efforts of its members to create, produce, present and
distribute works within Canada and abroad,
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complements the work of the province’s arts and culture organizations
by providing artists with resources, programs and services that are not
otherwise available,
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The Regroupement artistique francophone de l’Alberta (RAFA) is a provincial arts
service organization and the official voice of Alberta’s francophone arts and culture
community. Its mission is to bring together French-speaking artists and arts and
culture organizations to ensure the development and vitality of all forms of artistic
expression in Alberta.
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thematic workshops
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individual coaching
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the biennial Entr’ARTS program in artistic creation
They are intended both for artists, to meet their career development needs, and
for cultural industry workers and volunteers involved on a daily basis in developing
and promoting arts and culture in the province.
INCLUDED IN THE THEMATIC WORKSHOPS
AND INDIVIDUAL COACHING SERVICES ARE
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the development of professional practice
maintains a network for communication amongst its members and with
other Canadian organizations that have similar goals,
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career management
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market and audience development
serves as a forum for collective action by artists and cultural industry
workers.
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cultural development
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governance and management of arts and culture organizations
RAFA HAS ADOPTED FOUR CORE
STRATEGIES FOR ALL THESE ACTIONS.
interdisciplinary program in artistic
creation designed to support artists in the
development of their professional practice.
Established in 2007 and already nationally
recognized for its excellence, Entr’ARTS offers
professional training seminars conducted by leading French-Canadian artists. It
targets not only Alberta’s professional and emerging artists, but also artists from
other parts of western and northern Canada.
The seminars take place in August at the Banff Centre, an internationally
renowned arts institution in Alberta and our principal partner in this program.
The philosophy of the Entr’ARTS program is to create and develop a spirit of
fellowship among artists that nurtures their creative process and practice. The
time spent in the company of their peers inspires and encourages them to
broaden their horizons through multi-arts, inter-arts and inter-regional projects
and productions.
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the catalogue of francophone shows and cultural products
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the awards of excellence, recognizing excellence in artistic creation
and promotion of the arts
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the Grand marché des arts, the Grand Arts Market to be introduced
in 2014
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several promotional portals:
--
the online directory of French-speaking artists (Répertoire virtuel
des artistes),
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the literary arts portal (Alinéa), featuring our professional writers,
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the weekly webzine (Coup d’œil), covering news of interest to our arts and culture community.
FIND THEM ALL
AT ONE ADDRESS:
WWW.LERAFA.CA
AND THE
SOCIAL MEDIA SITES:
RAFAlberta
@RAFAlberta
THE SERVICES OFFERED INCLUDE:
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support for artists in launching their products
enriching and expanding their artistic vision,
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the production of promotional tools
the representation of artists at major cultural and showcase events such
as Contact Ouest, Alberta Showcase, Francofête en Acadie, and others,
TRAINING BENEFITS ARTISTS BY
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the comprehensive audience development strategy (Stratégie globale
de développement de public)
Visit www.lerafa.ca/formation, our continuing professional education portal
(Formation professionnelle continue), a tool used by RAFA to manage the
supply of, and demand for, its services in this area.
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giving them more confidence in their creative process and expression,
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enabling them to acquire new work tools and methods to help develop
their professional practice,
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support for arts presenters
In the toolbox (Boîte à outils) section of its web site, RAFA also offers various
professional training and development support tools that are available to everyone.
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providing opportunities to forge close, solid ties with other artists that
open new doors to the world.
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support for communities of practice
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an annual meeting of presenters to ensure diversified programming
As its official representative, RAFA gives the arts
community a strong, unified voice on the political scene, at the municipal, provincial
and federal levels.
To sustain the development of arts and culture, RAFA maintains strategic
partnerships that value the contribution of artists and arts organizations.
As a result of RAFA’s efforts, Alberta’s French-speaking artists and organizations are
better positioned in Canada’s francophone community and have greater visibility in
Alberta society.
Each year, RAFA emphasizes networking and joint action by holding its Forum des
arts et de la culture and a meeting with the arts organizations. It facilitates the
holding of various discussions and networking opportunities as necessary.
RAFA adjusts and strengthens its governance structure as necessary to
enable it to take on all the activities included in its action plan and carry
out its mission. RAFA represents the interests of its members and ensures
their participation in the democratic life of the organization.
RAFA’s core programming is made possible by financial support from
the Department of Canadian Heritage and various federal agencies
(Canada Council for the Arts and Musicaction); and from Alberta
Culture (Community Initiatives Program and the Francophone
Secretariat).
2001 Creation of RAFA.
2002 The organization incorporates and becomes the official voice of
French-language arts and culture in Alberta.
2003 RAFA joins the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française (FCCF), a national
network of francophone cultural and arts organizations.
2003 Establishment of the first network of francophone performing arts presenters
in the province.
2004 Creation of the first performing arts market for Alberta’s French-speaking
artists; the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, an agency of the Government of
Alberta, grants RAFA status as a provincial arts service organization (PASO).
2005 Creation and holding of the first Forum des arts et de la culture, an
annual 2-day gathering of artists and organizations; an initial collaborative
meeting of artists focuses on the introduction of services aimed at
supporting the professionalization of artists.
2006 Creation of the first Alberta tour of Coup de foudre performances; the
Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta (ACFA) names RAFA the arts
and culture sector leader.
2007 Holding of the first edition of Entr’ARTS, the interdisciplinary program in
artistic creation; Contact Alberta, the performing arts market, opens its doors
to Canada.
2008 Testing of a career development service leads to a permanent structure
being put in place to support the development of professional practice.
2009 RAFA undertakes an organizational development exercise that covers all its
operations; production of a comprehensive audience development strategy
for the arts; the Contact Alberta, le Contact Ouest event opens its doors to
the international market.
2010 A strategic planning process includes a restructuring of the organization
and leads to preparation of a five-year development plan.
2011 Launch of the continuing professionalization structure.
2012 Increase of nearly 50% in performing arts audiences;
nearly 75% of the artists on stage were from Alberta.
This publication is made possible by:
Published in September 2012
AS THE OFFICIAL VOICE OF FRANCOPHONE
ARTS AND CULTURE, RAFA
ENTR’ARTS, is the biennial
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RAFA represents the interests of the Frenchspeaking arts community, solicits the
support of various political and community
bodies, and drives action to sustain the
development of arts and culture.
HIGHLIGHTS OF RAFA’S FIRST TEN YEARS:
RAFA provides all creative individuals in the province with an artistic
community comprising of not only artists, but also cultural industry
workers, organizations, institutions, and the general public.
Considered essential to the development
and sustainability of Alberta’s Frenchlanguage arts and culture ecosystem,
professional training and development
account for a large part of RAFA’s annual programming. Three types of
ongoing professionalization services, focusing on skill enhancement,
creative activity and professional practice, are regularly offered:
That is why a number of resources, services and initiatives have been
developed, some of which are available on our web site. These include:
STRATEGY 3
POSITIONING OF THE ARTS COMMUNITY
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The community at large plays a leading role in supporting the
development of its artists by giving them the time, space and resources to
create new works.
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AT
RAFA: HIGH-QUALITY, ACCESSIBLE,
CONTINUING
The opening of new markets, an endeavour that is essential to the growth
of our cultural industry and our communities, accounts for a significant
share of the work done by RAFA, which aims to expand the reach of its
arts and culture community and, at the same time, promote artists and
their works.
STRATEGY 4
GOVERNANCE AND CONSOLIDATION
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Artists shock, disturb, provoke, and raise awareness, to give a whole
population more food for thought.
STRATEGY 2
MARKET DEVELOPMENT, PROMOTION AND COMMUNICATION
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STRATEGY 1
DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
MISSION AND MANDATE
WWW.LERAFA.CA
J’appartiens à ce que je crée à grand coup de volonté !
(France Levasseur-Ouimet)
Arts and culture are of indispensable value in the lives of individuals and
the development of society. They are a means for us not only to enjoy
ourselves, but also to celebrate our identity and express our differences. For
more than 200 years, cultural activities in Alberta have served to stimulate
and shape the province’s francophone communities. Today, newcomers from
other parts of Canada and from Europe and Africa, as well as francophiles,
are adding to the number of French-speakers in the province. The pulse
of this new society is established by the rhythm of artistic creation that
reflects and expresses it.