When people talk about Calgary and its arts scene, the story that often gets told is that emerging artists usually leave our city; they don’t choose to stay or move here to practice their art. There’s no support; they can’t make a living.

While that story may have had some truth to it at one time, it’s no longer accurate. Assistance for these artists has expanded significantly. Local organizations such as Arts Commons have created programs to provide educational and mentoring opportunities to accelerate emerging artists’ careers.

These programs include the Arts Commons TD Incubator Program. Another program is offered through Arts Common’s resident company, One Yellow Rabbit. OYR’s beautifulyoungartists program provides performance opportunities specifically for emerging artists.

Wakefield Brewster is one of Canada’s most powerful professional performance poets. He moved to Calgary from Toronto in 2016, one of the artists to dispel the past story. It’s here in what he calls the ‘New West’, where he says his career has taken off and flourished.

Wakefield applied and was accepted to the first TD Incubator cohort.

“It was like the X-Men School for the Arts. I learned so many lessons from the classes, the collaborations, the socials, the networking. As artists, we had the Arts skills down and the program helped us to hone the business side of our practice. Even after 23 years, I learned so much in the incubator,” says Wakefield.

“You are not just an artist. You’re a business person. You're an owner. You're an influencer, a community member, a leader, a mentor. You need to think big and think broadly,” adds Wakefield.

As a tap dancer and teacher, Calgarian and New Yorker Lisa LaTouche had already begun to establish her career when the inaugural TD Incubator launched. Another Calgary-based artist, musician Jon McCaslin, asked her to apply with him as a collaborative team and they were accepted to the original cohort, along with Wakefield Brewster and others.

“I was already established worldwide. But I can always use help in marketing. I had never pursued writing grants for projects, breaking down budgets and using resources to expand smaller projects into bigger ones,” says Lisa.

“We were able to take what we had done at the cabaret and turn it into a full show. I’ve been part of shows or produced small dance performances. This was like a multi-disciplinary concert with funding and partnerships. I had never done that before. I was able to because of the Incubator program,” adds Lisa, who was also part of producing the short film TRAX, which premiered at CIFF 2022.

Long-established award-winning Calgary artist, dancer, choreographer and director Denise Clarke is the Associate Artist and a performance member of One Yellow Rabbit. Today she directs the beautifulyoungartists program.

Denise loves working with emerging artists and realized a gap existed when they finished training.

She recalls encountering a lot of bumps on the road on the way as a young artist.

“I literally knew nothing. I just did everything for myself. It would have been nice to have someone as a mentor,” says Denise

“I’ve been in this game for a long time and I feel particularly well equipped to mentor and to talk about skill development. I’m inspired to work with young people who are trained and ready to take on the beginnings of nuanced and shaded work,” Denise adds.

As a steward of Calgary’s arts ecosystem, Arts Commons has a mandate to provide support and care for our artists. VP of Programming Sarah Garton Stanley (SGS) joined the Arts Commons team early in the 2023-24 season. "As a new member of the Calgary Arts community I was astounded by the power of the TD Incubator program because it told me a story of a city busting wide-open with talent and skills,” says SGS. “I had anticipated meeting artists at the beginning of their careers. Instead I met a room with a full range of experience and disciplines, all sharing a hunger to become extraordinary makers and artistic giants here, in Calgary. Artists who want to work with the rivers and the roads of this city, to contribute to it being the place to be. TBH, I found it exhilarating. I still do.”

One of the largest performing Canadian arts centres, the organization is on a path to elevate and accelerate the careers of local emerging artists and to continue to rewrite the Calgary arts scene story.