Navigating Precarity: A Transatlantic Roundtable

Navigating Precarity: A Transatlantic Roundtable on Civic Engagement, Sustainability, and Governance

🎤 What happens when cultural workers from both sides of the Atlantic sit down to talk about the future?

From rising precarity to shrinking public support, arts and culture workers everywhere are facing the same storm — but in very different boats.

🌍 On 23 May, join us online for “Navigating Precarity” — a bold transatlantic roundtable that brings together voices from Canada and Europe to unpack how civic engagement, sustainability, and governance can help weather the crisis in the cultural, arts and heritage sector.

🔍 This 90-minute Zoom event — hosted by OCAD University and Trans Europe Halles — is part of the GET (Good Enough Transformation) project, which explores how culture can lead the way in sustainable, community-driven change. GET is a project funded by GLOBUS programme, Nordisk Kulturfond, that spans 4 continents and aims to position cultural spaces as the ones capable of leading sustainable, community-driven change. It promotes local resilience and civic innovation by embracing “good enough” solutions in the face of complex global challenges.

🎙️ With speakers like Éleftérios Kechagioglou (Le Plus Petit Cirque du Monde, Paris / France) and Patti Pon (Cultural Policy Hub & Calgary Arts Development at OCAD University, Canada), expect a conversation that’s honest, global, and grounded in action.

🗓️ Friday, 23 May

🕙 10:00 EDT (Canada-time) / 16:00 CET (European-time)

💻 On Zoom, free participation

Featured Speakers:

Patti Pon

Patti Pon has deep and diverse experience in the arts sector, having served in senior leadership positions at the EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts (now Arts Commons), Alberta Performing Arts Stabilization Fund, and Alberta Theatre Projects, among others. She has been President & CEO of Calgary Arts Development since 2013 and led the organization through the process of tripling its budget in 2019.

In the community, Patti was elected in 2021 as the first person of colour to the board of the Calgary Stampede and chairs the board of the Toronto based Agora Foundation, publisher of the online journal The Philanthropist. She completed her full 9-year term on the board of The Calgary Foundation in 2020, is a founding board member of the Asian Heritage Foundation (Southern Alberta), served on the steering committee for imagineCalgary; and is a Past Board Chair of Canada’s oldest public radio station, CKUA Radio Network. She also served as a board member for the Calgary Bid Exploration Committee and related entities who explored the potential for Calgary to submit a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Patti has been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and was the 2013 Harry and Martha Cohen Award, recognizing significant contribution to Calgary’s theatre community.

Éleftérios Kechagioglou

Éleftérios Kechagioglou is the director of Le Plus Petit Cirque du Monde - Centre Culturel de Rencontre(since 2007). He is an expert on artistic, cultural and urban policies in disadvantaged areas, European programs and intercultural dialogue. He studied Political Science and Contemporary History in Institut d'Etudes Politiques of Paris (Master 2), specialized in European studies and collaborated with UNESCO. From there, he started a career in circus, theatre and writing, working as an artist, trainer and stage director. He also worked with several theatres, circus schools, professional companies and public administration (Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs). During the last 20 years, he has been developing several artistic and urban projects focusing on their social and human impact.

About the Hosts

OCAD University (Toronto, Canada) is Canada’s largest and oldest art and design institution, known for fostering inclusive, forward-thinking approaches to creativity, research, and global collaboration. OCAD U’s International Programs & Collaborations Office supports initiatives that connect students, faculty, and partners through meaningful international exchanges and events.

Trans Europe Halles (TEH) is an international NGO based in Lund, Sweden. Since 1983, TEH has championed the repurposing of abandoned buildings into vibrant cultural spaces across Europe and beyond. A member-led force for change, TEH embodies a bottom-up, activist spirit that embraces creativity, community, and the transformative potential of urban space. Its network of cultural trailblazers includes visionaries working in cultural production, city planning, sustainable architecture, social innovation, and more—making TEH a dynamic platform for learning, advocacy, and exchange.

Together, OCAD U and TEH host Navigating Precarity: A Transatlantic Roundtable to foster dialogue on civic engagement, sustainability, and governance in response to precarity shaping our cultural and creative sectors today.