Mass Culture / Mobilisation culturelle

08/05/2026

On the eve of SummerWorks, we’re reflecting on what festivals can teach us about making information useful.

As part of Mass Culture’s Data Narratives for the Arts (DNA) initiative, staff from SummerWorks and the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival came together for a candid exchange about data, organizational memory and the realities of working within intense festival cycles.

Their conversation surfaced lessons relevant across the arts sector: begin with the story rather than the software, collect insights while experiences are still fresh, design systems for staff turnover and combine numbers with the context that gives them meaning.

Most importantly, useful data practice is a form of organizational care - helping knowledge travel from one busy cycle to the next.

Read the full blog post, “What Festivals Can Teach Us About Making Information Useful”: https://massculture.ca/2026/07/data-exchange-what-festivals-can-teach-us-about-making-information-useful/

And to the SummerWorks team: wishing you a wonderful festival!

07/02/2026

How should we measure the economic value of the arts?

We’ve come up with one way - a new Economic Impact Dashboard on the DNA Platform - and here is a sneak peek.

Join us for the official launch on JULY 22 to learn more and be the first to play with this new dashboard.

REGISTER NOW! https://survey.zohopublic.ca/zs/V3D5L9

06/29/2026

Mass Culture's Data Summer School is back!

This year we're diving into the economics of the arts. "Making Sense of Economic Impact in the Arts: A History and Practical Guide to Economic Modelling" is a free, 90-minute online session designed for arts professionals who want to better understand the data behind economic impact in our sector.

Join us on July 22, from 1:00 - 2:30 PM EDT.
No cost to attend. Just register and show up.

Register here: massculture.ca/dna/summer-school/

06/18/2026

Arts + Cultural Organizations - LAST CHANCE to share your experience on banking in the arts. This short 5-minute survey will close on Sunday night.
SURVEY: https://survey.zohopublic.ca/zs/hPCD9L

Organisations artistiques + culturelles – DERNIÈRE CHANCE de partager votre expérience en matière de services bancaires dans le secteur artistique. Ce court questionnaire de 5 minutes prendra fin dimanche soir.
SONDAGE: https://survey.zohopublic.ca/zs/LWlLoE

Share with us, and we'll share back!
Partagez avec nous, et nous partagerons en retour !

05/19/2026

La version française est maintenant disponible!

Nous sommes ravis d'annoncer la publication de la version française du *Sondage exploratoire auprès des artistes sur l'IA* — et nous avons hâte que vous la découvriez!

Plus tôt cette année, nous avons mené ce sondage auprès de 750 artistes canadiens pour mieux comprendre leurs perspectives sur l'intelligence artificielle : leurs préoccupations, leurs espoirs, et leur niveau d'engagement avec ces nouvelles technologies. Les résultats sont fascinants, nuancés, et nous le croyons vraiment importants pour la communauté artistique canadienne.

Maintenant que ces résultats sont accessibles en français, nous souhaitons rejoindre encore plus d'artistes, de professionnels du milieu culturel et de décideurs à travers le pays. Parce que cette conversation sur l'IA et les arts doit se tenir dans les deux langues officielles, et au-delà.

Rapport en français : https://canva.link/nokyfd3wkwhyx7h

Merci à tous ceux et celles qui ont participé au sondage et qui continuent de contribuer à cette réflexion collective. Votre voix compte.

Check out this design designed by Mass Culture .

05/14/2026

Question: What kinds of financial tools and infrastructure would actually support arts and cultural organizations?

Share your organization’s experiences today. Your insights will help inform what comes next. Since launching The Mass Culture Podcast, ep 2, we’ve had many conversations and to answer this question, we need more information from you. Because if we want a resilient and equitable cultural sector, we need to understand how money actually moves through it, and how it might move differently.

TAKE THE SURVEY - https://bit.ly/MC-banking-survey
Takes 5 minutes to complete. Survey closes on June 21, 2026.
We'll anonymize and share insights with you this Summer.

Watch The Mass Culture Podcast, ep 2: A Bank for the Arts: Why Canadian Arts Orgs Need Their Own Financial Tools - https://bit.ly/MCpodcast_ep2

05/11/2026

Artists across Canada - Help us shape public life
Join us! Our first session is on June 15.
Sign up today.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Mass Culture × Public Imagination Network are pleased to share a new partnership dedicated to strengthening the role of artists in public policy discourse across Canada. Our collaboration aims to build stronger, more responsive connections between policy processes and the lived experiences, questions, and insights of artists.

Get Involved - A Call for Artists to Help Shape Public Life
We are inviting artists from across Canada to join us by filling out this form here: https://massculture.ca/get-involved/

An orientation session will take place on June 15, 2026 from 2-4pm EDT via Zoom. Six other meetings will happen throughout the year.

Public Imagination Network (PIN) is a network for artists and thinkers from across disciplines who are passionate about creative responses to issues of public governance and social justice.

05/07/2026

RESULTS ARE IN - The Curiosity Poll for Artists on AI gathered responses from 750 artists representing a broad range of artistic disciplines, geographic regions, and relationships to AI.

After reading through the incredible insights shared by artists across the survey, Mass Culture began noticing important nuances in how different groups of artists were thinking and feeling about AI. We’re sharing these insights with you.

Click here to read the report in English: https://canva.link/5qvrw08mfbeubpb

La version française sera bientôt disponible.

Check out this design designed by Mass Culture .

05/01/2026

ANNOUNCEMENT: Mass Culture × Public Imagination Network are pleased to share a new partnership dedicated to strengthening the role of artists in public policy discourse across Canada. Our collaboration aims to build stronger, more responsive connections between policy processes and the lived experiences, questions, and insights of artists.

Get Involved - A Call for Artists to Help Shape Public Life
We are inviting artists from across Canada to join us by filling out this form here: https://massculture.ca/get-involved/

An orientation session will take place on June 15, 2026 from 2-4pm EDT via Zoom. Six other meetings will happen throughout the year.

Public Imagination Network (PIN) is a network for artists and thinkers from across disciplines who are passionate about creative responses to issues of public governance and social justice.

04/21/2026

How are artists navigating AI right now?
We’re gathering perspectives through a Curiosity Poll for Artists on AI and over 250 artists have already contributed.

Take 5 minutes to share your experience and help shape what comes next.

Deadline: April 27

English: https://survey.zohopublic.ca/zs/JLBwR0?lang=en
French: https://survey.zohopublic.ca/zs/JLBwR0?lang=fr