The Slow Touring Sessions are back! Learn more and register here.
What is the Slow Touring Project?
Reimagining Sustainable, Equitable Arts on the Road
The Slow Touring Project takes inspiration from the wider Slow Movement (such as Slow Food and Slow Tourism) and aims to transform the touring sector, seeking to increase the engagement between visiting artists and the local community, increase artists’ and presenters’ capacity to take creative risks, improve artists’ wellbeing and financial stability, and reduce the climate impact of touring.
The 5 Principles of Slow Touring
Equity (including for Indigenous, people of colour, women, deaf and disabled, queer, trans and non-binary, elder, emerging, and caregiver artists and art-workers)
Ensuring meaningful connections between artists and the communities they visit
Addressing the power imbalance between artists and presenters
Climate justice and sustainability
Mental and physical wellness of artists and arts workers
Project Phases
The Research Phase [2022–23]
In 2022, Ontario Presents commissioned three reports on Slow Touring. We asked the researchers to consult with the artistic community, seeking to learn about current barriers and opportunities, and develop recommendations for transformative touring models. The result was a 22 page report which helped us establish the 5 principles and informed the creation of the Slow Touring Project.
This research took place with support from the Canada Council for the Arts, and in partnership with IPAA (Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance) and SPARC (Supporting Performing Arts in Rural and Remote Communities).
Access the report here:
The Pilot Project [2024–25]
We began this project by selecting a cohort of both artists and presenters who met regularly as a group to learn and share ideas about slow touring, receive funding to carry out pilot initiatives throughout 2024-2025, and report back on how they went. This project supports participants in “slowing” some of their existing touring and presenting activities through initiatives that address at least one of the 5 Slow Touring Principles.
Check out a playlist of our video series highlighting these projects here.
This work was supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and completed in partnership with Réseau SPARC Network, Debajehmujig Theatre Group, and Folk Music Ontario.
The Touring Phase [2025–26]
Following our pilot project phase, we received support from the Department of Canadian Heritage to continue working with some Ontario Presents presenter members to deepen their work around Slow Touring. We have been working closely with 4 members to create full Slow Tours for 2 artists (selected/programmed by the presenters), taking place in 2025 and 2026. As usual, the project design will aim to serve the 5 slow touring principles we have identified.
The work of the Pilot Project and the Touring Phase will eventually be published in a report.
Workshop Series
The Slow Touring Sessions [2026–]
Digging deeper into examples of what slow touring looks like in practice, from international touring and rural contexts to artist residencies and touring in alignment with Indigenous cultural values.
Learn more and register for all 5 of these workshops here!
Transforming the Touring Sector [2024–25]
In the winter of 24–25, we hosted a virtual workshop series titled Transforming the Touring Sector: A Learning Series that featured speakers from all over the world at the cutting edge of presenting under the principles of Slow Touring. Hundreds of guests joined us for these conversations, exploring how their organizations might transform to incorporate the values of sustainability, equity and empathy in the face of our ‘new normal’.
Dive into the record of these workshops here: