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
2022 - 23
Research
Three commissioned reports, the 5 Principles
2024 - 25
Pilot Project
A cohort of artists and presenters
2025 - 26
Touring Phase
Full slow tours with 4 members
2026 -
The Sessions
Workshops open to all artsworkers
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.
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.
Watch the Interviews Check out a playlist of our video series highlighting these projects.
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.
Workshop Series
Now Open
The Slow Touring Sessions
Hands-on workshops digging into what slow touring looks like in practice. Season 3 runs from November 2026 to April 2027 on the theme of Building Long-Term Relationships, covering outreach to cultural communities, empathetic employment, and financing slow touring. Free and open to all artsworkers in Canada.
2024 - 2026
Watch Past Seasons
Two full seasons are free to watch. Season 1, Transforming the Touring Sector, brought speakers from around the world to talk about sustainability, equity and empathy in presenting. Season 2 covered touring with Indigenous values, the rural perspective, sustainable touring, international touring, and creation partnerships and residencies.
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage, The Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council for the Arts.
