Young Ambassadors

Applications for 2017 PuSh Young Ambassadors have closed.

Meet the 2017 Young Ambassadors

The Young Ambassadors program integrates the next generation of Vancouver’s young artists into the Festival and connects them with visiting Canadian and international artists. Young professionals serve as local ambassadors to the presented artists and are provided opportunities for engagement with their specific artists’ practice as well as several workshops and industry events within the larger context of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.

Goals

• Provide local, emerging professionals with the opportunity to engage with acclaimed Canadian and international artists
• Assist visiting artists with making meaningful connections to Vancouver’s arts and cultural scene
• Provide visiting artists with a friendly, knowledgeable and helpful local resource

Who the Ambassadors are

• Recent post-secondary graduates or post-secondary students in their senior year (does not need to be a theatre program)
• Open-minded, friendly individuals with in-depth knowledge of Vancouver and its various cultural attractions.

What the Ambassadors are responsible for

• Being a resource for visiting artists. This could include recommending restaurants, helping to organize excursions and trips, and finding physiotherapists
• Providing a comfortable, social atmosphere for the visiting artists
• Researching the visiting artists and their work, prior to their arrival
• Assisting with the backstage workings and running of the visiting artist’s performances during the Festival (this may not be required in all cases)
• Each Ambassador placement has its own unique requirements, depending on the individual needs of the artists and performances

Key points

• The artists are not mentors, and the Ambassadors are not personal assistants. They are peers and considered vital to the artists’ ability to engage with the local community
• These are unpaid, volunteer positions
• The artists may vary in their need to call upon the Ambassadors during their stay. An Ambassador is expected to be flexible, ready to respond to the individual character and cultural background of the visiting artists
• Time commitment varies depending on specific placement
• Ambassadors receive free admission to PuSh Festival performances (subject to availability and time commitment)

Ambassador Program Timeline

• November, 2016 – Letters of interest are collected
• December 1, 2016– Young Ambassadors are notified
• Early December, 2016 – Shows offered
• Mid-December, 2016 – First official meeting
• Early January, 2017 – Second meeting with updates and information packages

Times and dates are negotiated with the participants.

Application

• Ambassadors are accepted by invitation or by letters of interest (due in November)
• Letters of interest should be a point-form one-pager consisting of:
  • A one-sentence description of your artistic practice
  • Five of your artistic interests
  • Three works/artists that have inspired you/your practice
  • Three things outside of the arts that you’re passionate about
  • One sentence of what you hope to get out of the program
• Potential Young Ambassadors will be contacted by December 1, 2016.

For more information, contact youth@pushfestival.ca