SummerWorks

Meet our 2026 SummerWorks Team! 💛✨

We’re so SO incredibly excited to bring you the 36th SummerWorks Festival to you with the help of these incredible artists (and spreadsheet magicians). We can’t wait to see you this August. ☀️🖤

Stay tuned for a full programming announcement coming NEXT MONTH! 🗓️🎉

Here’s more of our 2026 team in 2016! 😍💕

Meet the full team on Friday but for now, here’s a little … this time ON THURSDAY! 😂🔥

💛 INTRODUCING the 2026/27 Associate Artists! 💛

We are thrilled to welcome five (5) artists and creative collaborators into our Associates Artists program this year. While they develop powerful new projects over the next two years at SummerWorks, they will present works-in-development as part of this year’s Festival lineup:

NOVA BHATTACHARYA & SUVENDRINI LENA | Tandava
Co-created by playwright Suvendrini Lena and choreographer Nova Bhattacharya, Tandava draws on verses of 6th century Tamil poet Karaikkal Ammaiyar. Set against events that occurred in the North and East of Sri Lanka during the civil war, including the burning of a library, and disappearing of Tamil civilians, Tandava asks: where is justice for the disappeared, and how do we honour their memories through a performance experience that offers a space for collective healing?

AMY NOSTBAKKEN, NORAH SADAVA & VICKY ARAICO | Little White Room
An American, a Mexican, and a Canadian walk into a U.S. customs detention cell… Little White Room is a three-woman, multilingual, multinational satire that forces you to laugh while it kicks you in the groin and pulls a bag over your head. Three women are trapped together in purgatorial space where power, injustice, and one dying air vent collide. The work exposes how authoritarian systems shape behaviour in big and small ways, pointing a finger at the patriarchal forces that quietly and violently turn us against one another.

Get to know these amazing artists along with our current Associate Artists: The Switch Collective, Johnnie McNamara Walker, and Chimerik 似像 !

Stay tuned for more SummerWorks 2026 updates... 👀

Image of Nova Bhattacharya by Dahlia Katz, Image of Suvendrini Lena courtesy of artist, Image of Vicky Araico courtesy of artist. Images of Norah Sadava and Amy Nostbaaken by Vanessa Heins

📌 Learn more about the The Expansion Pack Call for Submissions, and register for our Online Info Session!

➡️ Tuesday, December 2nd
7:00 - 8:30 PM ET
Online (Zoom)

ASL interpretation will be provided.

Registration required.

In this session, Michael Caldwell (SummerWorks’ Artistic Director) will be joined by Justin Miller (Outside the March’s Producer) and Tori Morrison (OtM’s Director of Production) to review the application materials and the overall curatorial process, responding to questions from online attendees. A recording will be made available after the event.

Register at https://summerworks.ca/expansion-pack-call-for-submissions

📣 Now accepting project proposals for The Expansion Pack Call for Submissions!

❗️DEADLINE: December 18, 2025 @ 5:00pm EST

🤝 SummerWorks and Outside the March are proud to launch a new partnership that aims to support innovative, sustainable, site-engaged performance in our community, and deliver new and immersive experiences for audiences across Toronto.

The Expansion Pack is Outside the March’s FREE gear lending program, designed to cut down on costly and wasteful one-off purchases and rentals, and allow artists to take their production design to the next level.

We are seeking artists and creators who aspire to activate, animate, and illuminate non-traditional spaces with live performance.

One (1) production will be selected and programmed within the 2026 SummerWorks Performance Festival (August 6-16, 2026), and gain access to Outside the March’s extensive library of Outfit the March equipment, as well as fully-funded technical personnel (from the OtM Artistic Accomplice Program) to manage the equipment and support the overall artistic vision.

Learn more and apply today at https://summerworks.ca

This project is supported by The Canadian Green Alliance, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to greening the performing arts, and it is funded through a Sector Innovation and Development grant from The Canada Council for the Arts.

📣 Just one more week to submit your project proposals to the 2026 Festival Call for Submissions !

❗️DEADLINE: November 5th, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST

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Now accepting project submissions for our next Festival: August 6 - 16, 2026 in Tkaronto (Toronto), Canada, as well as other year-round programming initiatives and presentation opportunities.

We are seeking proposals for contemporary performance projects that challenge disciplinary boundaries and engage with form and content in innovative and imaginative ways. We strongly invite inter- and trans-disciplinary experimentation.

Each year, SummerWorks presents:

> fully-developed performance works; > works-in-development, at various stages;
> works that engage with public space; in outdoor settings and in alternative venues.

Proposals are encouraged from established and emerging creators working across all performance disciplines and artistic traditions.

Uncover more detailed information about the Call for Submissions, learn more about our Festival processes, and apply at https://summerworks.ca

🙋Learn more about the 2026 Festival Call for Submissions, and register for our Online Info Session!

Saturday, October 11th
10:00 - 11:30 AM ET
Online (Zoom)

ASL interpretation will be provided.

In this session, Michael Caldwell (Artistic Director) will review the application materials and the overall curatorial process, responding to questions from online attendees.

A recording will be made available after the event.

Register at https://airtable.com/appEYksADf13xHvWK/pagomc5CiXC4IDp2p/formril

⭐️Are you passionate about the arts and live performance?

SummerWorks is actively seeking new board members eager to contribute to the future of one of Canada’s most vibrant Festivals!

As part of our board renewal, and our ongoing commitment to creating a diverse and robust board, we are intrigued to engage with individuals with the following skills and experiences to support and direct the organization:

> Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
> Finance and Accounting
> Fundraising and Philanthropic Giving
> Policy Development and HR
> Programming and Curatorial Practice
> Creative Organizational Strategy

We are seeking board members who are excited by what we do and have a desire to collaborate and contribute to SummerWorks’ future!

Expressions of interest will be accepted and reviewed on an ongoing basis.

Please detail your relevant professional experience and why you would like to join the SummerWorks community, and send to [email protected]