About
Future Leisure is an arts organization committed to the creation, instruction and presentation of innovative interdisciplinary performance. We work to support artists working in live performance through our workshops, residencies and presentations. We maintain two studio spaces in Gastown and the Downtown East Side which provide affordable ongoing rehearsal space for a number of artists and collectives in the city, and awards free rehearsal space to artists would otherwise be unable to access it. We also produce the Shooting Gallery Performance Series, a low-barrier incubation and presentation initiative that has been running since 2016.
Our women-led organization is made up of a small, diverse, and passionate staff and board. We have a long and successful history of engaging with artists coming from a wide variety of backgrounds, cultural perspectives and levels of professional experience. Over the years we have had the pleasure of partnering with many other arts organizations such as contemporary Indigenous dance company O.Dela Arts; POC focused new media and performance organization Chimerik 似不像; and Kingston Circus Arts, an inclusive education initiative led by disability activist and circus artist Erin Ball. We are passionate about using our existing structure to support emerging/mid-career artists and equity-seeking groups, and function with a responsive model that allows artists to take the lead, helping us to create customized support that will be appropriate to their unique approach to art making.
History
Incorporated in 2018, this organization brought together various strains of activities that were already underway, including creating and producing original choreographic work; hosting regular beginner friendly, community classes; managing affordable studio space for low-income artists and presenting the Shooting Gallery Performance Series, a platform for interdisciplinary exploration.
In the years since, we have hosted classes and workshops for over 200 students, produced two evening length works in collaboration with the Dance Centre and New Works, traveled to perform at festivals in Toronto, Calgary, New York City and Derry, Northern Ireland. We have produced twelve editions of SGPS, supporting the creation of over 70 new performance works and facilitating the advancement of a number of emerging curators focused on live performance.
We have hosted dozens of artists through various residency programs including uncurated opportunities prioritizing marginalized creators. Most recently, we have launched a program for dance artists living with chronic illness that brings together a cohort of participants to facilitate learning, peer support and additional resources.
Artistic Director
Julianne Chapple
Julianne's artistic practice spans multiple disciplines and has evolved over the years to include video, text and multimedia projects in addition to her live performance work. Her choreography has been presented extensively in Canada, as well as Italy, Ireland, Germany, the USA and the UK. She was awarded the 2017 Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award and the 2020 Chrystal Dance Prize. She has served on the board of directors for The Dance Centre and CADA-West and is a member of women-led new media collectives The Work Group and motherlode.
Julianne has over a decade of experience as an arts administrator, mentor, program facilitator, instructor and producer, supporting the development and artistic output of a wide range of performance artists. She has completed non-profit management courses through SFU’s continuing education program, and is passionate about expanding the arts community to create sustainable working conditions for creators of all backgrounds and disciplines.