Amplify & Ignite: Artists Off-Stage: Creative Work for a Changing World

In a time of mounting precarity, political repression, and cultural erasure, many artists and educators are reimagining not just what they create, but why and how they create. As traditional paths in the arts become less viable and systems of support shrink, we are witnessing a quiet but powerful shift: artists stepping off stage and into the world in new ways—as collaborators, organizers, healers, and change agents.

This symposium will explore how theatre makers and educators are subverting oppressive systems, navigating emotional and political burnout, and using their creative capacities for activism, mutual aid, coalition-building, and civic engagement. How are we training the next generation of theatre artists not just to make performance, but to make change?

We will gather to share strategies for navigating scarcity with innovation, building communities of care, and cultivating sustainable, justice-oriented arts practices. This is a space to connect, reflect, and imagine new roles for artists in a world that needs us—often in ways that defy traditional scripts.