Currently, much of the information about Canadian performing arts sector entities (including performers, directors, designers, choreographers, organizations, venues and events) is not properly formatted to be found, read and processed by search engines and other discovery technologies. As a result, it is too often ignored or underutilized.

The Linked Digital Future Initiative (LDFI) was created to make performing arts-related information findable and to help build better connections in our sector – between arts workers and audiences – in the digital age. One of the ways this has been achieved is by converting already publicly available information into reusable and accessible data in open databases, such as Wikidata and the Artsdata knowledge graph.

Although LDFI is leading this work, it will take many leaders in Canada’s performing arts sector contributing information to turn this vision into reality.

Read more
Four people form a semicircle on stage, smiling and holding a series of hoops in their outstretched hands.

Two years ago, the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance (IPAA) and the Canadian Association for the Performing Arts (CAPACOA) set out to undertake an unusual project. Noting the scarcity of information about Indigenous artists in open databases, the two associations saw a gap that had to be filled.

Read more

CAPACOA, Culture Creates and other partners have wrapped up Phase 2 of the Linked Digital Future initiative. This post offers an overview of our key activities and lessons learnt, as well as links to full reports.

Read more

Over the last year, CAPACOA and Culture Creates collaborated with the Bern University of Applied Sciences to develop a conceptual model for performing arts data. At the same time, Culture Creates was building the artsdata.ca knowledge graph, and RIDEAU was rolling out the Scène Pro information system. The former assembles data about performances; the latter gathers data about organizations, venues and performing arts productions. What if the two datasets were interoperable and could exchange data? We tried it out.

Read more
Akoulina Connell and participants at a workshop discuss the notion of value chain.

After three full day workshops in Toronto, Halifax, and Vancouver and a recent presentation at Banff’s Digital Transformation Summit in 2019, CAPACOA’s Linked Digital Future Initiative is generating some buzz. The prime mover behind this initiative: making performing arts events findable and shareable in the AI-powered web. Right now, Siri, Alexa, and other AI-powered recommendation systems are drawing a blank on local performance options.

Read more
Structured data makes it easy for audiences to find your event: join the Digital Discoverability Program

CAPACOA invites performing arts presenters to participate in a Digital Discoverability Program, as part of the Linked Digital Future Initiative. Between September 2019 and March 2020, a first cohort of 15 organizations will have the opportunity to work with Culture Creates to translate their event information into structured data readable by search engines and recommendation systems. As a result, local arts goers and tourists alike will have a much easier time finding your events, no matter what device or application they use.

Read more