National Arts Centre - Centre national des Arts Canada is our stage. Le Canada en scène.

Livestreams: Creating a New Stage for Canada’s Performing Artists

February 3, 2021

NAC Foundation

Web good lovelies — The Good Lovelies, Christmas Time’s a Comin' Livestream Performance saw record ticket sales as part of their successful 2020 "Virtual Tour" across Canada, Australia, the U.K. and the U.S.

Thanks to your generous support, the NAC Orchestra and performing artists from across the country have found a new stage through the NAC’s livestreams.

In response to the closure and limited capacity of performing arts venues, the NAC has showcased many beloved artists through livestream performances. Over the past several months people from around the globe have tuned into livestreams to watch the performers they so dearly miss seeing in person.

The digital platform is especially beneficial for emerging artists. Heather Gibson, Executive Producer of Popular Music and Variety says, “We’ve been very particular about what we’re livestreaming for paid tickets. If it’s on the discovery side, where people are discovering new Canadian artists, we keep it as free and will continue to keep it as free.”

Though we all look forward to the day when we can see live performances together again in person, Heather hopes that livestreams continue. “Audiences shouldn’t have to come to Ottawa to see new music on our stages,” she says. “I am grateful for supporters like you who are helping us create high-quality online performances enjoyed by people throughout Canada and from around the world.”

Watch your favourite performances online anytime from the comfort of home here: www.nac-cna.ca/en/video/list/recorded-performances

Join more than 6,500 champions of performance, creation and learning by supporting Canadian artists, educators and students through the NAC Foundation.

Further reading

How do Canadians feel about returning to live performances? January 19, 2021

Learn more about

Executive Producer, Popular Music and Variety Heather Gibson
Executive Producer, Popular Music and Variety Heather Gibson

Heather Gibson is responsible for all non-orchestral music curation, and summer and community programming at the National Arts Centre (NAC). Heather and her team work with artists from all backgrounds -- from the most exciting new artists to the all-time greats -- to bring the best of the world to the NAC's stages, and the best of Canada to the world. Since joining the NAC team in 2016, Heather has been connecting and elevating artists via innovative and inclusive programs around the globe, including: EXPO 2020 in Dubai, which showcased the breadth and diversity of Canada’s performing arts community and brought 130 artists to the UAE over six months; COP15, the United Nations' biodiversity conference in Montreal; and the Global Network for Women Music Producers, an initiative to support women and non-binary music producers that so far totals 35 members in six countries, offering an international network for producers and a resource for artists and record labels. Heather’s commitment to the constantly evolving landscape of the arts continues by working to develop emerging performers, and deliver an equitable representation on our stages for women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ2S+ artists. In a direct and immediate response to the Covid-19 pandemic, in March 2020 Heather created the emergency artist relief fund #CanadaPerforms, which provided a season's worth of funding to nearly 700 performing artists and authors, non-profit festivals, and organizations. In the pandemic's first six months, #CanadaPerforms distributed almost a million dollars to arts workers across the country. Originally from Manitoba, Heather built her career in the performing arts in Halifax, where she was a successful artist manager, co-owner of Halifax's iconic queer listening room The Company House, and producer of multiple festivals and special events, including the Halifax Jazz Festival and In the Dead of Winter Music Festival.

Heather Gibson est responsable des activités non orchestrales, ainsi que de la programmation estivale et communautaire au Centre national des Arts (CNA). Entourée de son équipe, Heather travaille avec des artistes de tous horizons – des jeunes espoirs aux grandes vedettes – pour ouvrir la scène du CNA aux artistes du monde entier et faire rayonner les talents canadiens à l’international. Depuis son arrivée au CNA en 2016, Heather s’attache à promouvoir et à épauler les artistes en prenant part à de nombreux programmes novateurs et inclusifs partout dans le monde. Parmi ceux-ci, mentionnons l’EXPO 2020 de Dubaï qui a mis en lumière l’étendue et la diversité du milieu des arts de la scène au Canada avec la venue de 130 artistes aux Émirats arabes unis sur une période de six mois, la Convention sur la diversité biologique à Montréal (COP15) et le Réseau mondial pour productrices musicales, une initiative visant à soutenir les femmes et les personnes non binaires spécialisées en production musicale. En plus d’être une plateforme de réseautage international, cette initiative qui réunit 35 membres de six pays sert de ressource pour les artistes et les maisons de disques. Heather s’est donné pour mission d’appuyer le paysage artistique en constante évolution en cultivant de nouveaux talents et en assurant une représentation équitable sur scène des femmes, et des artistes qui se définissent comme étant noirs, autochtones, de couleur et 2ELGBTQ+. Dès les prémices de la pandémie de COVID-19, Heather a créé en mars 2020 #CanadaEnPrestation, un fonds d’urgence qui a permis d’offrir un soutien financier pendant une saison à près de 700 artistes de scène, auteurs, autrices, festivals sans but lucratif et organisations. Au cours des six premiers mois de la pandémie, #CanadaEnPrestation a versé près d’un million de dollars aux personnes qui œuvrent dans le milieu artistique à l’échelle nationale. Heather est originaire du Manitoba, mais c’est à Halifax qu’elle a bâti sa carrière dans le domaine des arts de la scène où elle a été agente d’artistes, copropriétaire de l’emblématique salle de spectacle queer The Company House, et productrice de nombreux festivals et événements spéciaux, notamment le Festival de jazz d’Halifax et le In The Dead of Winter Music Festival.
NAC media featuring Heather Gibson
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