Pique-Nique Mentorship Mixer

Applications are now open for Pique-Nique—a unique mentorship opportunity open to emerging artists and a new addition to Pique!

Come together with mentors and peers to chat about your artistic practice over lunch. Taking place at Pique fall edition, join casual group discussions with mentors Rollie Pemberton (Cadence Weapon), Charlotte Angugaattiaq Qamaniq (Silla), Rani Jambak, No Plexus, and fellow peer artists.

Share and tell about your projects, talk about challenges and opportunities, explore feedback collectively, and build networks with international and Canadian artists.

Mentors: Rollie Pemberton (Cadence Weapon), Charlotte Qamaniq (Silla), Rani Jambak, No Plexus
Time: 12:30 – 2:00
Where: OAG Terrasse

Pass the Vibes: Intro to DJing

Hosted by Ottawa-based DJs MusicbyJayel and Celestial with very special guests PC and Ttrills, Pass the Vibes presents an intro-level DJ workshop for Black and Black Queer youth. No laptop? No problem. No experience? We got you. All gear provided. This workshop covers all things DJ Basics, including a brief history of the culture & the craft, software & hardware options, mixing techniques and 1-on-1 support anyone beginning or along in their DJ journey. Come through and get behind the decks in a space where Black & Queer youth are learning, playing, and building from the ground up.

Please note that this session is open to Black participants only.

Mentors: MusicbyJayel, DJ Celestial, PC, Ttrills
Time: 12:00-16:00
Where: Atelier
Presented by: Pass The Vibes

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Building Boundless Worlds: Community, Career and Club Culture

For over a decade, DJ, songwriter, producer, and community organizer Chippy Nonstop has been building bright, maximalist, high-energy community spaces for collective joy. In this workshop, she will reflect on her own journey and share practical, hard-won insights for emerging DJs and nightlife workers—offering tools to not only build sustainable careers, but also to create spaces of belonging and collective expression through music. As the founder of Intersessions, a series of artist-run seminars aimed at addressing the imbalances (gender, sexuality, race) in the music industry, and also Pep Rally, a raucous night which centres both fun and fluidity, Chippy is a visionary leader pushing the industry to think more about inclusivity and accessibility while also making a name for herself as a global club icon. Join this workshop to learn about her journey and how to blueprint your own boundless world.

Speaker: Chippy Nonstop
Time: 16:00-17:00
Where: LabO 2

Tune in, Drop out: Community-powered radio in the age of the algorithmic playlists

Music streaming platforms have ushered in the age of algorithmic playlists, prioritizing the "personalized playlist" over those curated by human selectors. While the algorithm may seem like our personal music curator, recent investigations have exposed the exploitative practices of Spotify—one of music streaming's most widely used platforms—for misleading listeners by flooding playlists with royalty-free, AI-generated music advertised as if it was made by real artists, and denying real artists a coveted spot on the editorial playlists that could make or break their career. If both artist and listener are being misled, then who really benefits from these algorithmic playlists? And where are the real selectors?

Meanwhile, artists, curators, and community builders are coming together to build a new golden age of community-powered radio. This panel explores how terrestrial and internet-based community radio acts as a radical form of music distribution and discovery in a world where personalized playlists are offered up with little concern for active listeners or the artists behind the music.

Speakers: Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter, Cadence Weapon, Jacob Colt, XICADA, City fidelia
Time: 17:00-18:30
Where: LabO 1
Presented by: n10.as

Parallel Practice: Sonic ecology and hyperreality

This dialogue brings together two boundary-pushing artists to explore the intersections of their practices. No Plexus will introduce hyperreality as a creative concept, tracing its presence in music and interdisciplinary performance. Rani Jambak will share her #FUTUREANCESTOR project, demonstrating how she uses sound—and her self-made Kincia Aia instrument, inspired by traditional West Sumatran water wheels—to connect ancestral knowledge with nature. Together, the artists will reflect on the influences, outcomes, and impacts of their approaches, and invite participants into a collective discussion of the ideas at play.

Speakers: Rani Jambak, No Plexus
Time: 18:00-19:00
Where: LabO 2
Presented by: Spruce Creative

Work in Progress: Labour, Care, and Collective Power in the Cultural Sector

In an era marked by economic uncertainty and systemic inequities, artists and cultural workers continue to face precarious working conditions, undervaluation, and structural exclusion. This panel brings together artists, cultural workers and community organizers to examine the realities of labour in the arts—highlighting issues of fair pay, job security, and the emotional toll of creative work. We will explore how collective organizing, mutual aid, and politics of care are reshaping the cultural landscape, offering pathways toward more equitable and sustainable futures. Join us for a critical conversation on building solidarity across disciplines and reimagining the value of artistic labour.

Speakers: Yanaminah, Cadence Weapon, Brett Story, David Yazbeck, Malini Guha
Time: 19:15-20:45
Where: LabO 2
Presented by: Goldblatt Partners and the Institute for Comparative Studies in Literature, Art and Culture at Carleton University

Subvert Co-op Connect & Learn

What is the Artist-owned Internet? Learn more about Subvert, a music platform owned by its community - or join as a co-owner.

with Austin Robey
Time: 21:00-22:00
Where: Artengine

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