Frequently Asked Questions

Last Updated: July 4, 2022

I’m having trouble with the online Membership Registration form, who do I contact?

If you would like assistance with applying for membership you can email our Membership & Services Coordinator, Brit Johnston at brit@ipaa.ca or call 647-285-2696.

I submitted a membership request, how will I know when I’m approved to be a member?

An IPAA staff member will review your membership request to ensure that you have applied to the correct category. If we have questions or need clarification we will contact you via the details you included in your form. Once your profile has been confirmed we will send you a welcome email. You will also be automatically subscribed to IPAA’s digital newsletter. 

How much does it cost to become a member?

Indigenous Individual – Free

Indigenous Organisation – Nonprofit $75.00, For-profit $100.00

Ally Individual – $25.00

Ally Organisation – Nonprofit $250.00, For-profit $350.00

If you have questions about the fees contact membership@ipaa.ca

How long does my IPAA membership last and for which period does it apply?

Indigenous Individuals are not required to renew their membership annually, but we will send you a reminder to update your profile every year.

For paid membership categories, your membership will expire 12 months from the date you purchased. We will send you a reminder email 4-weeks before the deadline. Your membership will freeze if we receive no communication 2 weeks after the deadline has passed. After 4-weeks we will deactivate your member profile in the directory. Disclaimer: If you wish to reactivate your membership after it has been deactivated you will need to create a new member profile for the directory, we are not able to retrieve deactivated profiles. 

What forms of payment does IPAA accept?

Cheque, PayPal (all major credit cards accepted). 

How do I navigate IPAA’s Member Portal?

Welcome! Once you receive confirmation that your membership request has been accepted you can log in to the portal. 

To login, visit: https://ipaa.ca/wp-login.php.

  • Type in the username or email you used when you registered for membership
  • Type your password
  • Click “Log In”. 

In the portal, you can update your profile page for the directory; explore other members’ profiles (directly email colleagues); and view details about IPAA workshops. 

How do I update my Member Profile?

To login, visit: https://ipaa.ca/wp-login.php.

  1. Type in the username or email you used when you registered for membership. Type your password and click “Log In”. 
  2. At the top left, you can click on “My Profile”.
  3. You can “click to view profile”, which will display the information you shared in your original registration form. 
  4. To update your profile information select “Personal Info”. You can also update your profile photo.
  5. Additional members-only information: You can add your professional email so that other members can directly email you; add your website and social media links; you can also include archival photos from performances to advertise your works. 

What is IPAA’s Data Sovereignty Strategy?

In partnership with the Linked Digital Future, we have developed a strategy to make IPAA’s Membership Directory a source of primary data about Indigenous artists and arts workers in the territory known as Turtle Island. When information about the performing arts is turned into linked open data, it can more easily be found and processed by trusted search engines. This means people who look you up over Google Search or Alexa will be delivered more accurate and detailed results (also known as rich results), highlighting your latest work, and inviting users to check your streaming platform or social media accounts. To learn more about this activity read: IPAA’s Commitment To Open Data And Indigenous Data Sovereignty.

What is a “Wikidata ID” and how can I retrieve it?

Wikidata is a free, open and multilingual knowledge base. It is a source of information trusted by search engines.

You can look up your wikidata ID by conducting a search at wikidata.org. The search engine is in the top right corner of the page. Once you find your record, next to your record name, you will see a series of characters in brackets starting with the letter Q. That’s your Wikidata ID.

If you or your organization doesn’t have a Wikidata ID, don’t worry. We’ll create one for you. That’s one of the benefits of being an IPAA member!

What benefits do I get if I become a member?

  1. A Member Profile in the IPAA Directory
  2. Full access to the IPAA Portal which includes additional information that is private to the general public; other member’s contact information, access to additional artistic content
  3. Subscription to IPAA’s digital newsletter
  4. Free access to submit content to IPAA’s Moccasin Telegraph (Members-only); ability to promote your events and news
  5. Creation of a Wikidata record for your or your organization
  6. Access to members-only #IPAAonline Workshops
  7. Free or reduced registration fees for all IPAA events, including the annual Intertribal Gathering
  8. Voting privileges for full members at AGM
  9. Eligible to be nominated to sit on the Grand Council (Board of Directors)
  10. Eligible to be nominated for the annual member recognition award (Indigenous-only)

How can non-Indigenous artists and arts organisations get involved?

We love our allies! You can join us as an Ally Individual or Ally Organization. As an Ally Member you will have:

  1. A Member Profile in the IPAA Directory
  2. Full access to the IPAA Portal which includes additional information that is private to the general public; directly email other members, access to additional artistic content
  3. Subscription to IPAA’s digital newsletter
  4. Free access to submit content to IPAA’s Moccasin Telegraph (Members-only); ability to promote your events and news
  5. Access to members-only #IPAAonline Workshops
  6. Reduces registration fees to all IPAA events including the annual Intertribal Gathering.
  7. An invitation to IPAA’s Annual General Meeting (non-voting).

For organisations, why does IPAA ask members to provide their Business Numbers?

The business number is a unique identifier for businesses and legal entities in Canada. Unique IDs are super helpful for verifying and matching records across different datasets. The business number can serve multiple purposes. For example, your business number and your organization information can be used by Statistics Canada to deliver more accurate statistics on the performing arts sector.

The business number is a nine-digit identifier. You can find it in your organization’s HST/GST number or charity number. Take the first nine digits, leave the RT or RR suffix out, and that’s your business number.

Note: If you have a hard time retrieving your organization’s business number, don’t let that stop you from joining IPAA! Just type in nine zeros for now (“000000000”), submit your form and come back later to provide the correct business number.

Can I get an invoice for tax purposes?

Yes. Email info@ipaa.ca to make a request.