ABOUT

Founded in 2009, Cluster: New Music + Integrated Arts is a small (but mighty!) annual festival consisting of concerts, installations, and workshops. Each year, the Cluster produces distinctive events often focusing on special initiatives that present Canadian ensembles, composers and media artists in conceptually innovative ways.

Cluster operates as a platform for performers and artists from diverse disciplines to create, collaborate, and experiment. On a local level, Cluster operates in this capacity as producer in close partnership with other presentation-focused organizations and community organizations.

Cluster is committed to the production and presentation of risk-taking, boundary-pushing, meaningful art of the highest integrity, with a focus on art created in the last five years. Cluster’s open and uniquely collaborative atmosphere encourages artists to create both as individuals and ad-hoc collectives, often producing unforeseen collaborations and surprising results.

Cluster operates out of Treaty 1 Territory, home of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and the national homeland of the Red River Métis.

STAFF

Ashley Au
Managing
Artistic Director

Ashley Au (they/she) is a 1st-generation Chinese-Canadian artist based out of Treaty 1, who brings 10+ years of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary curatorial, events management and production experience to the festival. Ashley maintains a concurrent artistic practice as a bassist, composer, sound artist, arranger, and queer creative—performing, touring and recording extensively for over 15 years.

Ashley’s work centres on the presentation of emerging artists from a range of artistic practices, focusing on cross-disciplinary/cross-genre collaboration, and experimentation while centring artist-forward professional development opportunities.