Tamizdat

Tamizdat at Folk Alliance: US/Canada Tour Costs • A Pre-Contract Guide for International Acts
2025-02-22 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel, 1201 René-Lévesque Blvd W, Montréal, Quebec, H3B 2L7, Canada
At Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel, Jarry – Level A
A Conversation with Cecile Glunt (CWA Management), Danielle Devlin (Canis Major Music), Abyan Gurase (Covey Law).
Before signing on the dotted line, what is required for visas and tax in Canada and the United States? Before you confirm your tour, be sure you know the costs associated with visas, taxes, & waivers. This session will assist in creating your contract checklist.

Tamizdat at Folk Alliance: Town Hall Meeting on P2 Visas • Working Towards Parity at the Canada/US Border
2025-02-21 10:30 - 23:30 UTC | Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel, 1201 René-Lévesque Blvd W, Montréal, Quebec, H3B 2L7, Canada
A Conversation with Cathy Fink, Joy Bennet, Jennifer Roe, and Matthew Covey
Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel, 1201 René-Lévesque Blvd W, Montréal, Quebec H3B 2L7, Canada.
Salon ABC – Level B
Canada and the US share a 8800 km-long border, and they also share a vibrant folk and roots music scene that isn’t restricted by legal boundaries. But while US musicians can easily cross the border to work and perform in Canada, Canadian musicians who want to perform in the US face a visa process that is time-consuming, expensive, and capricious. Delays in visa processing can lead to cancelled gigs and tours, which is bad for musicians, presenters, agents, and audiences. Local 1000 of the AFM has spearheaded this Town Hall to update artists, agents, presenters and audience members on the current status of the process and of efforts towards changing the process. We will discuss where things stand right now, where we’d like them to end up (total parity for US and Canadian musicians) and how you can become active in the campaign to make change. US musicians are the ones that can and must exert the most pressure on institutions for change. It’s critical that they attend this to begin plotting a course forward. It is a simple and essential act of solidarity. There will be time available after the meeting to discuss with Local 1000 and other panelists in the same room.

Tamizdat at APAP: Strategies for Navigating the Current Visa Process
2025-01-12 12:30 - 13:30 UTC | New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas at 54th St., New York, NY, 10019, United States
A Panel Featuring:

Grace Blake (Programming Director, City Winery NYC)
Matthew Covey (Executive Director, Tamizdat & Partner, CoveyLaw)
Meiyin Wang (Director of Programming and Producing, NYPAC)

Presenting international artists in the U.S. is complex and costly, and given the substantial changes in the last year with new and more complex fees and new protocols for navigating the process, the challenges can feel almost insurmountable for artists, agents, managers, and presenters. This panel brings together professionals with expertise and lived experience, to discuss strategies for facing the challenges of keeping the U.S. open to international culture and how to best manage the variables of the process as it currently stands.

Tamizdat at APAP: Advocating Post Election: What You Need to Know Now
2025-01-11 09:00 - 10:30 UTC | New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas at 54th St., New York, NY, 10019, United States
With a complex range of national, state, and local shifts and issues impacting support and conditions for the arts, arts professionals need up-to-date advice on advocating effectively in the current and coming climate. Cultivating relationships, planning and securing engagements, accessing resources and funding, and navigating legislative issues impacting our business will require a new and urgent playbook. Come to this session for the most current and future-orientated information on a) the landscape and tone of the policy context b) the complex range of key arts issues to be considered and c) strategies for taking action at the state, regional and national level.
This event takes place at the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Hotel Midtown.

Tamizdat at Wavelengths Conference: Infrastructure and Investment: We’re Stronger Together
2025-01-10 09:30 - 11:00 UTC | New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas at 54th St., New York, NY, 10019, United States
A check in on the holistic health and sustainability of the performing arts ecosystem with agents, artists, press, legal, funders to understand its moving parts to strengthen them. It looks like tough times ahead but arts workers are always on the frontline of the battle making change, resisting oppression, creating bridges, building partnerships and strengthening community. How can we be mutually supportive to foster, develop resilience, and grow our unique ecosystem? Given the state of turmoil in the world, what will our biggest challenge be and how will we confront them? How can we come together as a community to support artists/arts community efforts, whether it’s big PACs, major funders or independent artists, agents, media and venues. Come away with fresh perspectives and new ideas about who we are and how we need each other at this critical time.
This event takes place at Concourse A in the Hilton Hotel Midtown, New York City.

Tamizdat at Mundial Montréal
2024-11-19 14:45 - 16:00 (America/New_York)
Tamizdat is excited to take part in the Mundial Mentor Café at Mundial Montréal this November. Learn more about Mundial and get your tickets here!

Tamizdat's Central, North, and South American Networking Session at WOMEX 2024
2024-10-23 - 2024-10-27
Tamizdat is happy to take part in the Central, North, and South American Networking Session The Eagle Meets the Condor: Multifaceted perspectives across the continents at WOMEX 2024 in Manchester. Exact time and date TBA. Learn more about WOMEX 2024 here!

Tamizdat at Ireland Music Week: Touring the US and Visa Applications
2024-10-06 08:00 - 15:00 (Europe/Dublin)
Tamizdat’s Matthew Covey presents “Touring the US and Visa Applications” at Ireland Music Week 2024. Learn more about the conference and get your tickets here!

Tamizdat Panel at Amsterdam Dance Event: Barriers of Entry to African Artists Touring Internationally
2024-09-06 15:15 - 16:15 UTC | Amsterdam Dance Event
Tamizdat is honored to organize the panel “Barriers of Entry to African Artists Touring Internationally” at Amsterdam Dance Event this October 16th, 2024. Find out more about the conference and get your tickets here!

Workshop in Berlin: Export Ready USA with James Minor (SXSW) and Matthew Covey Tamizdat
2024-09-06 15:00 - 17:30 (Europe/Berlin) | Meeet (Room Work/Think), Chausseestraße 86, Berlin, 10115, Germany
Tamizdat’s Matthew Covey and SXSW’s James Minor present on the visa process in the USA, breaking into the US market, and what makes a successful SXSW band application. Join in-person in Berlin-Mitte or on Zoom by registering here!

Tamizdat prepares for Autumn 2024 Engagements
2024-06-24 08:00 - 17:00 UTC
Tamizdat is finalizing details for autumn conferences including Reeperbahn, Ireland Music Week, Amsterdam Dance Event, and WOMEX. Stay tuned for more information and dates, and we look forward to seeing you there!

Tamizdat at On The Move's Annual Cultural Mobility Forum 2024
2024-04-25 - 2024-04-26 | Caernarfon, Wales, United Kingdom
Tamizdat is excited to join our partner organization On The Move’s third annual Cultural Mobility Forum 2024 in Caernarfon, Wales and live streamed by HowlRound.
As part of its multiannual programme co-funded by the European Union, each year On the Move proposes a Cultural Mobility Forum to collectively investigate international artistic and cultural mobility trends. As a unique knowledge platform, the network works together with its members and partners to design thematic panel discussions and contextualize global mobility issues addressed in On the Move’s annual Cultural Mobility Yearbook.

Tamizdat at SXSW - U.S. Artist Visas: Lived Experience & Expert Strategies
2024-03-14 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Chicago) | Austin Convention Ceter, Austin, Texas
U.S. musicians’ visas are notoriously hard and expensive to get. This panel will bring together the combined wisdom and experience of booker Paula Abreu (McCarter Theatre Center), immigration attorney Will Spitz (CoveyLaw), singer-songwriter Sui Zhen, and moderated by a leading expert in international artist mobility Matthew Covey (Tamizdat), and will present a session rich in lived experience, practical strategy, and on-the-ground legal advice.
Join us at SXSW, Austin Convention Center, Room 15, at 10-11AM CT!

Tamizdat at APAP | NYC 2024: Visa Mobility Panel
2024-01-15 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas at 54th St., New York, NY, 10019, United States
Tamizdat at APAP | NYC 2024
Visa Mobility Panel: Monday January 15th 12:30-1:30

Presenting international artists in the U.S. is complex and costly, and the legal barriers caused visa laws and procedures is a perennial barrier that can feel almost insurmountable for artists, agents, managers, and presenters. This panel brings together professionals with expertise and lived experience, to discuss strategies for facing the challenges of keeping the U.S. open to international culture.

The Visa Mobility Panel features:
Paula Abreu, Director of Special Programming, McCarter Theatre Center

Matthew Covey, Executive Director, Tamizdat (moderator)

Juli Ronderos, Artist, Salt Cathedral

Mahmood Shaikh, Agent, Concerted Efforts

Tamizdat at APAP | NYC 2024: Legislative Briefing
2024-01-14 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas at 54th St., New York, NY, 10019, United States
Tamizdat at APAP | NYC 2024

Legislative Briefing: Sunday January 14th 4:00-5:00 PM
Trianon Ballroom, 3rd Floor

Description forthcoming

WOMEX Conference, A Coruña, Spain
2023-10-25 - 2023-10-29
October 28: Matthew Covey and Ashley Tucker of Artistic Freedom Initiative present, Supporting Artists At-Risk Networking Session
October 28: Tamizdat and On The Move present The Policy of Progress: The State of Advocacy for a More Diverse Cultural Sector

Circostrada, Paris, France
2023-09-22
Shelley Pinker will speak about U.S. visa issues for performing artists, Day 3: About Sustainability

Reeperbahn Festival, Hamburg, Germany
2023-09-20 - 2023-09-24
Matthew Covey will be at the Reeperbahn Festival:
September 20, 2:30-4:00, Wunderkind Q&A
September 22: 1:30-2:30, Legal Mentoring Sessions

Being Ready for SXSW, Berlin, Germany
2023-09-19 11:00 - 13:00 (Europe/Berlin)
Initiative-Musik presents this crucial session for artists considering performing at Austin’s legendary South By Southwest conference. Presenting will be James Minor, head of SXSW Music Festival, and Mathew Covey, Executive Director of Tamizdat.
