How Legal Info Reaches Artists (Panel)
Monday, March 30, 2026, 12:00-1:30pm, Virtual (Zoom)
Register here
ALAS hosts a panel discussion on getting practical legal info to artists earlier, before issues become urgent. Your input helps shape our outreach.
ALAS offers free support through our legal clinic, legal education programming, and legal resources library. We typically support artists with legal issues related to creative work, contracts, copyright, trademarks, defamation, and royalties/payments, so we have strong insight into the challenges artists face. This panel focuses on the next question: how do we help artists access the right arts-related legal information earlier, in ways they actually find, trust, and use, before issues become urgent?
Invited panellists will share perspectives from community-facing artist support, legal education, and communications/content strategy. Then we’ll open the conversation to attendees to share what works (and what doesn’t) when it comes to accessing legal info, plus space for questions, reflections, and practical ideas.
This is a learning-focused session: we’re exploring formats and channels beyond our current strengths (workshops/webinars/collabs), including video and other shareable digital content, and we want to hear directly from the community.
Panellists: Flora Shum • Pat Robitaille • Sanjeev Kugan • Jessica Commanda (Commanda Creative Law)
Moderator: Celeste Ovita Cole
What we’ll explore together
- Where artists currently go for legal info (and what makes it feel accessible)
- Barriers, trust, timing, and what stops artists from engaging sooner
- Formats and channels to test: workshops, toolkits, newsletters, short videos, and more
- Open discussion and Q&A with attendees
Who should attend: Artists, arts workers, artist-run orgs, educators, and anyone interested in improving access to free legal education and support resources for artists.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
