Founding CEO: Cunning Concepts & Creations
Ryan Cunningham
Ryan is a non-status Plains Cree with Scottish, Welsh and Danish ancestry from Edmonton, Alberta. As a producer Ryan has establishing his own management-production-touring company; Cunning Concepts & Creations. CC&C is currently touring the DORA award winning production of HUFF by Cliff Cardinal across Canada and abroad. He is the former Artistic Director of Native Earth Performing Arts (Toronto, ON), Canada’s leading and longest running Professional Indigenous Theatre Company. In 2009 he co-founded Alberta Aboriginal Performing Arts (Edmonton, AB) where he served as Artistic Director for 5 years and produced and co-curator of The RUBABOO International Arts Festival. For years he has served as a board member of two national arts service organization’s: IPAA (Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance: www.Ipa.org ) and the CanDance Network (http://www.candance.ca/) . Through IPAA Ryan has worked to establish an Indigenous Touring Network across Canada and is working to establish an International Indigenous Touring Network with partners in the South Pacific, UK and South and Central America. He is a founding member and producer of The Agokwe Collective which extensively toured the 6 DORA award-winning production; AGOKWE by Waawaate Fobister to communities across Canada. As an actor, Ryan has been working professionally in TV, Theatre & Film for over two decades and can be seen in all 5 seasons of the award winning APTN television series, BLACKSTONE. For Theatre he was involved in the development and premier productions of four published Canadian Aboriginal plays; DREARY & IZZY by Tara Beagan, STRETCHING HIDE by Dale Lakevold and Darrell Racine, SUICIDE NOTES by Ken Williams and ANNIE MAE’S MOVEMENT by Yvette Nolan. Ryan continues to perform on stages across Canada and is currently doing his second season at The Shaw Festival.