Arts in the Margins

What Arts in the Margins does

Arts in the Margins (legally Arts aux marges) is a Montreal-based nonprofit arts organization founded in 2020 by Peter Burton and Eric Lewis to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion in experimental and new music. The organization operates two interconnected program areas: presenting works from historically marginalized artists (BIPOC, women, LGBTQIA2+) to diversify audiences and music scenes, and delivering free artistic workshops and discussions to youth and adults in traditionally underserved Montreal neighborhoods including Petite-Bourgogne and Parc-Extension. Its core products are the annual Festival Flux (launched 2023, third edition October 1-11, 2025, with 40+ artists across 10+ Montreal venues), the year-round Off Flux concert series, and three free community programs — Youth Music Network, Digital Southwest, and After School Arts — supported by partners such as McGill's Laboratory of Urban Culture, Improvising Futures, LUC, Youth in Motion, and Maison des Jeunes L'Escampette. The organization is governed by a volunteer board of seven directors including a Griffin Prize-winning poet and a Wire-featured sound artist, and draws on the founders' deep sector credentials (Burton was general director of Suoni Per Il Popolo from 2006 to 2021; Lewis is a McGill philosophy professor directing the Laboratory of Urban Culture).

The business model is a hybrid nonprofit revenue structure with no proprietary technology platform. Earned revenue comes from sliding-scale ticket sales ($15-$35 tiers with solidarity, regular, and reduced pricing), $120 festival passes, and donations collected under a NOTAFLOF (no one turned away for lack of funds) policy. Non-earned revenue consists of government and foundation grants supporting operations. Distribution is regional across Montreal through direct event programming at partner venues, community workshops in neighborhood locations, and radio broadcasts via media partners CKUT 90.3FM, CJLO 91.9FM, and PanM360. Marketing relies on a bilingual (French/English) website, organic social media (Facebook, Instagram), email communications, and earned media through the partner consortium. Festival Flux 2025 was co-presented with a consortium of 15+ organizations including daphne, Innovations en Concert, Le Vivier, IISC, McGill's Laboratory of Urban Culture, the Canadian New Music Network, Mardi Spaghetti, Interzone, Québec Musiques Parallèles, No Hay Banda, and EAF. No parent company, funding rounds, headcount figures, or revenue figures are publicly disclosed.

Name

Arts in the Margins

Legal name

Arts aux marges

Website

https://artsinthemargins.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Arts in the Margins is a Montreal nonprofit founded in 2020 that presents experimental music by historically marginalized artists through its annual Festival Flux and year-round Off Flux concert series, and delivers free music and digital arts education to youth in underserved neighborhoods including Petite-Bourgogne and Parc-Extension.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Experimental Music & Community Arts Programming

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111), Musical Groups and Artists (71113), Fine Arts Schools (611610)

akta.pro primary industry

Fringe & Experimental Performing Arts (MPAGABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB), Music Production & Composition (Songwriting, Recording, DJing) (EDAMAAAF), Group Music Classes & Ensembles (Band, Orchestra, Choir) (EDAMANAC), Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC)

Keywords

• Experimental music festival
• Concert programming
• Community arts education
• Nonprofit arts organization
• Music workshops

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from concert and festival ticket sales at various price points including solidarity, regular, and reduced pricing tiers.
2. Festival Passes: Festival passes sold for $120 providing access to multiple Festival Flux events.
3. Donations (NOTAFLOF): Many events offer 'NOTAFLOF' (no one turned away for lack of funds) pricing model, accepting donations to ensure accessibility.
4. Government and Foundation Grants: As a nonprofit arts organization, likely relies on public funding and foundation support for operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Arts in the Margins is a Montreal-based nonprofit arts organization that presents experimental, improvised, new, and sound art music through an annual Festival Flux and an ongoing Off Flux concert series across multiple venues. It also delivers free music and digital arts workshops (Youth Music Network, Digital Southwest, After School Arts) to youth, newcomers, and historically marginalized residents of underserved Montreal neighborhoods such as Petite-Bourgogne and Parc-Extension.

Product overview

Arts in the Margins is a Montreal-based arts organization operating as a single unified offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The organization provides three interconnected program areas: Festival Flux (an annual experimental music festival), Off Flux (an ongoing concert series), and free artistic workshops (Youth Music Network, Digital Southwest, and After School Arts). These programs work together to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion through innovative artistic dissemination, production, and training, with a focus on music from historically marginalized communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Festival Flux: Annual Montreal experimental music festival featuring concerts, workshops, roundtables, and launches focused on performance, place and politics
• Off Flux
• Youth Music Network
• Digital Southwest
• After School Arts

Products and services

• Festival Flux Annual Montreal experimental music festival featuring concerts, workshops, roundtables, presentations, talks, and launches focused on performance, place, and politics. Showcases experimental, improvised, new music, sound art, electronic music, and folk music from historically marginalized artists across 10+ Montreal venues, including over 40 artists in the 2025 edition.
• Off Flux Concert Series Ongoing year-round concert series featuring experimental and avant-garde musicians from around the world, presented across multiple Montreal venues including La Sala Rossa, Théâtre La Chapelle, Casa del Popolo, La Sotterenea, and Édifice Wilder.
• Youth Music Network Free music education program for youth in the Petite-Bourgogne neighborhood, offering group classes, individual lessons, and cultural mentorship from professional Montreal musicians in the historic St. Joseph church space.
• Digital Southwest Free digital arts training program for residents of southwest Montreal, particularly youth, girls, and new Canadians, covering digital music creation, DJ practice, field recording, and digital photography.
• After School Arts Free afterschool arts program for children at École De La Petite-Bourgogne featuring music instruction, creative writing, and visual arts taught by professional artists.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• daphnecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Centre d'artistes daphne co-presents Festival Flux 2025 and hosts events at their venue (5425 Casgrain Ave). Partnership includes artist residencies and collaborative programming.
• Innovations en ConcertcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Innovations en Concert co-presents Festival Flux 2025 and collaborates on the GIFT cultural mediation program.
• Le ViviercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Le Vivier co-presents Festival Flux 2025 and provides venues for new music programming.
• International Institute for the Critical Studies in ImprovisationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025IISC I co-presents Festival Flux 2025 and organizes the Improvising Care Training School conference during the festival.
• McGill University's Laboratory of Urban CulturecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025The Laboratory of Urban Culture co-presents Festival Flux 2025 and is led by Arts in the Margins President Eric Lewis.
• Réseau Canadien pour les Musiques NouvellescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Canadian New Music Network co-presents Festival Flux 2025 and collaborates on new music advocacy.
• Mardi SpaghettimajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Mardi Spaghetti co-presents Festival Flux 2025 and hosts events at their venue.
• InterzonemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Interzone co-presents Festival Flux 2025 as part of Montreal's experimental music community.
• Québec Musiques ParallèlesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Québec Musiques Parallèles co-presents Festival Flux 2025.
• No Hay BandamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025No Hay Banda co-presents Festival Flux 2025 and hosts events at La Sala Rossa.
• EAFmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025EAF (Experimental Arts Forum) co-presents Festival Flux 2025.
• CKUT 90.3FMmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2025CKUT is a media partner for Festival Flux 2025, broadcasting interviews and performances including the Anthony Braxton Trillium X series.
• CJLO 91.9FMminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2025CJLO is a media partner for Festival Flux 2025.
• PanM360minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2025PanM360 is a media partner for Festival Flux 2025.
• Brique par BriquecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2025Brique par Brique organizes the Monsoon Festival with Arts in the Margins presenting artists at the community event in Parc-Extension.
• Laboratory of Urban Culture (LUC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023LUC partners with Youth Music Network, providing academic and community support for youth music education in Petite-Bourgogne.
• Improvising Futures (IF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023IF partners with Youth Music Network for youth programming and mentorship.
• Youth in MotionmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Youth in Motion partners with Digital Southwest to provide digital arts training for youth in southwest Montreal.
• Maison des Jeunes L'EscampettemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Maison des Jeunes L'Escampette partners with Digital Southwest for youth programming.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mardi Spaghetti: Montreal experimental music presenter and concert series. Direct peer and co-presenter of Festival Flux 2025 operating in the same niche experimental-music scene.
• No Hay Banda: Montreal experimental music concert series based at La Sala Rossa. Direct peer in the same fringe experimental-music presenter category and Festival Flux 2025 co-presenter.
• MUTEK: Montreal-based international festival and forum for digital arts and electronic music. Closest comparable in scale and experimental mandate within Montreal; competes for the same artists, audiences, and sponsorship pools.
• Centre d'artistes daphne: Montreal artist-run centre presenting experimental practices. Direct peer and named Festival Flux 2025 co-presenter; shares the artist-run, non-commercial presenting model.
• Suoni Per Il Popolo: Montreal annual experimental and avant-garde music festival. Direct peer — Arts in the Margins' co-founder Peter Burton served as general director for 15 years (2006–2021), and the two organizations share the same experimental-music presenter role in the city.
• Le Vivier: Montreal-based network of new music presenters and producers. Direct peer as a co-presenter of Festival Flux 2025, sharing the same concert-presenter business model and audience.
• Innovations en Concert: Montreal presenter of contemporary and experimental music. Direct peer and named Festival Flux 2025 co-presenter; operates the same new-music concert and cultural-mediation model.
• Productions SuperMusique: Montreal new-music production company and concert presenter. Direct peer producing and presenting experimental and improvised music in the same ecosystem.
• Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ): Quebec-based contemporary music concert society producing seasons of new music. Direct peer in the same new-music presenter category, competing for audiences, artists, and Quebec arts council funding.

Regional players

• DARE-DARE centre de diffusion d'art: Montreal artist-run centre focused on multidisciplinary and experimental practices. Comparable as a peer Montreal artist-run presenter, but with a broader visual/performative scope than AIM's music-curatorial focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/people/Arts-in-the-Margins/100092685875219
• Instagraminstagram.com/artsinthemargins/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arts in the Margins