History

The OFFTA was founded in 2007 out of a desire to create a platform for emerging artists following the end of the Festival international de nouvelle danse (FIND) and the Nouvelle Scène component of the Festival de Théâtre des Amériques. Jasmine Catudal, Stéphanie Capistran-Lalonde, Johanne Haberlin, Emanuelle Kirouac-Sanche, and Jacques Laroche organized the very first edition. With its multidisciplinary approach, OFFTA quickly established itself as an essential platform for the national and international promotion of local artists.

In 2015, the OFFTA organization expanded its mission and grew its team: LA SERRE — performing arts was created. The new structure has since occupied a key position in the cultural sector by addressing a pressing need: supporting emerging artists through the crucial stages of creation. LA SERRE became the producer of OFFTA.  In addition to producing OFFTA, LA SERRE serves as a structuring incubator that supports emerging artists in developing and establishing their practices. It offers initiatives that promote their visibility, nurtures the community, and provides inspiring spaces.

OFFTA

OFFTA is a festival dedicated to emerging avant-garde creation in the performing arts. Created alongside the Festival TransAmériques (FTA), it showcases creators whose committed, singular approaches explore new artistic trends. OFFTA aims to reduce the frontiers between contemporary artistic practices and their respective audiences. It presents and produces events that shake up established conventions and question modes of representation, by encouraging encounters and cooperation.

The OFFTA program is curated annually by a programming committee. The 2026 edition is the fruit of conversations between JJ Houle, Camille Huang, Sovann Rochon-Prom Tep, and Claudel Doucet.

LA SERRE

The spaces where OFFTA and LA SERRE’s activities take place are located on unceded territories. Known as Tiohtià:ke by the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation and Mooniyang by the Anishinaabe Nation, the island where we work is a gathering place for many Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. It is our responsibility, in our work, to nurture the vitality of our connections to the territories as well as the relationships we maintain with all of its communities.

We are mindful of various social issues, particularly the importance of adopting ecologically responsible practices. We therefore encourage festivalgoers to use sustainable modes of transportation (walking, biking, public transit, carpooling, and car-sharing). The OFFTA team is actively working to minimize the event’s environmental footprint and to develop approaches that reinforce our commitment to the sustainable use of all our resources.