Artist Residencies

Current Residencies

December 22, 2022

MOTHRA 2023

MOTHRA: Artist-Parent Residency

Facilitator: Sarah Cullen

Program Dates: March 13 - 20, July 4 - 17, September 18 - 25, November 13 - 20 (Check in is 1pm. Check out is 11 am.)

Submission Deadline: Rolling (**FIRST DEADLINE JANUARY 15th!**)

Cost: See "Fees and Support"

In 2023 MOTHRA will be offering four artist-parent, child-inclusive, artist residencies.

MOTHRA is interested in bringing together the parent child relationship in the artist residency setting, not separating the child from the adult for art making purposes. The children are why this project exists, and we want to include them as contributors.

What 2023 will look like:

A focus on research, networking, gathering information and data related to artist-parents and carers in Canada – ie. travel, online think-tanks, interviews etc…
We want to encourage discussion and demand change in how artist caregivers and the children they may care for are acknowledged, welcomed, and accommodated for.
Our main questions: How does art practice change when we admit to these relationships in our lives? Particularly the parent/child relationship? And, Why do we continue to accept modes of professionalism that deny these relationships?

Some things we will be working on during the residencies:

Writing a sample grant application for a pregnant artist and/or a new parent: thinking of ways to include this life changing experience into one’s art practice, how does this experience/relationship inform one’s work? Where is the value? How is this experience a contribution to knowledge, one’s art practice, the sector?
We will develop Guidelines and suggestions of Best Practice for institutions who run residencies in order for them to be accommodating and inclusive of artist-parents and children.
Interviews with YOU. What has your experience been like?

We are looking for artists who have worked with or alongside their child(ren), or who want to try this, and who are willing to experiment. This is a chance to work these things out in practice.

Dates:

March 13 - 20, Deadline to apply: January 15th
July 4 - 17, Deadline to apply: April 10th
September 18 - 25, Deadline to apply: June 16th
November 13 - 20, Deadline to apply: August 18th

FACILITATOR BIO

Sarah Cullen (she/her/they) is a contemporary visual artist based on Menecing- Toronto Island. She is a white settler of English and Scottish heritage. She has been running projects for artist-parents since 2012, establishing MOTHRA in 2018. Her current work incorporates drawing, walking, and epistolary practices.

STUDIO/WORKSPACE & ACCOMMODATION

Private room(s) is/are available for all families. All beds are double beds. Artists will have access to a communal kitchen to cook their own meals in. Shared, furnished, large studio space provided. We will try to fit all family members in one bedroom, but may need to split a family between two adjoining bedrooms. Shared washrooms/showers are in the hall near the bedrooms. A limited number of bedrooms come with a toilet/sink/shower.

There is also, of course, the great outdoors.

FEES & SUPPORT

The fee structure has changed for 2023. HST will be added to the total.

One adult, one child: $700
Additional child/partner: $100 ea.
July: One adult, one child: $900
Additional child/partner: $100 ea.

This cost covers transportation to and from AGP on arrival and departure days, your accommodation, your studio, access to common spaces, programming, and some meals will be provided (new this year!).

We have limited subsidy to help offset the cost of attending. Should you feel that you require this in order to attend, please state this in your application form.

We are happy to provide letters of support to any funding programs to which artists wish to apply. We encourage applicants to pursue funding opportunities afforded them by their national, regional, local and departmental funding agencies. Please visit ArtsUnite (a project of Artscape) for some resources on funding and applying for grants. ArtsReach also has a useful calendar to explore grants.

TO APPLY

Spaces are limited. To apply please visit https://form.jotform.com/223455867133056

MOTHRA has been funded as an art project, residency program, and sector innovator.

This project has been conceived, founded, and run by Sarah Cullen – with the help of Alison Thompson, Simon Pope, Mary Dyja, and others. The project began in 2012, and MOTHRA came into being in 2018. MOTHRA acknowledges support from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.

For further info:

mothra.ca

contactmothra (at) gmail (dot) com

ABOUT ARTSCAPE GIBRALTAR POINT Located in the former Toronto Island Public and Natural Science School, Artscape Gibraltar Point offers 35,000 square feet of affordable retreat space, artist studios and accommodations for artists and creative thinkers. The tranquil, idyllic setting is world-renowned as a centre for members of the artistic and non-profit communities to think, experiment, collaborate and share ideas.

More than 200 artists a year from across the globe experiment and create art through self-directed artist retreats and thematic residencies hosted in our overnight accommodations. In addition to hosting a maximum of 20 visiting artists at any given time, fifteen long-term artist work studios provide space for a range of painters, sculptors, musicians, filmmakers and a recording studio – all of whom contribute to the unique and collaborative atmosphere at Artscape Gibraltar Point.

ABOUT ARTSCAPE Artscape is a not-for-profit urban development organization that makes space for creativity and transforms communities. Artscape is the operator of Artscape Gibraltar Point. Our work involves clustering creative people together in real estate projects that serve the needs of the arts and cultural community and advance multiple public policy objectives, private development interests, community and neighbourhood aspirations and philanthropic missions.

December 22, 2022

Awakening

Awakening: Elemental Creativity and Spirituality
Facilitator: Monica Bodirsky
Program Dates: June 26 - July 4 2023. (Check in is 1pm. Check out is 11 am.)

Submission Deadline: April 3, 2023
Cost:$830.25 for private bedroom, shared studio and includes HST and facilitator’s fee

Awakening is an intensive and immersive 7-day thematic residency open to all professional and emerging artists of all disciplines. The residency will be of particular interest to those who are interested in exploring the five elements of earth, air, fire, water and spirit, and who wish to connect to the idea of the ‘witch’ in both a historical and contemporary context. People of colour, diverse gender identifications, and all abilities are encouraged to apply.

The experience was designed to provide a sacred and inspirational space for seekers to explore their own practice within the elemental framework. The objective is to engage holistic practices that connect our authentic self with our environment and to incorporate metaphysical practices within creative self-expression. Finding agency through voice, decolonization, global environmental concerns, socio-political and economic factors, which affect our ability to be open about our spiritual practice in the arts, are key components.

Artscape Gibraltar Point is an artist retreat nestled against the magnificent natural backdrop of Toronto Island. It offers a distraction-free environment to focus on art creation, and a rich potential for the creation of corporeal artworks amongst its blue-flag beaches (one of them being clothing optional) and natural surroundings of Lake Ontario, forests and gardens filled with flowers, fruit and vegetables.

On the island, there are tiny quaint homes, a historic lighthouse, a hobby farm and antique
carnival grounds. Cozy up in a furnished studio and bedroom, and enjoy amenities such as a fully equipped common kitchen, shared bathrooms, laundry facilities and wireless Internet. AGP is a barrier-free and inclusive environment. The Toronto city core is just a 15-minute ferry ride away.

Along with programmed time, participants will have free time to work individually or collaboratively in a studio environment and explore the island.

Artscape Gibraltar Point on Tkaronto (Toronto) Island is the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation

Artists are responsible for getting themselves and their gear to Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and onto the ferry. Once on the Island, Artscape Staff will provide transportation to the centre.

FACILITATOR BIO

Monica Bodirsky, BDes CH, is an entrepreneurial artist, author, consultant and earth-based spiritual practitioner whose work is designed specifically to empower those seeking deeper meaning in their lives. She graduated as a graphic designer and illustrator from Seneca College, received her bachelor’s degree in design from OCAD University, and recently, a Chartered Herbalist through Dominion College. Her work has been published traditionally as well as independently and includes tarot and oracle decks, short stories, art exhibitions and commissioned illustrations. A sought-after speaker she has been invited to several spiritual conferences and workshops nationally and internationally. She founded the WITCHfest North Arts and Culture Festival, worked as sessional faculty at Sheridan college for several years, and OCAD University for ten years. She lives and works in Tkaronto (Toronto).

STUDIO/WORKSPACE & ACCOMMODATION

A private room is available for all artists. Artists will have access to a communal kitchen to cook their own meals in. Shared, furnished, large studio space provided.

COVID-19

Artists must be fully vaccinated (two+ doses) or provide a doctors note for a medical exemption. Artists will be expected to comply with all of Artscape Gibraltar Point’s health and safety protocols even if they differ from what might be expected elsewhere. Artists coming from abroad must comply with Government of Canada rules for travel to Canada. See: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid

FEES & SUPPORT
Regretfully, we are unable to provide honoraria or stipends to cover travel or the fees associated with attending this residency. However, we are happy to provide letters of support to any funding programs to which artists wish to apply. We encourage applicants to pursue funding opportunities afforded them by their national, regional, local and departmental funding agencies. Please visit ArtsUnite (a project of Artscape) for some resources on funding and applying for grants. ArtsReach also has a useful calendar to explore grants.

TO APPLY

Spaces are limited. To apply please visit https://www.monicabodirsky.com/awakening

December 22, 2022

i made it through the wilderness

i made it through the wilderness - Making Art Through Climate Change
Facilitator: Lisa Cristinzo
Program Dates: June 5 - June 19 2023. (Check in is 1pm, Monday June 5^th. Check out is 11 am, Monday June 19^th.)

Submission Deadline: March 15th, 2023
Cost: $1,275 plus HST (private bedroom + private studio for 2 weeks.) or $1,075 plus HST (private bedroom + shared studio for 2 weeks. Please note that shared studio spaces are limited.)

Led by Lisa Cristinzo, “i made it through the wilderness” is a two-week visual arts residency on Mnisiing/Toronto Island for artists creating work about and within landscape and who wish to spend time contemplating what it means to be an artist at this point in our climate history.

We will be examining the importance of landscape art in the context of the deforestation of 85% of the world’s forests, uncontrollable wildfires, and catastrophic climate hazards that disproportionately affect the most vulnerable. In the geological era of Anthropocene, an era defined by humans’ extensive impact on the earth’s geologic makeup, how can humans deepen and balance the relationship between the material and energetic world? What if we held vital matter and its properties with the same rights and freedom, we all strive to have? And are artists the ones that are truly in the position to make ‘matter’ matter?

This residency is an attempt to collectively understand more deeply through the practice of art the vibrancy and agency of the world around us. Although the theme of the residency sounds somber, participants will be encouraged to access this knowledge through gratitude, play, and emergent experiences in co-authorship with the site and with each other. There will be a full program of guest artists, studio visits, studio time, time outside and fireside chats. This is a call for 8-10 painters and those who work in the expanded field of paint, such as sculpture, installation, performance, and site responsive work.

I made it through the wilderness
Somehow I made it through
Didn't know how lost I was
Until I found you

- Madonna, Like a Virgin

DETAILS

Residency limited 8-10 Artists.

Artists are responsible for getting themselves and their gear to Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and onto the ferry. Once on the Island, Artscape Staff will provide transportation to the centre.

FACILITATOR BIO

This is a facilitated residency, but the aim is to work non-hierarchically and in co-authorship across the collective of visiting artists and participants.

Lisa Cristinzo (She/her) is a queer painter and installation artist, and a first-generation Canadian settler living in T’karonto on Turtle Island. Cristinzo’s large-scale painting installations traverse natural history, climate hazards, materialism, and magic. She holds a BFA from OCAD U and an MFA from York University, where she received a graduate scholarship and SSHRC federal funding for her research into fire and climate change. Cristinzo’s writing and artwork about fire was recently published in Fire Season II by Liz Tooney-Wiese and Amory Abbott. Lisa was accepted into the Doris McCarthy Artist-in-Residence Program for 2023. Along with being an artist, she has spent over a decade managing arts programs and community cultural hubs, including Artscape Gibraltar Point, an artist residency and event space on Mnisiing/Toronto Island.

While completing a Masters degree, a medical diagnosis prompted Cristinzo to conduct her work outside of institutions both academic and medical. Through a Canada Council for the Arts research-creation grant she spent 60 days at four artist residencies, including a residency at Vermont Studio Center, where she explored the tradition of “plein air” painting through the lens of climate change. “i made it through the wilderness”, 2023’s thematic residency at Artscape Gibraltar Point, is inspired by her experience.

Virtual/In Person Visiting Artists

Christina Battle is an artist based in amiskwacîwâskahikan, (also known as Edmonton, Alberta), within the Aspen Parkland: the transition zone where prairie and forest meet. Her practice focuses on thinking deeply about the concept of disaster: its complexity, and the intricacies that are entwined within it. Much of this work extends from her recent PhD dissertation (2020) which looked closer to community responses to disaster: the ways in which they take shape, and especially to how online models might help to frame and strengthen such response. [www.cbattle.com]

Jonathan S Green is of Mi’kmaq and Inuit, British and Scottish heritage from Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He does not know a lot about his indigenous heritage but is trying to learn more. Green earned an MFA in Printmaking from the University of Alberta in 2016, a BFA from Memorial University of Newfoundland – Grenfell Campus. He has been a Visual Arts Studio Work study at the Banff Centre. He has canoed down the Yukon River as part of the Canadian Wilderness Artist Residency. He currently resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at his studio Campsite Press. [www.jonathansgreen.com]

Leida Englar’s formal education includes a Sciences degree from McMaster University and studies at Toronto School of Art. Leida is a dedicated artist, peacemaker, environmental and community activist and has been a Plein Air painter since 1980. Whenever Leida and her husband Jerry traveled around North America, Plein Air painting became the tool of record keeping. Leida was co-founder of Shadowland Theatre and band leader in Caribana from 1985-2005 where she built costumes for the Trinidad Carnival, in Toronto and Trinidad and Tobago. In 1993 Leida and Jim Belisle and Jerry Englar created L’Ecole de Faux Arts/Fake Art School, a base for their love of painting outside, PLEIN AIR.

Leida Englar and Jim Belisle (Landscape Architect/Painter) from the Fake Art School will be conducting an Artist Talk and taking participants on a Plein Air excursion.

A full schedule of programming will be shared at a later date.

STUDIO/WORKSPACE & ACCOMMODATION

Participants have access to private studios (unless shared is requested). Studios come with a large worktable, work chairs, desk lamps, power bar, and of course access to the public park for those that prefer “plein air”.

All participants will be provided with private bedrooms. Bedrooms have a double bed (including a full set of linens), closet and/or dresser and shared bathrooms. Participants have access to a communal kitchen with cooking and food storage amenities, including fridge space, stove, microwave, coffee maker, appliances, cutlery, plates etc. Residents are responsible for their own meals. While grocery delivery can be made to the island service is not daily: please bring food with you on arrival.

Artists should plan to bring all materials relevant to their practice and creation/presentation process. Non-toxic practices please.

Not all residency locations are wheelchair accessible. Please inquire for further details, lisacristinzo@gmail.com

COVID-19

$1,275 plus HST (private bedroom + private studio for 2 weeks.)

$1,075 plus HST (private bedroom + shared studio for 2 weeks. Please note that shared studio spaces are limited.)

TO APPLY

LINK: https://form.jotform.com/223485877002055

This is a call for 8-10 artists. Individuals at various ages and abilities, identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Colour (BIPOC), and/or a person with disabilities, and/or diverse gender identifications (LGBTQIA2+) are encouraged to apply.

If you have any questions or concerns with the application process, please contact lisacristinzo@gmail.com

November 18, 2022

Once Upon Water

Once Upon Water art residency
Facilitator: Teresa Ascencao
Program Dates: May 8 – 23, 2023
Submission Deadline: Feb 1, 2023 (*early bird Dec 15, 2022). EXTENDED FEB 26.
Cost: $932.25 for shared accommodation or $1,186.50 for private bedroom

Once Upon Water is a two-week art residency to create artworks about the material and magical notions of water. Water is in constant flow and yet may present itself as still ~ a mirror that mesmerizes. In this state its reflective surface invites gazing at our physical selves, but also beyond our bodies to contemplate both our inner experiences and relationships with the outer world. Water gushes from deep below earth’s crevices, falls from elevations and hovers in misty formations. It traverses time, shape-shifts as it slides through various spaces, and is one of Mother Nature’s greatest Sculptors. At once, water pours out of taps in developed countries as a banal occurrence, while women in developing countries trek miles to fetch it clean. Alarmingly, earth is under threat of losing all its sea ice this century, while future wars are predicted to be fought over water rather than oil. Yet, the world’s greatest religions say water holds the power to purify and renew.

Once Upon Water will take place at Artscape Gibraltar Point on Toronto island, Canada. Due to record rains in 2017 and 2019, forty percent of Toronto Island flooded and the islands were closed to the public. The waters have since receded and island life is once again thriving, but physical traces and stories of the flood remain.

Residents work individually or collaboratively to create artworks that explore tangible and intangible concepts of water through media of their choice, such as photography, video, installation, drawing, painting, performance art, movement, sound art, media art, etc. Artists will have opportunities to socialize and integrate with people who live on, and visit, Toronto island. This programmed residency offers facilitation by multimedia artist Teresa Ascencao, resident artist talks, a special guest artist talk, gallery tours in the city centre, creative and critical dialogue by the shoreline, and plenty of studio time. Critiques of residents’ works occur individually with the Facilitator and through facilitated group discussions. There will be a closing exhibition of artworks created during the residency (if preferred, artists may show in open studio fashion).

Artscape Gibraltar Point is an artist retreat nestled against the magnificent natural backdrop of Toronto Island, and metres from the beach. It offers a distraction-free environment to focus on making art, and a rich potential for the creation of water-themed artworks amongst its blue-flag beaches (one of them being clothing optional) and natural surroundings of Lake Ontario, forests and gardens filled with flowers, fruit and vegetables. On the island, there are tiny quaint homes, a historic lighthouse, a hobby farm and antique carnival grounds. Cozy up in a furnished studio and bedroom, and enjoy amenities such as a fully equipped common kitchen, shared bathrooms, laundry facilities and wireless Internet. Enjoy beach sunrises and sunsets at the foot of your studio. AGP aims to have as minimal barriers as possible and promotes an inclusive environment. The Toronto city core is just a 15-minute ferry ride away.

Teresa Ascencao is a multimedia artist with special interest in body language, socially inscribed objects, spaces and costumes, and inner and outer corporeal experiences. She collaborated on Water Portals, an interactive work of digitally rendered water ripples triggered by dancers bodies. As an environmentalist, her most recent work has been to protect Toronto’s waterfront through the organization she founded, Citizens for a Healthy Toronto Waterfront. Ascencao graduated with distinction from the University of Toronto’s Honours Fine Art Studio program, and received her MFA from OCAD University specializing in Media Art. Her award-winning work has been exhibited in Canada and internationally. She lives and works in Toronto and teaches at OCADU and University of Toronto.

DETAILS

Once Upon Water art residency will host up to 18 professional artists. The cost is $932.25 for shared accommodation or $1,186.50 for private bedroom. Fees include sleeping quarters, large shared studio, facilitation, programming and exhibition. Artists are responsible for their travel to Toronto Island, their own food and art supplies, including projectors and speakers.

Artists are encouraged to apply for financial support through their federal, provincial and municipal arts councils, and other sources such as the ones listed here by international region. A letter of support for artists’ grant applications will be provided to artists accepted in the residency.

Arrivals are on May 8 at 1pm, and departures on May 23 before 11am. Artists are responsible for getting themself and their gear to Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and onto the ferry. Once on the Island, Artscape Staff will provide transportation to the centre.

We welcome people in all walks of life into a creative journey of critical thinking and self-discovery in relation to water on Toronto Island. Indigenous, people with disabilities, people of colour and diverse gender identifications are encouraged to apply. Not all residency locations are wheel chair accessible. Please inquire about accessibility. For more information contact Teresa Ascencao at info@ArtsUnfold.com.

TO APPLY

Submit your Application via email to Teresa Ascencao at info@ArtsUnfold.com as follows: write “Once Upon Water / First_&_Last_name” in the subject line; include a 200-word statement about your overall practice, a 200-word proposal describing the work you intend to explore during the residency, your bio; up to 5 images or video/sound clips that are most related to the work you propose during the residency, and a link to your website or portfolio; your CV, your sleeping accommodation preference (if you’re open to both shared and private please indicate), any accessibility needs you have, and finally any lived experiences related to class, race, gender, etc. that you’d like to be considered in your application 100 words max.

More than 700 artists a year from across the globe experiment and create art through self-directed artist retreats and thematic residencies hosted in our overnight accommodations. In addition to hosting a maximum of 20 visiting artists at any given time, fifteen long-term artist work studios provide space for a range of painters, sculptors, musicians, filmmakers and a recording studio – all of whom contribute to the unique and collaborative atmosphere at Artscape Gibraltar Point.

November 08, 2022

Inception

Inception: A Magikal Visioning Retreat
Facilitator: Monica Bodirsky
Program Dates: February 3 – February 6, 2023
Submission Deadline: November 30 2022
Cost: $390.91 for private bedroom, shared studio and includes HST and facilitator’s fee

TO APPLY: Fill in the form here

In February within pagan, agrarian spiritualities of the northern hemisphere, ash and salt were strewn on the lands to ritually cleanse and encourage new growth. Imbolc is a Gaelic holiday referencing ‘ewe’s milk’ or the first stirrings of spring and the increasing light. During this weekend you are sowing your seeds of intent so that your energy is working in harmony with nature.

The purpose of this guided retreat is to provide an opportunity for you to experience and learn a creative process that will help you manifest your vision for the upcoming year. With the guidance of a trained professional artist and spiritual guide, you will transform your goals into reality through spiritual journeying, group discussions, reflection and creating a realistic plan.

Located on beautiful Tkaronto Island, this peaceful environment provides the necessary reflection time and space needed for visioning. Spend time by the fireplace, enjoy a communal meal, rest in your room or studio and enjoy peaceful walks. You will be given a schedule for the weekend and provided with spiritual as well as practical organizational techniques and support for creatives.

By spring your ideas will blossom, by summer they will mature, and by fall you will be able to harvest and enjoy the fruits of your labour. In late fall and early winter reflecting on what you have achieved according to your retreat vision will give you an opportunity to re-energize and prepare, and, by the end of the following January and early February you are ready to plan for the upcoming year once again. In this way, you will continue to work with the flow of mother nature and the seasons’ energies to support as well as enhance your creative practice.

Artscape Gibraltar Point on Tkaronto (Toronto) Island is the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

ACCOMMODATION A private room is available for all artists. Artists will have access to a communal kitchen to cook their own meals in.

STUDIO/WORKSPACE Shared, furnished, large studio space provided.

FEES & SUPPORT Regretfully, we are unable to provide honoraria or stipends to cover travel or the fees associated with attending this residency. However, we are happy to provide letters of support to any funding programs to which artists wish to apply. We encourage applicants to pursue funding opportunities afforded them by their national, regional, local and departmental funding agencies. Please visit ArtsUnite (a project of Artscape) for some resources on funding and applying for grants. ArtsReach also has a useful calendar to explore grants.

COVID-19 - Artists must be fully vaccinated (two+ doses) or provide a doctors note for a medical exemption. Artists coming from abroad must comply with Government of Canada rules for travel to Canada. See: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid

TO APPLY Spaces are limited. Please fill out this form and click the submit button to complete your application.

Monica Bodirsky, BDes CH, is an entrepreneurial artist, author, consultant and earth-based spiritual practitioner whose work is designed specifically to empower those seeking deeper meaning in their lives. She graduated as a graphic designer and illustrator from Seneca College, received her bachelor’s degree in design from OCAD University, and recently, a Chartered Herbalist through Dominion College. Her work has been published traditionally as well as independently and includes tarot and oracle decks, short stories, art exhibitions and commissioned illustrations. A sought-after speaker she has been invited to several spiritual conferences and workshops nationally and internationally. She founded the WITCHfest North Arts and Culture Festival, and worked as sessional faculty at Sheridan college for several years, and OCAD University for ten years. She lives and works in Tkaronto (Toronto).