Port Hope Soundscapes

     Project Overview 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Critical Mass Port Hope Soundscapes

As funding becomes available, Critical Mass: A Centre for Contemporary Art will post calls for artists to create and develop immersive soundscape experiences played through a GPS-guided walking app in Port Hope.

Learn more about our call for artists by toggling through the information below.

We have no current calls for submission.

For more information, contact:

Debbie Beattie
Program Director, Critical Mass: A Centre for Contemporary Art
905-269-2120 | info@criticalmassart.com

Our Mission

Critical Mass: A Centre for Contemporary Art brings contemporary art to our community for all to experience because we believe art stirs our feelings and challenges how we see the world and our place within it.

Our mission for the 2020 Port Hope Soundscapes project is to provide socially-engaged sound artists with an opportunity to play an active role in our community — creating art experiences that will help shape the cultural vibrancy of Port Hope.

Project Overview & Goals

Opportunity

Critical Mass is offering two socially-engaged artists (or artist collectives) with an opportunity to create and develop immersive soundscape experiences played through a GPS-guided walking app in Port Hope. 

Project Goals:

  • Generate conversations and safe community engagement art activities that shift all of our thinking about contemporary art and our place in the world. 
  • Animate public space(s) through immersive sound art experiences that may make use of, reinvent, or challenge people’s relationships with public space in Port Hope
  • Enrich how locals and visitors alike experience Port Hope’s identity, by using smartphone geolocation capabilities to explore the town’s landmarks and local stories
  • Elevate what makes Port Hope great; contributing to civic pride and visitor appeal
  • Broaden and increase active arts engagement, using technology literally in everyone’s hands (especially among youth and seniors)
  • Encourage people to embrace a new digital way to participate in their community
  • Consider new ways of learning and sharing and experiencing stories (whether they be verbal or non-verbal narratives) about our communities

Project Scope

Selected artists will produce compelling artistic auditory interpretations of public space and work with the community to co-curate diverse art-forward stories that include perspectives from Indigenous and racialized persons, persons with disability, women and individuals of diverse genders and sexual orientations.

The project will begin this Fall (2021) and must be ready for launch by Spring. 

The total stipend awarded to a selected artist is $7,500 (for up to 115 hours of community research, admin, and project development) with 50% paid at the start of the project and 50% upon conclusion. The budget includes an agreement for a 10 year usage license. Please note that artists will require their own equipment and materials, and/or will be responsible to cover any rental fees required.

Project Requirements

Collaboration

Artists, and our app developers will work closely with our Program Director to collaborate with each other to ensure the app is art-forward and will meet the artist’s needs, and the ideal user experience, as set out in the initial scope of the project.

Selected artists will:

  • Collaborate with App Developer & Program Director
  • Engage community members
  • Deliver their project within the program’s agreed upon scope, timeline, and budget
  • Update staff regularly on progress
  • Speak with media, if presented with opportunity
  • Debrief at the end of the project

These details will be reviewed with artists before their work begins.

Critical Mass is committed to cultivating a positive and supportive creative environment that promotes equity and diversity. We welcome applications from persons with disabilities, Indigenous and racialized persons, women and individuals of diverse genders and sexual orientations.

Eligibility

WHO CAN APPLY

Applications are open to sound artists or collectives seeking an opportunity to create and develop immersive soundscape experiences played through a GPS-guided walking app in Port Hope, Ontario.

Eligibility

We are seeking professional sound artist candidates who are:

  1. socially-engaged artists 
  2. at all career stages
  3. individual sound artists or artist collectives*
  4. self-sufficient with own equipment**
  5. living within a commutable distance to Port Hope, (for example, along the Toronto (GTA) to Montreal cultural-corridor and north), as the project will include a commitment to work and research onsite

Please note:
* Artist Collective applicants will have access to the same $7,500 stipend as individual artists.

**The selected artist will be expected to have all the necessary tools/equipment or incur expenses for rentals to undertake this project. Artists will also be responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses. 

Best-suited for applicants with:

  • community engagement experience
  • an exhibition and soundscape record
  • formal training in sound arts, sound engineering, &/or music at the post-secondary level
  • equivalent experience from apprenticeship and/or peer recognition  

Successful proposals will also demonstrate a rudimentary knowledge of Port Hope, its history and environment.

Critical Mass is committed to cultivating a positive and supportive creative environment that promotes equity and diversity.  We  welcome applications from persons with disabilities, Indigenous and racialized persons, women and individuals of diverse genders and sexual orientations.

Stipends (Artists, Coders, UX Consultant)

Critical Mass will award two artists (or artist collectives) $7,500, to create and develop immersive soundscape experiences played through a GPS-guided walking app in Port Hope.

ARTIST STIPEND

The total stipend awarded to a selected artist (or collective) is $7,500.  

Please note that artists will require their own equipment and materials, and/or will be responsible to cover any rental fees required.

What does the stipend cover?

The stipend is intended to meet the artist’s basic needs while doing focused work and includes a contribution to assist artists with travel expenses.

For artists, the stipend is intended to compensate the artist(s) for up to 115 hours of community research, admin, and project development, with 50% paid at the start of the project and 50% upon conclusion. The budget includes an agreement for a 10 year soundscape usage license.

Equipment, materials and supplies will be the responsibility of the artists, developer/coders and consultant. Artists will also be responsible for their own living arrangements (if required), travel and personal expenses.

To find out more, contact our Program Director.

Application Deadlines & How to Apply

APPLICATION DEADLINES CLOSED.

Call for Submissions Released
Monday, July 12, 2021


Open Information Sessions
Wednesday, July 21, 7PM (ZOOM registration)
Wednesday, July 28, 7PM (ZOOM registration)

Submission Deadline
Sunday, August 8, 2021 by 11:59 p.m.

Jury Deliberation and Selection
August 9 – 13, 2021

Notification by
October 6, 2020

Project start/end:
Fall, 2021; Budget allows for 115 hours (includes 10yr license)

Beta version available by spring 2022 (March/April); Final launch by fall 2022 (September/October)

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HOW TO APPLY

To apply, submit your application through the “Submittable” online application form. https://criticalmassart.submittable.com/submit

Application requirements include:

  • Artist Statement and Bio (max 150 words)
  • Project Proposal (max 350 words)
  • Curriculum Vitae or Resume
  • 2-3  examples of your work
  • Media Files: 2-3 media files: (Mp3, Mp4) Max 10 minutes
  • Images: 2-3 images of your work in the field (JPG or PNG) Max 2MB each
  • Image List: Include Title, Media, Date (in PDF format)

Please note:  Artists must be able to clearly indicate their role in the work samples/projects shared with us and note their percentage of responsibility.

Further details available on our “Submittable” application form.

All submissions are considered confidential. Candidates selected for an interview will be asked to provide 2-3 references from past projects. Successful applicants will be notified in August, 2021.

Should you require further clarification, or have any questions, please contact:

Debbie Beattie
Program Director
Critical Mass Art
info@criticalmassart.com

 

Facilities & Equipment

A Unique Work Space

Built in the mid 1850s, the Little Station might have been the first railway station built in Port Hope—by the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada. The restored three-season, two-level building now serves as a multi-use creative space.

Soundscape artists will have access to the building, in October and November 2021.

Studio / Gallery Space

The upper level of the Little Station is 375 sq ft with 10 ft ceilings. It can be used for facilitating your community research and/or for your studio workspace.

The lower level is also 375 sq ft with 7 ft ceilings and can be used as studio workspace and/or for storage. Like all public buildings, the Little Station is smoke-free.

Tools, Equipment and Supplies

Sound artists will be responsible for providing their own sound and editing equipment needed to create Port Hope Soundscapes.

The Little Station has basic shop and hand tools, as well as workbenches, folding tables, and chairs.

Artists will have access to general office supplies and equipment (e.g. computer, wifi, colour laser printer, and projector). A full inventory list will be provided to selected artists.

Accessibility

The upper level of the Little Station is wheelchair accessible. However, the lower level is not. It has two steps down.

The building does not have running water or washrooms. Artists will have access to the public washrooms behind Town Hall that are a 2-minute walk from the building.

If you have any other requirements, material needs, or requests, please let us know in you online “Submittable” application form.

Resources for Selected Artists

Staff Support

Artists-in-Residence will have a dedicated Program Director to:

  • Acquire permits for animating public spaces, as appropriate
  • Facilitate access to municipal facilities, venues and public spaces
  • Connect artists with collaborators and story tellers
  • Coordinate promotional materials (writing, editing, design and printing)
  • Arrange exposure for the artists: interview opportunities, promotion, and documenting of work

Community Partnerships

Residency recipients will receive an information package detailing resources and partnership contacts.

Artists will have access to urban and rural sites and partnerships for community engagement and creative animation opportunities.

Some sites and venues may include:

Public Spaces:
Parks, Trails, and Riverside features; Community Buildings like libraries, sports or seniors centres

Little Station features:
Little Station, Lent Lane, Elias St Fountain

Partnership examples include:
Port Hope Schools, Hope Agricultural Heritage Club, Green Wood Coalition, and more.

In the Community

Port Hope sits along Lake Ontario (one hour east of Toronto) at the mouth of the Ganaraska River and offers an urban and rural mix of natural and historical assets to explore. Urban Port Hope features architectural gems and friendly shopkeepers on its ‘best preserved’ main street, and has been used in film and television (e.g., Stephen King’s IT movies and Murdoch Mysteries); rural Port Hope is lush with agricultural heritage, rolling hills, and beautiful vistas and farms.

The Little Station — Critical Mass’ creative hub — is situated in the heart of downtown Port Hope. It is a short walking distance from the main street shops, cafés, restaurants, drugstore, post office, library, theatre, LCBO, and the Ganaraska River and Lake Ontario.

Critical Mass is committed to our community. The central location of our Little Station reflects our commitment to engaging with and shaping a vital and vibrant community.

Soundscape artists are encouraged to make use of the Little Station to schedule open hours to engage with the public, to gather stories, and to conduct research for their project. 

What Sets Us Apart

Our small community is our strength. We connect with and look after each other, and we want you to experience what that’s like.

You will be welcomed by our friendly, earnest, volunteer group of artists and townsfolk. We are eager to make you feel at home. You can count on us to be your tour guides around the community, your resource to facilitate connections, and your new pals to meet up (within socially distant safety guidelines) for copious amounts of coffee or snacks. 

We are here to support your professional needs as well. We want you to achieve your goals for this project. Our Program Director will be dedicated to promoting and documenting your work so that you have opportunities for exposure before, during, and/or after your soundscape project is developed and launched.