Collaborative Artist Residency

Photo: Little Station gallery / workspace 

Open CALL for 10 artist positions for a Collaborative Artist Residency Project (June & July)

Collaborative Artist Residency Project
Letting Go: A Visual Conversation

Critical Mass Art is all about people coming together and the synergy that produces for all in our community.  For the last few years our Artist in Residence program has brought artists to Port Hope to animate the community with challenging contemporary art ideas.

This summer we will host a collaborative artist residency to energize, excite and challenge local artists in new ways of thinking and making art together. 

The Little Station will be a hub of activity for two months as two groups of 5 artists negotiate the development of a total of 10 communal artworks.

How will they do it? What will the artwork look like? What will the artists learn about themselves and others? 

The community will be invited to visit the Little Station regularly to interact with the artists, and see how the work is progressing. There will be a final big reveal Exhibition (& Sale) in October! 

All artists are invited to attend an introductory gathering (on Thursday, June 1st at 7pm or Saturday, June 3rd at noon) where we will discuss the parameters of the project and draw at random the 10 artists for this collaborative residency project.

This residency project addresses coming out of isolation, letting go, experimentation, trusting one another, challenging your artwork in new ways, and coming together to start a visual conversation.

In the spirit of letting go and experimentation, Critical Mass is letting go of our typical Residency Application & Curation Process. No residency proposal pitch, or formal application with your CV and work samples will be requested.

How it works: Simply show up to one of the info sessions, take part in the introductory gathering and discussion, ensure you can commit to the time commitment and process, and submit your name into the draw. Critical Mass will select 10 artists at random.

If you’d like to submit your name for a chance to be selected for this residency project, and you can attend one of the INFO Sessions to find out more, please RSVP through our Eventbrite link or by email to info@criticalmassart.com. 

Here’s a quick outline of what we envision for The Critical Mass Collaborative Residency: 

10 Artists. 10 Interventions. 10 Panels.

Two groups of 5 participating artists will cycle through and interact with 5 panels for the duration of this residency project. 

On Week 1, each artist will face a blank panel and engage with it in any chosen manner. Artists are not expected to complete the panel, but begin a visual conversation using their own visual vocabulary in a way that subsequent artists can respond to. When an artist completes their work on a panel they will write their name on the back of the panel to indicate they are done.

In Weeks 2-5 each artist will face a different panel. They will respond in their own visual language and medium to what the previous artist has done trying not to dominate the conversation but add to it. Each artist will respond to an increasing number of accumulated actions on each panel attempting to positively add to the developing composition. At each stage each artist will add their name to the list of artists on the back of the panel. In this way the sequence will be clear so artists will know which panels they have previously responded to.

After all the artists have worked on each panel, the artist who worked on the image first may choose to ‘have the last say’ to complete the image. 

As this project encourages collaboration and conversation each artist is encouraged to respond thoughtfully and respectfully to what they see.

Proposed schedules:

OPTION 1:
5 week drop in schedule.
5 artists
Commitment of 5 hours per artist over 5 weeks (1 hr/week).

OPTION 2:
5 artists
1 weekend (Sat & Sun) – Date TBD (around group schedule)
Commitment of 5 hours per artist (over the course of 2 days)

Based on group feedback and schedules, we will determine the best schedule for participating artists.

There may be 2 cohorts running during the same 5-week schedule, or we could offer 2 different scheduling options (1) 5 interactions over 5 weeks, or (2) 5 interactions over 2 days.

What OPTION 1 Schedule would look like:

Thursday, June 1 @ 7 pm &/or – INFO SESSION 
Saturday June 3 @ noon – INFO SESSION 

Saturday, June 10 – Week 1 – Residency Begins. Artists start panels.

Thursday, June 15 – Week 2 – Artists leave 2nd mark
Saturday, June 17 – Week 2 – Artists leave 2nd mark

Thursday, June 22 – Week 3 – Artists leave 3rd mark
Saturday, June 24 – Week 3 – Artists leave 3rd mark

Thursday, June 29 – Week 4 – Artists leave 4th mark
Saturday, July 1 – Holiday – Artists leave 4th mark

Thursday, July 6 – Week 5 – Artists leave 5th mark
Saturday, July 8 – Week 5 – Artists leave 5th mark

Thursday, July 13 – Week 6 – First Artists leave FINAL marks on the panel that you started

Saturday, July 15 – Week 6 – Artists gather for discussion – decide if pieces are finished – participate in a project debrief.