Artist-in-Residence (AIR) Program

Summer Artist in Residence Programs

Applications for the 2024 AIR Residencies are due November 1, 2023. 

The Rooms Art Gallery offers, along with its partners, a maximum of five artist-in-residence opportunities outside of St. John’s each year. Residencies at Gros Morne National Park and Terra Nova National Park are offered in partnership with Parks Canada. A residency at Brigus, NL is offered in partnership with The Landfall Trust. Artist fees are supported by The Canada Council for the Arts. These residencies offer professional visual artists the opportunity to focus for a concentrated period of minimum 4-6 weeks on developing new projects, or to work on existing projects within quiet, natural surroundings by the Atlantic Ocean. Applications are reviewed once per year by a jury of internal and external curators, artists, educators, and by representatives of the partner organizations.

Eligibility

  • Open to professional provincial, Canadian and international artists with an established exhibition history.
  • Open to artists working in any medium.

 

Gros Morne National Park

Located on Newfoundland’s West Coast at Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Closest airport: Deer Lake, NL). Two artists may be selected annually.

 

 

Residency includes:

  • Artist-in-residence fee, provided by The Rooms
  • Accommodation and workspace (two-bedroom townhouse) located in Woody Point, NL, provided by Parks Canada
  • Artists may apply to stay for minimum 4-6 weeks. Artists should indicate two choices for their preferred time frame of stay (May-October)
  • Some form of public access must be offered during the residency, in consultation with Parks Canada (ex: “open studio”, slide talk, workshop)
  • Artists are responsible for their own transportation. A vehicle is highly desirable.
  • More about Gros Morne National Park

 

Terra Nova National Park

Located on Newfoundland’s Northeast Coast at Terra Nova National Park, approximately 2.5 hours from St. John’s. Two artists may be selected annually.

 

 

Residency includes:

  • Artist-in-residence fee, provided by The Rooms
  • Accommodation provided by Parks Canada. Note there is no formal workspace provided.
  • Artists may apply to stay for minimum 4-6 weeks. Artists should indicate two choices for their preferred time frame of stay (May-October)
  • Some form of public access must be offered during the residency, in consultation with Parks Canada (ex: “open studio”, slide talk, workshop)
  • Artists are responsible for their own transportation. A vehicle is highly desirable.
  • More about Terra Nova National Park 

 

Landfall Trust, Brigus

Located in the small community of Brigus, Conception Bay, Newfoundland (about 45 minutes from St. John’s), and offered in partnership with The Landfall Trust, a non-profit organization that operates the historic property where American artist Rockwell Kent resided during the First World War. One artist may be selected annually.

 

Residency includes:

  • Artist-in-residence fee, provided by The Rooms
  • Accommodation provided by The Landfall Trust. Note there is no formal workspace provided. 
  • Artists may apply to stay for 3 weeks (mid-June to mid-July)
  • Some form of public access must be offered during the residency, in consultation with The Landfall Trust (ex: “open studio”, slide talk, workshop)
  • Artists are responsible for their own transportation. A vehicle is highly desirable. 
  • More about The Landfall Trust.

 

Application Checklist

  • Current CV, including up-to-date exhibition record
  • 10 to 15 image/video files of current artwork (300 DPI, jpegs for images, on USB datastick, CD or DVD)
  • Statement of interest (500-700 words), including a description of work to be carried out during the residency, what the residency will bring to your practice,  and what your perspective will bring to the program.
  • Description of public access to be offered during the residency.
  • Preferred location and length of stay (as per above)
  • Two artists may make a joint application, each submitting visuals and other information, if they are prepared to share the fee and living/working space. These are working residencies; family and friends cannot accompany artists.

The Rooms strives to recognize and undo structural inequities, to be inclusive and support diversity in programming. We welcome and encourage applications from artists who may come from communities that are historically on the margins or are traditionally under-represented in cultural institutions.    

Send your application, by the deadline, to:

Mailing Address:
The Rooms
Art Gallery Division
Attn: AIR Coordinator
P.O. Box 1800, Station C
St. John's, NL A1C 5P9

Courier Address: 
The Rooms 
Art Gallery Division
Attn: AIR Coordinator
9 Bonaventure Avenue
St. John's, NL A1C 3Y9

Information: 709-757-8040 or artgallery@therooms.ca 

IMPORTANT NOTE: 
Applications sent by fax or e-mail will not be accepted.