Call | Printermedia Residency: Metal Arts (Vancouver)
Updated: Apr 21
Overview
Printermedia Residency Program – Metal Arts
Presented by Malaspina Printmakers Society with the support of the Vancouver Metal Arts Association
Deadline: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Residency dates: September 1, 2023, to February 28, 2024 (six months) with potential for extension.
Features: 24/7 access to shared studios equipped for printmaking, dark room, design suite and a fully equipped woodshop; access to new metal shop on location in suitably zoned downtown Vancouver art studio; skill sharing, exhibiting, sales and demonstration opportunities.
Residency fees: $250/month
Location: 1265 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Calling all metal artists and art jewellers!
This new metal art component of Malaspina Printmakers Society's (Malaspina/MPS) existing Printermedia Residency Program provides a rare opportunity for artists to explore the intersection of metal and jewellery art and print media within a self-directed and shared studio environment.
Malaspina is accepting submissions from metal and jewellery artists who are in need of equipment and facilities to support the evolution of their art practice in this direction. The successful applicant will join a welcoming cohort of metal and jewellery artists, and gain a complimentary one-year membership to the Vancouver Metal Arts Association and its associated benefits.
The Vancouver Metal Arts Association (VMAA) will be jurying the selection of the artists, providing support and guidance in sourcing equipment, and helping to set up the new metal shop. VMAA will also be studying the impact of the program as part of a feasibility project to explore the means and manner of building Metro Vancouver as a metal arts hub – one that can support inclusion, growth, sustainability and vibrancy of the jewellery arts community in Vancouver and British Columbia.
This Printermedia Residency will be located at the Howe Street Studios, in the city of Vancouver, on the traditional lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
About the residency
Access to space. Residents will have 24/7 access to over 2,000 square feet of fully equipped shared studio space consisting of printing presses, a dark room, large format archival inkjet pigment printer (44in wide), an iMac with Adobe Photoshop CC, a wood shop, and individual secured flat-file and cupboard storage. An additional 400 square feet of metal studio space has been developed into a space dedicated to metal and jewellery arts production for nonferrous metals (possibly excepting aluminum).
This class B art studio also features a barrier-free washroom with a shower, street-level automated door entry, freight elevator, alley-level loading bay with short-term parking, oversize rollup studio doors, subfloor heating, air conditioning, 16ft ceilings, and a shared oversize 40ft x 4ft workbench.
Participants will wish to bring their own hand tools, but will otherwise have access to common shop tools, including metalworking equipment that includes an enamelling and annealing kiln, an oversized anvil, oxy-propane soldering setup, polishing lathe and cabinet, fume extractors, sheet and wire rolling mills, and a wire draw horse. Please note that the use of this equipment will require an orientation led by one of the other residents, regardless of skill level.
Access to showcase and sales opportunities. Each resident will also have the opportunity to present their work through Malaspina’s Project Spaces on Granville Island, consign their work within an omnichannel retail/e-commerce sales platform, and participate in intermedia skills-sharing opportunities, ranging from private intra-studio one-on-ones or hosting and teaching public-facing workshops, classes, and/or demonstrations out of the space.
Close involvement in developing metal arts space in Vancouver. Over the course of the six-month residency, participants will be asked to join the VMAA and Malaspina community in activities that assist in developing the new metal arts space at Howe Street Studios. This could be in the form of installing, transporting, assembling, or otherwise aiding in the buildout of the space.
This program may be extended. There may be additional opportunities to participate in other programs throughout and/or after the duration of this residency.
How to apply
Answer the questions in the application form. Applicants may complete the application form in bullet or point form, in paragraph form, or a combination of both.
Submit CV and submit up to 10 samples of their artwork in the form of up to 10 jpg/gif/mov files
The jury will also accommodate applicants who prefer to complete their application through the following alternate methods:
Fill out their answers with the assistance of a volunteer transcriber from VMAA
Sit for either a 30-minute phone or Zoom interview
Submit an MP3 or voice memo with their answers
To enquire about these accommodations, applicants may call +1 (604) 868-1990, or email president@vancouvermetalarts.com and contact@vancouvermetalarts.com with the subject line [Query] Printermedia Application Form (Firstname Surname).
Link to the application form: https://forms.gle/DeDtzNZuP7J5cT6V9
Other eligibility and/or conditions
This program is open to all applicants with a metal or jewellery arts dimension to their art practice, such as beading, welding, metal sculpture, stone setting, engraving, casting, fabrication, chasing and repoussage, patina or enamelling.
Artists are encouraged to contribute to envisioning how the space could evolve in subsequent years, and highlight any needs they would require. VMAA intends to approach resident artists for interviews about their experiences, both with the residency and more broadly with their needs as metal artists in Vancouver. Artists may defer or refuse interviews.
We encourage applications from groups underrepresented or historically marginalized groups, such as locally based First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples, Black, Indigenous and other persons of colour, those who identify as LGBTQ2SIA+, disabled artists, youth, and elders.
Persons with disabilities who anticipate needing any accommodations for any part of the application process may contact president@vancouvermetalarts.com in confidence.
About Malaspina Printmakers Society
Malaspina supports and promotes contemporary visual arts through the critical and technical exploration of print media. Through the excellence of our facilities and programs, MPS creates a vibrant, productive and sustainable community of artists and enthusiasts. In the past 45 years, Malaspina has developed into a support organization for print culture by building strong relationships with artists, organizations, and cultural practitioners throughout the world. Its programs have been expanded beyond exhibitions to include studio rentals, workshops, mentorships, archives, residencies, and sales. Malaspina has been situated in a 2,500-square-foot facility on Granville Island since 1981.
About The Vancouver Metal Arts Association
The Vancouver Metal Arts Association (VMAA) is an artist-run nonprofit society founded in 2013 to advocate for and promote the art jewellery discipline in the Greater Vancouver region. Today, the organization promotes workshops, social events, artist lectures, and exhibitions for the art jewellery and metalsmith communities in Vancouver, BC. VMAA is committed to connecting our membership with opportunities and benefits that support their personal jewellery and metalwork practices.
Territory Statement
Malaspina Printmakers Society and the Vancouver Metal Arts Association operate on unceded and ancestral Coast Salish territories in what is today known as the Metro Vancouver region. These include the traditional lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, the Semiahmoo and the Stó:lō peoples, including the Katzie, Kwantlen, Kwikwetlem and Qayqayt Nations, and the treaty lands of the Tsawwassen Nation.
These peoples have sustained artistic, economic and cultural practices on these lands since time immemorial while stewarding the lands, water and life of this region. Our organizations strive to honour their territorial relationships throughout our operations as we continue our journey to decolonize the spaces and practices in which we engage daily.
