UBC Okanagan Gallery and Indigenous Art Intensive Open Applications for 2025 Artist in Residence Program

Daina Warren and Peter Morin at the 2024 Indigenous Art Intensive

The Indigenous Art Intensive Artist in Residence Program provides a paid residency opportunity for a diverse variety of visiting artists including writers, curators, visual artists, digital media artists and performance artists. Artists will stay between 1.5 to 2 weeks at UBC Okanagan campus to participate in the Indigenous Art Intensive program and in studio production.

For the 2025 season, we are seeking applications from Indigenous artists in Canada, writers, scholars, and curators who are engaged in visual arts, creative writing, digital arts, performance, curating, social, and community-based artistic practices. We are not able to accept International applicants at this time.

Deadline to apply: March 17, 2025

Residency Information:

Accommodation: This residency includes accommodation on campus in the Monashee building at UBC Okanagan.

Duration: The program runs between May 14th – June 18, 2025. The duration of the residency varies and all applicants should indicate their desired length of stay and dates of their arrival and departure.

Facilities: Studios, labs, FINA Gallery, and faculty offices are located in the Creative & Critical Studies building, 1148 Research Rd. You’ll be assigned a studio space in the Creative and Critical Studies Building, UBC Okanagan Campus.

Remuneration: The Artist-in-Residence will be paid a $5,000 fee for a 1.5 to 2 week stay. The Gallery/Intensive fee is a lump sum payment to cover transportation to and from Kelowna, per diem, incidentals and materials, no other payment will be made. Where possible the fee will be paid (ie all documents received from the artist based on established timelines) upon the artist’s arrival in Kelowna, BC.

Artists are responsible for booking and arranging their own travel a minimum of 2 weeks in advance and communicating dates and information to the Gallery/Intensive. Changes made to travel arrangements are at the expense of the artist.

Artists in residence are expected to work on their own independent projects during the residency but benefit from a concentration of Indigenous artists and the Indigenous Art Intensive weekly program on Wednesday afternoons.

Artists are expected to deliver:

  • one artist talk (approx. 45 min) during a Wednesday afternoon between May 14th and June 18th, booked and scheduled in advance (April).
  • one workshop (for public or for students enrolled in Intensive courses) to be coordinated by UBC Okanagan Gallery, the Indigenous Art Intensive and artist in advance of arrival and in keeping with contracted terms.

Legacy Acknowledgement:

We would appreciate a mention of the support of UBC Okanagan Gallery and the Indigenous Art Intensive program in future exhibitions, publications, and/or social media posts as a means of making visible the importance of funding and supporting Indigenous artists and creatives.

Application Guidelines:

Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. on Monday March 17, 2025.
Please send one PDF document that includes all of the below requirements via email to: ubco.gallery@ubc.ca

  • A cover letter explaining why you’re interested in this residency, a description of the specific work you plan to carry out during your residency and what facility needs you may have, the expected duration of the residency, and your capacity to work independently. Please indicate your Indigenous community and how you verify your identity.
  • A CV which documents your professional artistic practice, and contact information (including telephone and email address).
  • Contact information for 1 referee who can speak to your artistic practice.
  • Samples of your art, performance, or writing or appropriate links to samples of produced work (minimum 5 and maximum 15 images/videos/links etc)

Selection Criteria:

  • Demonstrated record of professional practice in art, writing, or performance
  • Quality of past and proposed creative practice and public engagement activities
  • Preference will be given to emerging and early-career artists
  • Connection to the Okanagan and/or Syilx territory in proposed creative practice and/or public engagement activities
  • Capacity to work independently

Eligibility:

This residency is open to Indigenous artists in Canada engaged in any genre of the creative arts. Current UBC students are not eligible. Payment is in Canadian dollars and is subject to applicable taxes.

One artist will be selected as Artist in Residence. Applications will be reviewed by UBC Okanagan Gallery and the Indigenous Art Intensive Director. Applicants will be contacted with news of the committee’s decision in early April 2025.