FAC FLORENCE RESIDENCY
July 11th to July 25th, 2020
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
November 14th, 2019
The Feminist Art Residency will be in its sixth year in 2020. Normally held on Toronto Islands, this year the Feminist Art Collective will also be holding a residency in Florence at the OCAD University Studios.
This unique residency, in the city that birthed the Italian Renaissance, will provide an unprecedented context for feminist art critique.
A location rich in the history of patriarchal colonization will provide a rich backdrop discussion, community building and research. Florence and the Renaissance art on display there is largely seen as the moment in European history in which gender roles were enforced along extreme religious lines. The subjugation of women was propagated through paintings and statues of Mary’s life throughout the city, the virgin, the pregnancy and the annunciation.
As such, Florence provides an inspiring context in which to situate a responsive and feminist critical art production.
To respond to this context and inspire our participating artists, the programming will include a focused feminist tour of the Uffizi, as well as talk with Advancing Women Artists, a unique group of women art historians and restorers who are working hard to re-write art HISstory to include all artists.
We are an interdisciplinary residency, accepting applications from visual artists, writers, art historians, theatre practitioners, spoken word poets, curators, dancers, musicians and performance artists.
Programming will also include engaging talks with artists, activists and scholars, feminist focused cultural activities, community dinners, aperitvo meet ups group critiques and workshops.
The FAC residency will gather artists together who focus on social justice issues such as rape culture, transphobia, racism, ableism, ageism, media representation, cultural appropriation, environmental degradation and impact on Indigenous lands, gender-based violence, and Islam-ophobic policies. We aim to create a space that is positive, celebratory, intellectually engaging and provocative. We are committed to this space being trans-inclusive, anti-racist, and inter-sectional. The residency will include individual studio time accented with group discussions, communal dinners, film, guest speakers, group and individual critiques and trips into Toronto for gallery tours and relevant events. The resulting residency work will be presented in a com-munity exhibition at the end of the two weeks.
OUR MISSION
The mission for the Feminist Art Collective (FAC) was inspired by attacks on women’s and trans rights in Canada, the US and abroad. Issues such as rape culture, transphobia, racism, ableism, domestic violence, missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, media representation, cultural appropriation, environmental degradation, and Islamophobic policies were areas of deep concern. These infringements on our right to agency and independence have been occur-ring in alarming numbers in our government’s policies, in the media and in our communities. This collective provides an opportunity for these issues to be explored and communicated artistically in a unique and creative space that encourages sharing, creating and discussion. In the centuries-old tradition of people organizing we believe that by coming together and communicating about these issues through our artistic practice, that we can initiate progressive change.
VISION
We aim to showcase like-minded, multi-disciplinary art including visual art, film, theatre arts, music, dance, design, spoken word and literature. We will create a space that is celebratory, positive, intellectually engaging and provocative. We are committed to this space being trans-inclusive, anti-racist, and intersectional. Furthermore, by providing an opportunity for feminist artists to meet and share their work, we believe we can provide opportunities for networking and future artistic collaboration that can inspire social change and empowerment. We have the vision that the ripple effect from this type of artistic sharing and learning can provoke positive transformations in both our communities and our minds.
SUBMISSION DETAILS
The FAC art residency invites multidisciplinary artists from various practices such as literature, dance, video art, visual arts, theatre, design, makers, music, comic arts. We strongly encourage artists who experience multiple forms of oppression to apply: artists with disabilities, Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, Two-Spirit Folks, Queer, Trans and Non-Binary / Gender-Nonconforming People. The cost for the 14 days is $1,050 CAD (+HST). The fee includes your shared studio, museum entrance, workshops, talks, all community programming and the exhibition coordination and marketing.
SPECIAL NOTES:
FAC is a volunteer-run organization and as such does not have scholarships or subsidies to offer for the residency. The residency fees will be used to pay visiting artists, workshop leaders, and facilitators. However, many of our past residency artists have been successful in attaining grants and funding from institutions in their countries. Extensive letters of support can be provided by FAC for these purposes.
Email PDF submissions to:
torontofac@gmail.com
With the subject line FAC FLORENCE RESIDENCY
INCLUDE:
1) 250-500 bio and bio photo for the FAC website. In your bio include a statement on how you politically self-identify.
2) Website link (if available) or 5 JPEGS / Video links / or PDF of current written work.
3) Letter of intent (250-500 words) for your work plans at the residency.
4) On your letter of intent indicate if you are applying for a private or shared space.
5) If you have an accessibility item to share please indicate this in your letter of intent.
Successful applicants will be required to pay the $1,050 CAD (+HST) participation fee by
January 20th, 2020
Travel and accommodation are not included in the participation fee
Read about our past FAC Residency Artists and Programming here: https://factoronto.tumblr.com/