THEMATIC RESIDENCY
Walking & Art: discussions at the wayside
3-10 June 2024
Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts, Toronto
Image: Sarah Cullen (2007)
What is the relationship between contemporary art and walking right now? Join us for a week-long residency focused on the questions that emerge for art practice and research.
THE THEME: WALKING & ART
Contemporary art has a long-established and well-documented relationship to walking. Whether used as a technique for drawing lines on the Earth, or a way of asserting collective sovereignty on stolen land, walking is now accepted as one of the many ways that artists make work. It is also, and equally, deployed as a method in neighbouring disciplines within the arts, humanities and social sciences. As such, it is always subject to new academic and cultural “turns” as they emerge.
Walking is also intrinsic to many of the quotidian, spiritual, philosophical, social and political aspects of our lives and provokes myriad questions for us as artists.
We acknowledge that there are archetypal conventions of “walking art” that do not adequately represent the extent of interest or investment in walking as a practice, or the questions that walking may invoke for artists right now.
This residency is open to any, and all, approaches to walking as art, and encourages you to grapple with the questions that arise for all those who have a stake in this area of artistic practice.
THE RESIDENCY
This residency gives you the opportunity to bring these questions to the fore, and to work through them, in practical ways, among your peers. We invite you to share insights and experiences, and to address with us the questions that arise from your practice with us, and with other participants. We encourage you to take full advantage of the opportunities presented for working beyond the studios at Gibraltar Point, and to consider how you will enable other participants to engage with and gain insights into your practice. We will organise one-to-one discussions of your work, and encourage you to host further conversations, and practical demonstrations, with other participants.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are looking for visual artists – or those in neighbouring disciplines in the arts, humanities and social sciences – with an interest in how walking is deployed in practice, and in the theories that support or provide critical insights into the relationship of walking and art today. You will be a practising artist or researcher with a track-record in visual art (or neighbouring discipline) and the public presentation of your work.
We welcome applications from artists who have stepped away from their art practice and have now returned. We welcome artists who have a new interest in walking and art.
We encourage artists to apply who have a commitment to their practice, a commitment to learning with others, and a willingness to share their work and ideas.
ABOUT US
We are artists with an interest in walking and its relationship to mobility, mapping, landscape, and sociality. We often collaborate on projects focusing on these themes. Pope has over 25 years experience as art school/university faculty. For this residency our aim is to provide the kinds of supervision and mentorship that you would expect on “non-accredited” alternatives to conventional visual art courses at masters and doctoral levels. Equally we are able to mentor and be a “critical friend” to mid-career and established artists working in both research and professional contexts. Above all, we are advocates of co-learning and look forward to working with you to better understand which questions are important to you as artists, and the ways in which your practice equips you to address them. Our CVs are available here.
THE VENUE
We are hosted by the Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts, on an island a 10 minute ferry ride away from the downtown Toronto. There are no shops on the Island, so all provisions must be brought over, or ordered to the island in advance. Artists are responsible for their own food and drink, food preparation, cooking, and cleaning. Gibraltar Point provides accommodation, shared studio space, access to communal spaces, including a kitchen. This is a artist-parent and child inclusive venue. Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts is on the Treaty land of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. More information available at https://gibraltarpointcentre.ca/
THE COST
Private room, plus shared studio: $875 (incl. HST) .
While we are unable to offer financial aid we are happy to provide a letter of acceptance to be used for funding application purposes.
Closing-date for applications
22nd March 2024