Call to Applications - Impressions Artist's Residency

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), with the support of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, is inviting candidates to submit their applications for the artist’s residency entitled Impressions. For a six-week period, from January to March 2017, the Museum will open its doors and its reserves to an emerging visual artist from one of Montreal’s cultural communities.

As one of Montreal’s leading institutions, the MMFA considers it imperative to support original initiatives that will provide cultural institutions and creators with the opportunity for mutual enrichment. The Impressions residency is for artists who meet the following criteria established by the Conseil des arts de Montréal:

• be a professional solo artist who has core training in the arts and whose abilities have been recognized by his or her peers. (Professional artists create, perform or publish works for public presentation, devote themselves primarily to the practice of their art and are remunerated for the works they create);

• be an artist from a cultural community, a visible minority or an aboriginal community

• be an emerging artist (less than 7 years of professional practice);

• be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;

• be a resident of the island of Montreal for at least one yea

A dialogue between the artist and the MMFA’s unique collection

This research and creation programme will encourage artistic hybridity by giving an artist the opportunity to draw inspiration from the fascinating resource that is the Museum’s permanent collection. With over 42,000 works, 4,500 of which are on view in its five pavilions, the MMFA has the largest encyclopedic collection in Canada. The artist in residence will provide an original perspective on this rich and varied collection.

A project sponsored by the MMFA and the Conseil des arts de Montréal

This project was made possible through the financial support of the Conseil des arts de Montréal. The artist in residence will receive a weekly allowance of $250 and a stipend of $2,500. The artist in residence will be chosen by a jury comprising a member from each of the organizations responsible for the programme. The artist in residence will be given the opportunity to present the results of his or her research in an exhibition to be held in the mezzanine of the Maison du Conseil des arts de Montréal.

Selection criteria will include the following:

• originality of artistic approach;

• flexibility and ability to work independently;

• awareness of the historical and artistic background of the works in the MMFA’s collection;

• impact the programme will have on the applicant’s career and the resulting benefits;

• impact on the cultural community and the MMFA.

To apply, send in:

• your CV;

• 10 images of your artwork;

• a short biography justifying your eligibility to the programme;

• a letter describing: your proposed research and creation project, its intended objectives, its time frame, its relevance in terms of your artistic approach, as well as its expected outcomes.

Applications must be sent by email in a single PDF file (maximum size 10 Mo) to aciociola@mbamtl.org by Friday, October 21, 2016, at the latest.