The Manitoba Arts Council celebrates the inaugural season of the Churchill Artists’ Residency

The Manitoba Arts Council (MAC) launched the inaugural season of the Churchill Artists’ Residency on February 18, 2015. The Churchill Artists’ Residency is a new residency program at MAC developed in partnership with the Churchill Arts Council and the Churchill Northern Studies Centre (CNSC).

The Churchill Artists’ Residency supports professional artists from Manitoba who are interested in the environment, northern ecology, and culture to undertake a two-week residency at the CNSC. Founded in 1976, the CNSC is an independent, non-profit research and education facility located 23 km east of the town of Churchill, Manitoba. CNSC provides various services to researchers working on a diverse range of topics of interest to northern science.

In 2015, three Manitoba artists will undertake two-week residencies at the CNSC. They will be supported by the Churchill Arts Council who will facilitate connections between the artists and the community in Churchill.

Andrew Milne: February 18 – March 7
Ginny Collins: July 3 – 17
Tanya Faylene Woloshen: Dates to be announced

Grant MacNeil (Executive Director, CNSC):

“I am very excited about this opportunity to host artists at the CNSC; our new building was designed to host researchers and learners, and it will be fascinating to see what inspiration an artist draws from it and the surroundings! This is a unique opportunity for both researchers and artists, and I can’t wait to see what kinds of conversations come up! We are always looking for new ways to use our facility to benefit the community, and I think this program is a great fit.”

The creation of the Churchill Artists’ Residency reflects the Manitoba Arts Council’s commitment to supporting arts development initiatives in every region of Manitoba. The residency was born out of the relationships that MAC has built with the Churchill Arts Council and other partners in the community over many years.

Keith Bellamy (Chair, Manitoba Arts Council):

“The Manitoba Arts Council is pleased to support Manitoba artists engaged in innovative projects that explore the intersection of the arts, sciences and communities in the far North. This residency reflects the Council’s commitment to support the arts throughout the province while building new and lasting partnerships with key sectors in Manitoba’s economy.”

The Manitoba Arts Council offers a number of residency programs for professional artists in Manitoba, across Canada, and internationally. Residency programs provide artists with opportunities to develop their artistic practice, to expand their professional and creative networks, and to create new work. Residencies can have a lasting impact on the artists and the communities in which they occur.

Click here for more information about residency programs.

Andrew Milne is the first artist-in-residence at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre: February 18–March 7, 2015

Andrew John Milne is an interdisciplinary artist who works with new media, film, photography and performance. His recent work has dealt with the re-invention of alternative imaging technologies with photocopy cameras, mechanical hologram machines, and alternative projection devices.

While at the CNSC Andrew will attend the Aurora learning course Winter Skies: Aurora and Astronomy in Churchill for the first week and will then spend the second week flying a small hot air balloon to document the abandoned research and military sites at Fort Churchill via aerial photography. The documentation will be used to generate new work toward a project exploring imagined future and technological failure.

“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to go to Churchill and allow the place, the people and the community to impact me and my artistic practice; and really it’s a special place that allows you to dodge polar bears, fly a small hot air balloon, photograph rocket launch facilities and survey distant early warning radar stations all in one day” – Andrew Milne

Click here for more information about Andrew and his residency project.