ST[ART] RESIDENCY

St[art] is a residency program in Calgary run by the Calgary Allied Arts Foundation (CAAF) - a non profit foundation that encourages development of art and culture in Calgary and assists with the acquisitions of works of art for the City of Calgary.

St[art] was established in 2006 and was developed in response to the scarcity of studio and exhibition spaces available for visual artists in the City of Calgary. The residency gives artists and designers, both emerging and mid-career, the opportunity to work and exhibit in a studio on a short-term basis. The early success and popularity of the program based on studio space at Art Central in downtown Calgary encouraged CAAF to expand the program to a second studio space. This is in an historic warehouse at 319 - 10 Avenue SW, which has become a haven for many artist's studios.

St[art] @ Art Central, the first studio space to be offered by CAAF, has been offered since July of 2006. Residencies in the space are offered on a one-month or two-month basis depending on programming requirements submitted by the artist. Although not large in size, it offers residents an excellent opportunity to work on small-scale pieces. At the same time, it provides them the opportunity to connect with other artists as well as members of the public on an ongoing basis. First Thursday a monthly event in downtown Calgary offers the residents an excellent opportunity to stage their own exhibition and to gain crucial exposure. Since its inception, st[art] has seen the number of applicants for the space exceed programming availability.

St[art] 4Five was created to offer artists a larger working space for a longer time period. Although not as visually accessible to the public, it provides residents an excellent opportunity to make contact with other working artists as well as allowing the option for exhibition openings. Residencies in the space are offered for three-month periods. St[art] 4Five began operating in July 2009.

Submissions for each st[art] space are juried once a year. Applications submitted before the deadline date of Oct 31st are considered for residencies within the January-December period of the year following. Members of the st[art] committee review each submission and select successful applicants based on merit of proposal and programming requirements. Each residency allows for a monthly stipend of $500 as well as an exhibition allowance per residency of $100.

Click here for a pdf with full program and submission details.

Linda Cunningham

st[art]@art central resident January 10 to March 6, 2010.

I will wait for you in the forest is the concluding solo fibre exhibition by Linda Cunningham as part of her two-month artist residency through the Calgary Allied Arts Foundation (CAAF).

Knit entirely from handspun yarns, this work explores the rhythms of nature and the human need to catagorize and explain their rationale.

The work will be on display from Friday, February 26 through Friday, March 5, at st[art] at Art Central, located in Studio 6B, Art Loop, in the basement of Art Central (100 Seventh Avenue S.W.).

Closing reception on First Thursday, March 4, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m..

A prairie girl, Linda was born in the middle of a Winnipeg blizzard and arrived in Calgary as a child. After attending local schools and enrolling at the University of Calgary, Linda decided to explore the world, living in both Ottawa and Vancouver.

Moving to New York City, Linda returned to formal education to complete a Certificate in Interior Design at Parsons School of Design and practiced briefly before returning to Calgary, where she volunteered at the XV Olympic Winter Games, ran an independent design consulting practice, and began teaching knitting and executing commissions.

Another move, this time to suburban Washington, DC, introduced her to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, and she added spinning, dyeing, and felting to her arsenal of fibre techniques. Returning again to Calgary, she obtained a Master of Environmental Design degree at the University of Calgary.

Working as a full-time visual artist for the past three years, Linda continues to incorporate her artistic pursuits and skills into formal bookbinding, artists books, and installation projects.