Tag: CARFAC

Sharing … at a Safe Distance

It’s been quiet here in some ways – and definitely not in others! Whilst we have all been minimizing our in-person contact with friends and colleagues (well ok, with EVERYONE!) for the last few weeks, there’s been a flurry of activity behind the scenes regarding advocacy and support initiatives of various sorts. It’s been confusing at times, and much has happened very quickly – so it’s been challenging to keep up and understand what is relevant to my profession as an independent visual artist, and to the sector as a whole.

Happily, CARFAC Alberta and CARFAC National have been doing a fantastic job of compiling and distilling information as it becomes available, and advocating for appropriate support for our sector. I have never been more grateful for the work these organizations do to support artists and advocate on their behalf. As a board member in both, I continue to offer my time and effort to help them help all of us.

https://www.carfacalberta.com
https://www.carfacalberta.com/

If you want to chat about what’s available, what you are facing, and what CARFAC is doing, I’ll be part of an online session on MAY 2, from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm MDT

Join CARFAC Alberta for a SATURDAY ZOOM ENGAGEMENT…
What CARFAC is doing for Visual Artists during COVID -19
Hosted by Chris W. Carson: Executive Director, CARFAC Alberta and guest Sydney Lancaster: CARFAC National Board Member and Alberta Representative on the CARFAC National Board.

The ZOOM coordinates are here:

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87871667746
Meeting ID: 878 7166 7746

I hope to see & hear from you then!

https://www.carfac.ca
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Being Resourceful

We are all hunkering down – making the best of social distancing, of being at home (the privilege of those of us that can work from home … or find themselves now out of work).

We are reading, making art, caring for and educating children, caring for friends and others at a distance, going for walks, venturing out as little as possible otherwise … life, in silos.

Those of us facing down this strange time in human history by removing ourselves from the community (or being removed through unemployment) are where we need to be right now, for the protection of everyone, not just ourselves.

So it’s a ‘social good’ – but the varying degrees of lockdown across the country also mean that people with precarious incomes – like artists – have seen the income from their practices all but disappear, and the gig work they do to make ends meet has evaporated.

It’s still not clear (to me at least) where people that had ‘potential’ income that has dried up will fit into federal and provincial relief programs … hopefully that information will be forthcoming soon.

So – WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED.

Yes, that’s right … just when you hoped to avoid paperwork for a a while, since the deadline for tax filing has been deferred … you need to keep track of ALL the income you have lost.

It’s ain’t sexy or glamorous – and might be a bit depressing – but it is SO NECESSARY right now. By tracking our losses, we can provide an accurate picture of the financial impact of the pandemic for workers who don’t “fit” into the regular systems of income-generation and accounting.

There are many of us – so it’s vital that we have the facts to hand, so the case can be made.

Here are some tools & other resources to help:

https://www.carfac.ca/news/2020/03/30/a-notice-to-our-members-and-our-community-regarding-covid-19/

Stay safe, take care of your self and each other. And do your paperwork! :)

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Off Again …

Just about to leave for Vancouver for the CARFAC National Conference and AGM!

Looking forward to seeing my colleagues from right across the country, and sharing ideas and practical tools to assist artists.

I am particularly happy that there will be a panel on Indigenous Intellectual & Cultural Property Rights. This is an area of artists’ rights I need and want to learn more about!

I am also really excited to hear updates on two different projects to help artists protect their copyright and earn more for their creative work:

The Prescient Blockchain Project, and the Image Bank and Licensing Platform from Copyright Visual Arts!

It’s going to be a busy few days … but it’s going to be really informative and fun too!

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Residencies: A Primer

I will be presenting a Professional Development talk in Edmonton on March 27th 2018. This will be an all-access Webinar, so anyone interested outside of Edmonton can participate as well. Please see the details below to register.

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Free for Visual Arts Alberta ~ CARFAC members, $45 to non-members.
RSVP by 4pm on Friday, March 23. For more information, contact Sharon at (780) 421-1731 or email us.

If you prefer learning in the company of others, you may participate in Edmonton at the Visual Arts Alberta ~ CARFAC Project Space. 3rd Floor, 10215 112 St. Edmonton, AB.

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Tomorrow!

The CARFAC National Conference and AGM is tomorrow – Saturday, June 3rd!

It’s going to be a good weekend, and it’s exciting to know that here will be visual artists from all over the country here this weekend, discussing issues  and advocacy initiatives pertinent to artists’ careers.

There’s also going to be programming Saturday Evening and Sunday afternoon – so it’s not ‘all work and no play.’

I’m looking forward very much to hearing from other parts of the country, and to reconnecting with artists I haven’t seen for far too long.

Information below – there’s still time to register and join us:

Building your career - Batir votre carrière conference poster final-1Building your career 2- Batir votre carrière conference poster final-2

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Bursaries for Artists!

The CARFAC National Conference is coming up soon in Edmonton!

Visual Arts Alberta – CARFAC wants to help artists attend, so they are offering bursaries to help with conference costs:

Visual Arts Alberta – CARFAC is offering up to six bursaries of $200.00 each to Visual Arts Alberta – CARFAC members living outside of the Greater Edmonton area who will be attending the CARFAC National Conference in Edmonton on the weekend of June 2nd to 4th.

These bursaries are based on need.

Applicants need to write an up-to-one page letter describing why a bursary would help. Applications must be in by Thursday May 18th  at 4:00pm. Send the letter to chris@visualartsalberta.com.

They will notify the winners by Saturday, May 20th at 4:00pm.

PLEASE pass this on to any visual artists who may want to attend, but would find the costs of travel a hinderance.

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Deadline approaching … a Call of Submissions

I posted about this a while ago – but I know how busy everyone is, so I thought it might be a good idea to post again, before the deadline is upon us all.

Visual Arts Alberta – CARFAC is partnering with Latitude 53 Contemporary Visual Culture to present an art-and-activism themed exhibition in June 2017.

This exhibition will coincide with the CARFAC National Conference, which we are hosting in Edmonton this year, on June 3rd.

The goal is to present Alberta – Based Artists who address political issues/advocacy/representation of under-represented voices.

Here’s an image of the Call (and a PDF).

Feel free to pass on to any Alberta Visual Artists that you feel would be interested!

Get the PDF HERE:  Call-for-Submissions-Trumpet

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TWO CALLS: for Alberta Artists

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Alberta | Trumpet: OPEN CALL to Alberta Artists that use visual art to change how people think about our world
Visual Arts Alberta – CARFAC is partnering with Latitude 53 Contemporary Visual Culture to stage a 3 – 5 person exhibition opening at the beginning of June 2017 at Latitude 53 Contemporary Visual Culture in Edmonton.

Submission deadline: midnight Tuesday April 4th, 2017.

We are interested in artists that use art to question new political realities (locally, nationally, internationally) and who have a unique perspective that is under-represented or unrecognized within current exhibition and curatorial practices.  Special consideration will be given to artists operating from positions that may be termed marginalized or otherwise outside dominant cultural narratives.

To have your work considered for this exhibition: send in one email to carfac@visualartsalberta.com on or before midnight Tuesday April 4th, 2017. Please include the following items as attachments, and title the email RE: Trumpet submission.

  • Your c.v. (3 pages max. as a PDF or Word file).
  • 3-5 JPEG images (72 dpi, 1024 pixels on the longest side) of recent work that you would like to exhibit or that illustrates what you do.
  • Links to your website or other online material that features examples of your work.
  • Your complete Alberta address, telephone numbers, and email address.
  • A 1-2 page (PDF or Word file) artist statement that answers the following: who you are as a person and as an artist (if you consider yourself to be operating from the margins please explain how), what you are trying to achieve with your art, and how your work illustrates your intentions.

Exhibition Royalty Fees will be paid in accordance with the current CARFAC Minimum Fee Schedule.

Alberta | Call for Submissions: Ten Voices 2017 Photographic and Digital Works
Ten Albertan artists, working in photographic and digital media, will be selected to represent a cross-section of the approach that our Province’s artistic minds are taking as they embrace and use these rapidly-evolving technologies. These works will be shown in Calgary and Edmonton.

We invite all Alberta artists to submit images for the opportunity to exhibit their work in a group exhibition. All subject matter, styles and techniques are welcome.

Submission Deadline: Friday April 21, 2017 at 4 pm.

Exhibition Dates: in Calgary, from late August to mid-October, 2017 and in Edmonton, from mid-October to the end of November, 2017. Actual exhibition dates TBA. The work will be exhibited at the Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary (South) and Edmonton (North). Exhibiting artists will receive an artist fee.

For more information, including submission guidelines, download the Call and Entry Form(PDF)
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How to Start

Draw-More-Income-poster-for-website

I attended a terrific panel discussion yesterday called “Draw More Income” as part of the AGM programming for Visual Arts Alberta – CARFAC. We had a great range of speakers: Derek Besant, Lee Deranger, Brittney Tough, and Kari Woo. Each of them addressed the practicalities of how they made a ‘go of it’ as artists, and what obstacles and setbacks they faced.

A common thread in the discussion was lack of confidence and fear – these being negative mindsets that held them and other artists back from achieving the success they wanted in their careers.  So it seemed incredibly fitting that I should find this in my inbox this morning:

To survive in this high-pressured, crazy world, most of us have to become highly adept at self-criticism. We learn how to tell ourselves off for our failures, and for not working hard or smart enough. But so good are we at this that we’re sometimes in danger of falling prey to an excessive version of self-criticism … we need to carve out time for an emotional state of which many of us are profoundly suspicious: self-compassion. We’re suspicious because this sounds horribly close to self-pity. But because depression and self-hatred are serious enemies of a good life, we need to appreciate the role of self-care in a good, ambitious, and fruitful life.

from: BrainPickings.org

It seems ridiculously obvious, but I do wonder how many of us in creative fields fall prey to exactly this type of thinking, and just how much it holds us back from all kinds of things.

Good food for thought.

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On Galleries, and other difficult spaces

And excellent essay from Riva Symko, Writer in Residence at Latitude 53 in Edmonton.
http://blog.latitude53.org/post/145013825132/does-art-require-four-white-walls-and-a-concretehttps://secure.assets.tumblr.com/post.js
Rivals thoughts come at a particularly opportune moment, as I am heading to the CARFAC National conference and AGM in Montreal.
 Draw-More-Income-poster-for-website
The problematic nature of the gallery-as-institution has direct implications for the ability of artists to have the opportunity to show work, to experiment, as Riva so eloquently discusses.
There’s also this … Who gets to show, where, and why also has direct economic implications on an umber of levels (including the ability of artists to earn a copyright-based licensing fee for the exhibition of their work in public galleries, artist-runs, and museums).
Much food for thought here …
carfac nat logo
 … and no doubt, much more to come over the next few days …
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