Arts opportunity

Online September 2 - 6, 2025 In Person September 8 - October 3, 2025

Application Deadline May 7, 2025

Overview

The five-week hybrid residency will engage 12 visual artists whose artistic practice includes land-based themes, environmental sustainability, Indigenous narratives of the land, and/or use of natural materials.

Artists can apply with a personal project to explore, experiment and research, or complete their final project work. The online portion equips artists to arrive on campus ready to create in a supportive environment with access to a studio and Visual Arts facilities. The residency features workshops, on-the-land engagement, faculty guidance, knowledge exchange centered on integrating Indigenous ways of knowing into the artistic process and the opportunity to showcase works at Open Studios.

Description

This hybrid residency is a balance of self-directed studio time, workshops, presentations, and access to Visual Arts Studios. This residency is supported by a faculty team, who will offer insight into their creative processes, and visual arts facilitators. Successful applicants will benefit from:

• Self-directed time to work on a personal project.
• 24/7 access to their own studio in Glyde Hall.
• Group workshops and presentations from faculty and artists, along with one-on-one sessions, and on-the-land engagement opportunities.
• Visual Arts facilities which include production in analogue and digital photography, sculpture, printmaking, paper-making, ceramics, fibre, painting, drawing, digital media, video, and sound. 
• Visual Arts team to support and facilitate their projects and provide technical assistance.
• Opportunities to showcase works-in-progress at the Open Studios at the end of the program.

*Materials: Participants are expected to bring the necessary materials and embellishments for their personal design projects during the on-campus portion of the residency. All other workshop-related materials will be provided by the program.

Requirements

This program is geared towards established Indigenous visual artists from regional, national, and global locations. Participants should have:

• a strong background in ecological engagement within their current practice. 
• a keen interest in exploring themes of stewardship, land-based learning, and archival research as part of their practice.

Eligibility

Applicants must be ages 18+ at the time of the program start date. 

Domestic and international applications are welcome.

• Scholarship covers 100% of tuition fees, meals, and accommodation costs.

Apply Online 

Create, Clarify, Connect

Dates: October 24-25, 2025

Times: 12 pm - 5 pm ET

Why Attend? 

Gain new skills, refine your craft, rekindle your creative spirit, and connect with a vibrant community of writers while celebrating the power of human stories. 

Registration:

• Early Bird (Before June 1): $140 
• Standard (After June 1): $250 

What’s Included: 

• 2 days of workshops, meeting other creative people, finding inspiration, and having fun 
• Select workshop recordings
• A copy of Create & Curate (500 writing and art prompts) 
• Fee waiver for any Unleash Contest (Book Prize or WIP) 

Featured workshops:

• Writing without expectations with Laura Esther Sciortino's generative and interactive workshop.
• Manifest your creative life with Amy L. Bernstein's all-genre workshop.
• Explore how to write for social good with Nancy Townsley
• Learn the art of revision in poetry with Alexis Ivy
• Discuss art and aging with Carol Fischbach and Christina V. Larsen
• Examine what we can create in community with Sonia Perna
• Learn to rekindle your childhood creativity with a multimedia art workshop by Vanja Kragulj
• Creative leadership & networking co-hosted by Jen Knox and Chris Shanahan
• The art of audio with audiobook narrator Suzanne Warfield
• Discuss technology, adapting prose to film, and more ... 

For more information, see the following link: unleashpress.submittable.com/submit
 

Unleash Press

Deadline to submit: July 15, 2025

The Unleash WIP Award offers writers support in the amount of $500 to supplement costs to support the completion of a book-length work of fiction, nonfiction or poetry. Writers will receive editorial feedback, coaching meetings, and an excerpt/interview feature in Unleash Lit.

Guidelines

Submit up to the first 25 pages of your WIP (.DOC, .DOCX) and answers to the following questions in the same document:

• Who are you as a creative person, and what is your creative vision? (No CV or resumes here)
• Who is your intended audience for this project, and why?

Entries will be judged on originality, emotional resonance, and the author’s vision of the work they’d like to create. Please keep your name off all attachments. Share who you are as a creative, without disclosing your name.

Submissions will be accepted until July 15, 2025.

For more information and to submit visit unleashpress.submittable.com/submit/279757/work-in-progress-contest.