VANL-CARFAC Now AcceptingNominationsfor 2016 Excellence in Visual Arts Awards!
All artists in the province are encouraged to apply for the2016 Excellence in Visual Arts Awards. There are five categories for this year’s ceremony,which are:
1. theLong Haul Awardfor lifetime achievement;
2. the Large Year Award, for an artist who has had an exceptional year;
3. theEmerging Artist Award;
4.theKippy Goins Award, which recognizes an individual or organization who has helped the growth of the sector;
5. theCritical Eye Award, which recognizes a visual arts writer for an exceptional piece of writing on an NL artist in any print or online publication worldwide.
Cash prizes of $1000 are attached to the awards, with exception of the Kippy Goins, whose recipient will receive an original artwork by artist Mike Gough.
Applications must be received or postmarked by 5 pm, March 11th, 2016. Application forms and full rules can be found here.
As the only awards program solely dedicated to celebrating the achievements of this province’s visual artists, the EVA Awards have become an exciting part of the annual cultural activities in this province. With previous winners from Grand Falls-Windsor, St. John’s, Corner Brook, Pouch Cove and Robinsons, this awards program recognizes excellence province-wide.
A Response to the 2016 Budget Cuts in Municipal Arts Funding
December 17, 2015
Visual Artists Newfoundland and Labrador – Canadian Artists’ Representation (VANL-CARFAC) Appalled and Dismayed by Cuts to Arts and Culture by the City of St. John’s
On Monday, December 14, the City of St. John’s approved a three year budget that cuts arts, tourism, and sports grants by 50 per cent and suspends the city’s annual art procurement fund of $20,000 until 2018.
The City of St. John’s has acknowledged and highlighted the importance of the arts to tourism, quality of life, the economy, and our identity as a culturally rich, diverse, and progressive city. The City’s own economic development plan explicitly emphasizes the arts as one of the five key platforms that are necessary for the city’s growth. These budget cuts are moves that threaten to jeopardize that progress on all fronts.
The ways in which the arts act as an economic driver is well documented.
According to Statistics Canada, in 2010, culture industries in Newfoundland and Labrador accounted for 1.6% ($424 million) of total GDP in the provincial economy while sports industries contributed $49 million (or 0.2%) to total provincial GDP (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/13-604-m/2015079/eco-eng.htm).
It is safe to say, the return on investment in the arts is one of the highest in the City’s budget. Suspending the City’s art procurement program to save a mere $20,000 in municipal coffers sends a profound message to the public that the City does not value the arts. It is a small amount but is important income that allows our hard working, St. John’s artists to continue to create new work and to be able to afford to live and work in the provincial capital.
Arts and culture is an industry on which our city has built its brand and identity. Arts and culture attracts tourists; encourages private investment; and draws skilled labour to live and work in our province. Art also defines our cultural identity and reflects who we are as people. Weighing all of these benefits against the fraction of the budget earmarked for arts funding, it is clear that artists punch well above their weight by not only paying for themselves, but as core, economic drivers.
These cuts are not fiscally prudent and are not culturally responsible.
VANL-CARFAC is a not-for-profit arts advocacy organization that is tasked with overseeing the general health of the visual arts sector in Newfoundland and Labrador. We can say, unequivocally, that this budget will have ongoing and far-reaching negative effects upon our artists’ ability to live and work in St. John’s, and so, we strongly urge the St. John’s City Council to reconsider these cuts and to reaffirm their commitment to our cultural sector and to the city’s future. We would welcome any opportunity to discuss these issues directly with City representatives.
Want to be profiled on our home page? We are inviting all members to submit their answers to the following 10 Questions, along with a short bio and a photo. The Member of the Month will be drawn at random and featured on the home page of www.vanl-carfac.com. Send your answers to vanlcarfac@gmail.com
You only need to submit your answers once – you’ll remain in the pool for each monthly draw until your name is picked. Take a few minutes to send us your answers and get yourself a little free publicity! We’ve had members contacted for media interviews as a result of being profiled – the next one could be you!
The 10 Questions:
1. When did you first realize that you wanted to become an artist?
2. What mediums do you work in and why?
3. How do you get ideas for your artwork?
4. What other artists influence your artwork?
5. What are the ‘big’ themes in your artwork?
6. What is the greatest challenge you face as an artist working in Newfoundland and Labrador?
7. What is the best thing about working as an artist in this province?
8. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
9. If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing?
10. If you could have one wish granted, what would it be?
Recipient of the 2015 Cox & Palmer Pivotal Point Grant Announced
Visual Artist, Kay Burns, Awarded $5,000 for Upcoming Project
For Immediate Release
St. John’s, NL – October 30, 2015 – Cox & Palmer and Visual Artists Newfoundland and Labrador (VANL-CARFAC) are pleased to announce that Kay Burns is the recipient of the 2015 Cox & Palmer Pivotal Point Grant. Ms. Burns, who is currently based on Fogo Island, will receive the $5,000 grant in support of her project “The Museum of the Flat Earth.”
“Cox & Palmer is delighted to recognize and support Kay Burns as she undertakes her ‘Museum of the Flat Earth’ project,” said Paul McDonald, partner of Cox & Palmer and chair of the firm’s BRAVO! – Supporting the Arts sponsorship program. “If we didn’t already have enough reason to visit Fogo Island, Kay’s work will be that extra reason to go.”
The Cox & Palmer Pivotal Point Grant is a funding opportunity offered through VANL-CARFAC for visual artists in Newfoundland and Labrador. It was created to provide financial support for working visual artists who have reached a crucial point in their artistic career and to allow them to evolve their practice and develop their reputation and visibility within the art world.
“We were impressed by the number of strong applications submitted by artists across the province, and we had a thorough debate over the merits of each one,” said a representative of this year’s jury. “Kay Burns was selected because of the strength of her current work and her detailed, ambitious plans to expand the complexity and influence of her practice. One of the most important aspects of her application is the plan to create a unique, locally relevant cultural resource within her community on Fogo Island. Based in narrative, humour, healthy scepticism of received wisdom and an unshakable confidence in the power of human experience, Kay Burns Museum of the Flat Earth marks a pivotal point in the artist’s career.”
