VANL-CARFAC
Visual Artists Newfoundland & Labrador

(St. John’s, NL): The Excellence in Visual Arts Awards (EVAs) are the province’s only awards program for visual artists, and this year the EVAs will see another award category added to the existing four prizes. The Critical Eye Award recognizes the impact that critical art writing can have on a visual artists’ career. Any writer worldwide who has written about a NL artist in any recognized print or online publication during the past calendar year is eligible for consideration. The winner will receive $500, courtesy of an anonymous donor.

The EVA Awards are part of the programming for Visual Artists Newfoundland and Labrador (VANL-CARFAC).

“We were thrilled when an anonymous donor came forward the day before the 2010 EVA Awards, to suggest starting an award for critical art writing”, says VANL-CARFAC’s Executive Director, Sara Tilley. “This individual’s enthusiasm for this new award is a wonderful sign of how much community support there is for the EVAs in the province. The donor felt that critical writing was crucial to the growth of artists’ careers, and that an award celebrating excellence in art writing would be a great way to encourage more dialogue about the art being created in our province.” The donor has committed to funding the award for four years.

Applications for the Critical Eye Award will be accepted along with applications to the Large Year Award, Long Haul Award, Emerging Artist Award and Kippy Goins Award until April 1^st, 2011. The jury will be comprised of a member of the EVA Committee, a provincial visual arts professional and a national visual arts professional.

To be eligible for the Critical Eye Award, the writer may reside in any province of Canada or any country worldwide, as long as they have written about a Newfoundland Labrador artist within the preceding calendar year, from January 1 to December 31, in a recognized print or online publication.

For more information, contact VANL-CARFAC’s Program Coordinator Dave Andrews at 1-877-738-7303, or vanl-carfac@nf.aibn.com.

VANL-CARFAC is looking for an editor for the spring/summer edition of the VANL-CARFAC News. The successful candidate will be responsible for the the generation/solicitation of content, editing and working with the communications committee on layout and design issues. Have ideas for articles and features that would be of interest to your fellow artists? Want to build up experience writing and editing for newsletters and journals? Want to get more involved with VANL?

If you’re energetic, self-motivated and have an interest in a volunteer editorial position (with a possibility of a paid contract for future editions), please contact Dave Andrews, Program Coordinator, at 1-877-738-7303 or vanl-carfac@nf.aibn.com.

Last fall we contacted over sixty public galleries, artist-run centres, commercial galleries, alternative spaces, art training programs and residencies across the province with the goal of creating a comprehensive resource for artists in this province. This was inspired by similar work done by CARFAC BC and CARFAC SASK, as well as CARFAC AB/VAAA. Similar surveys are now being conducted in the Maritimes and Ontario.

We are delighted to announce that the results of this NL Visual Sector survey are now on our website – check it out under Programs and Services – Visual Sector Survey. We hope that artists will bookmark this Survey as a great place to get familiar with the current deadlines, opportunities etc available, and that gallery and residency owners and others will use this listing as a way to promote their spaces and programs to artists. We have listed those who did not respond to the survey as did not respond. If you know of any space or organization which is not listed and should be, please contact us at vanl-carfac@nf.aibn.com with their contact information.

We will update the listings as necessary, so check back for the most current information!

Thank you to all of the participants in the survey for contributing to a clearer picture of all of the opportunities our province has to offer its artists.

Visual Artists Newfoundland and Labrador is pleased to announce that we are bringing our  Professional Development Workshops to Grand Falls-Windsor in August 2010 as part of the first year of Art Ex, a visual arts celebration for the Exploits Valley region. The workshops, Presenting Your Artwork Professionally, and Grant-Writing for Visual Artists, will be facilitated by visual artist Marlene Creates, and will be a combination of presentation and hands-on workshop.

Presenting Your Artwork Professionally deals with creating artist statements, professional CV’s, artwork documentation and submission packages for public galleries, artist-run centres and commercial dealers. Bring an artist statement and CV to be workshopped.

Grant-Writing for Visual Artists will give in-depth advice on developing applications for various funding sources. Bring a project description to be workshopped.

Both of these workshops are supported by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). Presenting Your Artwork Professionally is also supported by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council.

Workshop Dates:

Presenting Your Artwork Professionally: Saturday August 7th, 2-5 pm, Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts.

Grant-Writing for Visual Artists: Sunday, August 8th, 2-5 pm, Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts.

Each workshop is $20 for members/$10 for student members, or $35/$15 for both workshops.

Non-members rates are $70 for one workshop/$85 for both, $25/$30 for students (includes 1-year membership in VANL-CARFAC).

Pre-register to save your spot in the workshop by using our secure Paypal links below. Contact Dave Andrews at vanl-carfac@nf.aibn.com, or 1 (877) 738-7303 for more information.

About Art Ex

Art Ex 2010 is the inaugural year for an annual visual arts event, which will take place in the Exploits Valley region of central Newfoundland from August 6-8. The three day celebration of visual art will include activities such as youth and adult workshops, panel discussions, talks, interactive art interventions, public artworks and collaborative community based art events. The activities will occur concurrently in a number of municipalities within the region: incorporating both Grand Falls-Windsor, as well as more remote, rural locations to the north-east (Leading Tickles, Norris Arm) and south-west (Millertown, Buchans).

This year’s event will feature an Art Ex launch party with special guest speakers and entertainment, as well as several workshops and demonstrations with local artists and craftspersons from around the region. Art Historian, Dr. Gerard Curtis, will give an entertaining and informative talk on the history and theory of art, and visual artist Marlene Creates will lead two sessions (presented by VANL-CARFAC) entitled “Presenting Your Artwork Professionally” and “Grant-Writing for Visual Artists”. For further information and a complete listing of events, contact the Exploits Valley Economic Development Corporation at (709)489-8700 or edo@exploitsvalley.nf.ca