VANL-CARFAC
Visual Artists Newfoundland & Labrador

VANL-CARFAC is pleased to present the first of two instalments of artist talks by the participants in our 2020-21 Mentorship Program.  Please join us via Zoom on June 17th at 8pm, where Jessica McDonald and Alex Antle will discuss their their work, their practices, and their experiences with the mentorship program.  Please click here to sign up via Eventbrite. A link to join will be sent prior to the event.

Jessica McDonald is a Textile Artist residing in St. John’s, NL. With a BFA in Interdisciplinary Studies from NSCAD University, she brings traditional craft to light through education, contemporary explorations, and process documentation. Jessica is passionate about community created through the act of making and the history in which it carries. 

Alex Antle (she/her) is an emerging L’nu beadwork artist located in Elmastukwek, Ktaqmkuk (Bay of Islands, Newfoundland). She has been learning and practicing beadwork for 4 years with the guidance of a community of Mi’kmaq beaders.  Alex’s art often explores the relationship between tradition and modern Mi’kmaq people. She is interested in living culture and the evolution of Mi’kmaq culture as well as the importance of the land and water. Alex has exhibited her work in galleries across Newfoundland and Labrador, participated in art festivals, and frequently shares her skill through beading workshops. 

The VANL-CARFAC Mentorship Program was created to provide opportunities for productive and supportive relationships between established professional artists and artists wishing to develop and enhance their practice. The mentors provide one on one encouragement, advice, information and resources to mentees, who are aiming to achieve specific professional goals. Funding for The program was drawn from the $120,000 Art in the Time of COVID fund established by ArtsNL to help the Newfoundland and Labrador arts community during the COVID-19 crisis

VANL-CARFAC Now Accepting Nominations for 2021 Excellence in Visual Arts Awards!

All artists and art lovers in the province are encouraged to submit nominations for the 2021 Excellence in Visual Arts Awards. 

There are five categories for this year’s ceremony.  

the Endurance Award for lifetime achievement; the Milestone Award, for an artist who has had an exceptional year; the Emerging Artist Award; the Mary MacDonald Award, which recognizes an individual or organization who has helped the growth of the sector; and the Critical 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 $2000 are attached to the awards, except the Mary MacDonald Award, whose recipient receives $1000 and an original work of art.

Applications must be received or postmarked by 5 pm, June 4^th. Application form 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.

For more information about the EVA Awards, please contact Kristen Regular at 1-877-738-7303 or vanlcarfac@gmail.com.

Date of Call:  April 30th, 2021

To:   VANL-CARFAC Membership

   

VANL-CARFAC is looking to engage an artist to produce an original work to be presented as the prize for the Mary MacDonald Award.  This award is one of five awards to be presented annually as part of the EVA Awards (Excellence in Visual Art Awards). Offset reproductions will not be considered.

Eligibility:           

Artists submitting proposals must be up-to-date members of VANL-CARFAC. Individuals may become members at the time of submission. Please, contact the VANL-CARFAC office for details.

Evaluation:         

1. The artwork must take into account the purpose behind the award, which is meant to honour an individual, group or organization whose efforts have helped to sustain and build the visual arts sector.

2. The artworks must be small in scale. As a rough guideline for applicants, we suggest that you keep proposed works within range of the following measurements:

two-dimensional and framed works, approx. 11” x 17”

three-dimensional works, approx. 1 ft. sq.

3. The visual artists currently sitting on the VANL-CARFAC EVA Committee will serve as the selection committee to evaluate all proposals and select the artist for this commission.

Submissions:     

Submissions can be made electronically via email to vanlcarfac@gmail.com (with ‘Mary MacDonald Artwork submission’ in the subject line), or mailed or delivered by hand to VANL-CARFAC, 59 Duckworth St., St. John’s NL, A1C 1E6. All submissions must include the following materials:

a written project description, no more than one (1) page in length, stating visual art medium, materials, approximate size and concept of the proposed final artworks.

a sketch or some form of visual representation of the concept

the artist’s CV

up to 10 images, saved as JPEGs, sent via email, of past work (Original artwork will not be accepted.) This should be accompanied by a numbered image list with image title, size and medium, and the JPEG titles should include the artist name and image number (e. Smith_01).

Deadline for Proposals: May 14th^th 2021

Selection of Artist: May 19th, 2021

Final Project Delivery Date: July 5th 2021

Fee:                          

Artist fee of $1000 (firm) to be paid for the completed artwork, payable once the artwork has been delivered. Any shipping costs are the responsibility of the artist.

Please note that VANL-CARFAC retains the right to photograph the artworks in the context of the EVA Awards Ceremony, for the purposes of display in own website, newsletter and other organization materials, including newspaper advertisements congratulating the winner of the award. The artist will be credited in all instances where the image may appear. We will not sell or licence images of the artworks for use by any other organization.

 For more information about the EVA Awards program, you can view program information online at www.vanl-carfac.com or contact the VANL-CARFAC office by phone at 1-877-738-7303 or email, at vanlcarfac@gmail.com

For Immediate Release   St. John’s, NL – December 21st, 2020  Cox & Palmer and Visual Artists Newfoundland and Labrador (VANL-CARFAC) are pleased to announce Emily Critch as the recipient of the 2020 Cox & Palmer Pivotal Point Grant.  Critch is an accomplished curator, writer, and artist of Mi’kmaq and settler ancestry from Elmastukwek, Ktaqamkuk Territory (Bay of Islands, Newfoundland).  She is currently based in St. John’s, and is the 2020-21 Don Wright Scholar at St. Michael’s Printshop. 

“Cox & Palmer is very happy to congratulate Emily Critch on being selected as the 2020 recipient of the Cox & Palmer Pivotal Point Grant,” said Paul McDonald, Partner.  “We look forward to Emily’s upcoming exhibition “wetapekksi” and to learning the traditions of her ancestors of Ktaqmkuk. Our firm is delighted to play this part in the career development of such a promising visual artist.”

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, to allow them to evolve their practice and develop their reputation and visibility within the art world.  Critch applied to the program for support toward completing work for her upcoming exhibition wetapekksi–the mi’kmaq word for “where my roots (family) are from.”  Critch describes these works as “an exhibition about connecting my embodied knowledges of beading, printmaking, language, and land in relation to my ancestors of Ktaqmkuk.”

The jury for the 2020 Cox & Palmer Pivotal Point Grant Award “is delighted to award Emily Critch with the 2020 Cox & Palmer Pivotal Point Grant. Emily Critch’s critical voice, thoughtfulness, and artistic rigour is seen in all aspects of her work in the provincial visual art sector. Her ongoing body of work, wetapekksi, carries these qualities and was strongly articulated in her proposal. The jury is confident that the Pivotal Point Grant will push Emily’s work forward during this critical time in her career.” 

For media enquiries, please contact VANL-CARFAC’s Program Co-ordinator, Kristen Regular, at vanlcarfac@gmail.com or (709)-738-7303.  

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