For the first time in 18 years, Fredericton Arts Alliance’s artists in residence will not be working publicly in the Garrison District casemates.
The Fredericton Arts Alliance has launched its annual series of artist’s residencies, running now through to September 26 with one big change – this summer’s residencies will all be virtual. For 2020, all participating artists will work from their homes instead of in the traditional casemate location.
“For the past 18 years, the FAA has organized the residencies out of the casemates in the historic Garrison District, but COVID-19 forced a rethink,” said Alliance president Katie FitzRandolph. “This year artists will be figuring out ways to host their residencies online.”
Approaches will vary depending on the artists. Their media, their messages and how they plan to interact with the public in the time of social distancing will be unique to each artist. This year’s resident artists have been asked to reflect, in some way, on the impact of the coronavirus – the social isolation, the disease itself or any other effect of the pandemic.
Leading off from July 5 to 11 will be Nichole Saunders, student life coordinator for the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, who will be creating art dolls and sculptures using clay, paint, felting, wire, and textiles. The theme of Saunder’s sculptures is the things we think about while in quarantine. Nicole will have a number of different ways to have a web presence each day, and plans to do a live stream where she interacts with the public through the comments they can leave on the videos. She is also examining how wild animals have ventured into cities while the people are all inside, how human absence has had an impact on natural spaces, and how pets and urban animals have experienced the changes.
Other projects over the summer include poetry, music, pottery, collage, critical writing, mask making, painting, Queer ‘zines, and textile art. The artists were selected by an independent jury, to ensure a high-calibre of art is produced and each artist receives an honorarium during their residency.
Visit the Fredericton Arts Alliance on Facebook to see regular updates from this summer’s artists in residence.
