The Artists in Communities Program

(Formerly The Artist in Residence Program)

The Artists in Communities Program provides artists the opportunity to work with community centres to develop innovative strategies for involving diverse members of the community in creative practices. The program is based on principles of community cultural development and is funded by the Vancouver Park Board and Community Centre Associations.

Through this program, artists/artist teams are assigned to a sponsoring community centre where they establish a creative presence in the community. For example, the artists may set up a project blog site, attend committee meetings, lead workshops, or create some other form of connection with the centre. Artists may also work off-site with a variety of community groups and individuals.

The program is based on a term of approximately 300 hours. At the end of the program, the artists’ projects and activities are expected to have a lasting impact on the community, such as new understandings of creative processes, stronger community bonds, annual festivals, or artwork that remains in the community.

How it Works:

The Artists in Communities program is based on partnerships between Community Centre Associations and the Vancouver Park Board. Each year, several interested community centres are selected to host an Artists in Communities program. The selected community centres then create information packages, called community profiles, that outline the issues and interests of their community, and a call for artist applications is issued.

Please note: The Artists in Communities program is not a residency and is only open to artists that live, work and have a permanent residence in the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD), British Columbia, Canada.

The Vancouver Park Board and the sponsoring Community Associations review each application and award the programs to artists. The selected artists/artist teams begin their work at the host community centre. The community centre committee members and staff, as well as other interested groups and individuals, provide support and collaborate with the artists throughout the program.

Each Artists in Communities program is a team effort involving the Vancouver Park Board, Community Centre Associations, and Artists. Each member of the team plays an important role in the program.

The Vancouver Park Board:

• Supports the process at each participating community centre
• Assists with the initial stages of the community cultural development process and helps create a plan for the program
• Problem solves and liaises with other Park Board staff and artists when required
• Provides partial funding for each program

The Community Centre Associations:

• Provide staff and committee support for the artists
• Provide space and, wherever feasible, access to other facilities
• Assist in promoting the program and act as the community liaison
• Provide partial funding for the program
• Manage the financial administration of the program

The Artists:

• Establish a creative presence at the community centre and in the community
• Interact with all community members and staff
• Develop a program that can be completed for the agreed upon artist's fee and materials budget
• Submit regular reports about their activities to the Community Centre staff, Community Association, and Park Board
• Work with the Park Board staff to plan for any permanent installation of their artwork and provide a maintenance plan for the installation
• Submit a final report at the end of the program

Selection of the Artists:

Selecting artists for the Artist in Communities programs is a challenging process that involves two stages:

• Initial review of applications
• Applicant interviews and final selection

Initial review of applications

During this stage, juries made up of arts professionals and community  centre representatives (with Park Board staff as advisors) review and discuss each application. Each jury creates a short list of artists who meet the criteria for the program and whose proposals directly relate to the issues and interests outlined in the community profiles for the program.

The initial review is based on the following criteria:

• Artistic merit and experience in relevant disciplines
• Experience, inventiveness, and attitude about working collaboratively with community members
• Knowledge and skills required to facilitate, coordinate, and administrate the program
• Interest in the issues outlined in the community profile

Applicant interviews and final selection:

Representatives from the Community Association and community center staff interview each applicant on the short list and award the program to an artist.

The final selection is based on the following criteria:

• The experience, interests and talents of the artist and how they complement the experience and talents of the community centre staff and committed community members involved in the project
• The demonstration of new and creative ways to approach community engagement as it relates to the community profile

For more information about the Artists in Communities Program please contact the Community Arts Programmers who facilitate this program.
Danita Noyes e-mail: danita.noyes@vancouver.ca
Cyndy Chwelos e-mail: cyndy.chwelos@vancouver.ca