The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival

Our region is known for long cold winters. Outsiders often wonder how we survive through them. The truth is we don’t survive winter-we celebrate it! Winter is a chance for the citizens of Wood Buffalo to strap on a pair of snowshoes, slap on a pair of skis, put on their skates, or jump onto a snowmobile and enjoy the great outdoors!

Another way we enjoy our winter paradise is through our annual winter festival, WinterPLAY. WinterPLAY is an opportunity for winter lovers to party in the ice and snow. The festival features The Shoot Out on the Syne, a 3 on 3 hockey tournament where weather hardened Wood Buffalans battle it out for hockey supremacy.

There’s also the outdoor stage where people can dress in their snazziest pair of snow pants to dance and sing to live performances. 

Then there is the WinterPLAYGROUND a magical place where rosy cheeked children can play, wander, and explore stunning ice sculptures, snow mazes, and ice castles.

The citizens of Wood Buffalo love their winters but there is one city that may love it even more. Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang Province in northeast China is also known for its artic climate with provides an abundant amount of snow and ice. Like Wood Buffalo, the people of Harbin decided to turn their long, cold, winters into a positive by creating the largest ice sculpture festival in the world!

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, established in 1985, is held annually on January 5^th and lasts for over one month attracting hundreds of thousands of local people and visitors from all over the planet. 

Nicknamed the 'Ice City' of Harbin, it is recognized as the cradle of ice and snow art in China and is famous for its exquisite and artistic ice and snow sculptures. 

The festival attracts some of the top ice sculpture experts and artists from around the world who gather to compete in the many ice sculpting competitions. The festival also hosts many winter sporting competitions such as ice-skating and sledding. Weddings, parties and other entertainment add to the overall celebration of this incredible ice city.

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival is truly remarkable giving the WinterPLAY festival something to aspire to. 

The Salt Spring National Art Prize

The Salt Spring National Art Prize

To recognize, showcase and publicize the accomplishments of Canadian visual art, Salt Spring Island is establishing one of the few national, juried competitions in the country.

Located between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, Salt Spring Island is the most populous of British Columbia’s Gulf Islands. Set in the stunning Salish Sea ecosphere and internationally renowned for its strong arts and crafts movement and creative enterprise, the island has established an enviable reputation as one of North America’s most highly regarded small arts communities. 

The intent of the Salt Spring National Art Prize (SSNAP) is to encourage artists whose practice demonstrates originality, quality, integrity and creativity, resulting in significant work with a real visual impact and depth of meaning. This exciting endeavour is an initiative of the Salt Spring Arts Council (SSAC), which represents the arts for Salt Spring Island. The Finalist exhibition will be held on the island from September through October 2015.

The inaugural Salt Spring National Art Prize offers $24,000 worth of awards;

Best Work

The Joan McConnell Award and Residency for the best work in the competition

$10,000 + Salt Spring Island Artists Residency in 2016 to the value of $5,000

Jurors Choice

Three Jurors Awards representing the individual choices of each Juror

$1,000 each

Local Artist

The Alliance of Salt Spring Artists (ASA) Award

$1,000

People’s Choice

Three Rosemarie Behncke (People’s Choice) Awards
(determined by a vote of exhibition visitors)

1st Prize of $3,000

2nd Prize of $2,000

3rd Prize of $1,000

For more information or to enter please visit http://saltspringartprize.ca/artists/how-to-enter/

Learning Through the Arts Administrative Coordinator

Learning Through the Arts is hiring an Administrative Coordinator to support the successful development and delivery of LTTA’s business in the Wood Buffalo Region, with particular attention to Fort McMurray, by advancing the interests of LTTA with target audiences; supporting positive relationships within a variety of education and cultural communities; and supporting the timely execution and delivery of LTTA programming, particularly from an administrative perspective. For more information please visit https://gallery.mailchimp.com/…/Position_Description_LTTA_A…

Land Effect

What is colour? For artists colour is an expression, a feeling, a memory, sometimes a taste or even a smell. Colour connects and expresses the intangible, the indescribable. It makes the everyday seem extraordinary and the extraordinary feel familiar.

      

What our brains perceive as colour is the reflection of wavelengths of light from objects.

In humans light is received by the eye where two types of photoreceptors, cones and rods, send signals to the visual cortex which in turn processes those sensations into a subjective perception of colour. (Wikipedia.org) 

Our ability to distinguish different objects and their various colours has to do with colour constancy.

Colour constancy is a process that allows the brain to recognize a familiar object as being a consistent colour regardless of the amount of light reflecting from it at a given moment. (Wikipedia.org)

Colour Constancy is why a white jacket still looks white instead of orange under the setting sun but like with other things the brain can be fooled. This fooling of the brain is commonly known as The Land Effect or Retinex Theory, devised by Edwin Land, made famous for his invention of instant photography and the Polaroid camera.

The Retinex theory first appeared in 1959, Scientific American magazine. The article claimed that it was possible to produce a full-colour image with only two component colours white and red. According to Land, we decide the colour of something by comparing its ability to reflect short, medium and long wavelengths with that of adjoining objects. Land considered that the eye and the brain (the retina and cortex) form a single optical system, which he called the retinex.

Have a look at the picture below, made available by grand-illusions.com. What colours do you see? Red, green, yellow, possibly brown? 

http://www.grand-illusions.com/acatalog/Land_Effect.html

In fact this is a demonstration of the Land Effect, since you are looking at a monochrome red image, with a black and white overlay. The only 'real ' colour here is red. However our brains tend to 'see' other colours being present. 

This experiment shows that even in reality colour is interpreted by our minds. It shows that our brains “fill in the picture”. An artist working in light and colour uses these perceptions like a great illusionist showing us the inner meaning of objects, connecting them with great ideas, and filling them with insight. 

ASA Call for Submissions- Guilty Pleasures

Guilty pleasures are enjoyed and considered pleasurable even though the pleasure is often accompanied by the guilt or embarrassment of someone else finding out about your “secret”. Do artists have guilty pleasures?  Of course they do. Things like junk food, music, video games, book tastes, films, etc. are all examples of guilty pleasures all people experience.  In addition, for the artist, it could also be about colours he or she uses in their work, the mediums he or she chooses, the topics, and the tools. This exhibition gives you, the artist, an opportunity to reveal part of yourself through your art which shares something about what gives you pleasure at the same time you may feel somewhat reticent about sharing with the public. In this exhibition, the artist must present a description that shows both the pleasure and describes the guilt associated with the experience. 

The Society will invite all artists residing in Alberta and all ASA members to submit their work to the exhibition Guilty Pleasures. The exhibition intends to showcase a variety of artistic media where artists explored an introspective, a deconstructed or literal exposure of a guilty pleasure.

For further information and to apply, please go to http://albertasocietyofartists.com/calls-for-submissions/

LOCATIONS 
There are currently no venues booked for this exhibition. However, the ASA is currently submitting the exhibition to prospective venues. Accepted artists will be notified of all exhibiting venue locations and dates once negotiations are solidified. 

IMPORTANT DATES 
Deadline for Submissions: December 31, 2014 
Notification of Acceptance: January 23, 2014

REQUIREMENTS:

1.  Eligibility: 

• All artists must be 18 years of age or older. Open to all artists residing in Alberta and all ASA members and supporting members 

2.  Exhibition Information: 

• Artists may not have submitted this artwork previously for consideration into any other ASA exhibits. 
• Artists may not have exhibited this artwork previously in Alberta, and may not exhibit the work elsewhere before the exhibit takes place. 
• The theme is Guilty Pleasures – up to the interpretation of the artist while adhering to the Overview in this Prospectus. 
• Artist gives permission to ASA to hold work for up to 2 years as we look for other venues for the exhibition. 
• Two pieces of artwork can be submitted per artist. 
• Date of Artists' Reception to be determined. While the primary purpose of this exhibition is educative, the ASA will accept both works for exhibition only and works for sale. 
• Any sale arising from this exhibit will have a commission not to exceed 50% of the value of the work. 
• The commission is dependent on the requirements of each venue. 
• Notification of the results of the jury will be by email. 
• Hanging and take down dates and times to be determined. Incomplete submissions will not move to jurying phase. 
• Jury results are final; artists will not receive feedback or comments from the jury. 

3. General Submission Information
Each submission must contain the following: 

• Completed and signed application form. Applications can be submitted by mail or through the ASA website. Please visit http://albertasocietyofartists.com/calls-for-submissions/ to print application or submit online. 
• Include the jury fee of $25 made out to The Alberta Society of Artists. 
• Please Note: submissions will not move to the jurying phase until the cheque has been received if submitting by mail.  Online payments may be made by Paypal. Check website for instructions. A 100 word artwork statement related to the piece submitted. Artist's CV of no more than 3 pages that describes education, exhibition history, art organization memberships, the image as described in the format described below that adheres to the exhibition's theme. 

4.  Image Requirements: 

• Entries must be submitted online through the ASA website or as digital files burned to a CD. Entries must conform to the guidelines as follows: 
• Artwork may not have been created as part of a class or a workshop. 
• Files and images submitted on a CD must include a signed hard copy of application form. Each image file must be in JPEG format and should not exceed 3 MB in size.  
• Please ensure that all image files are correctly oriented.
• Image files must be clear of frames, walls, borders or any other backgrounds. Images should be of the artwork only; no date stamps, no watermarks, no copyright symbols, or any other elements should be present that will obstruct the visual field. 
• If submitting online, a scanned or filled out entry form must be uploaded as a word document or PDF document labeled as: FirstName_LastName_Submission.doc or .pdf. 
• Artists must include an artwork statement that does not exceed 100 words. 
• Image files should be appropriately labeled: LastName_FirstName_Title.jpg. One extra detail image file can be presented for 2-D artwork and labeled: LastName_FirstName_Title_Detail.jpeg. 
• 3D Pieces can provide up to 4 images to present the 360 degree view of the work: LastName_FirstName_Title_1.jpeg. 
• Diptychs and triptychs must be submitted in one file showing how the pieces work together and individually as image files labeled: LastName_FirstName_Title_A.jpeg and B.jpeg. 
• Label the CD with your name, exhibit you are entering and telephone number. 
• All submission elements must be received at the same time including the jury fee.  

Read more at http://www.affta.ab.ca/Arts-In-Alberta/Arts-Opportunities/ASA-Call-for-Submissions---Guilty-Pleasures

Mountain Shadow Music Festival- Call for Artists

The Mountain Shadow Music Festival is placing out another call for Artists/Artisans for our upcoming music festival being held at Mitford Park on Saturday August 23rd, and Sunday August 24th  . . . . and we are looking for you to join us!  

And if you cannot, we are looking for you to "Spread The News" Last year’s festival was a great success for our first year.  Held in September the festival featured 9 diverse local bands offering everything from Blue Grass to Country to Celtic & Blues with some Newfie thrown in for good measure. It was a tremendous success with the bands and audience alike.

 We had 5 Artists/Artisans join us last year and they enjoyed the experience immensely and this year as a result of their success and feedback we are opening the "Art Market" to 20 locations  . . . and we still have a few left! 

August 15 deadline – please e-mail artscochrane@gmail.com for more information! 

Read more at http://www.affta.ab.ca/Arts-In-Alberta/Arts-Opportunities/Mountain-Shadow-Music-Festival-Call-for-Artists

Call for Canadian Artists and Professionals AIR Finland

Arteles Creative Residency Program 2015 (Finland)

Deadline: July 18, 2014

Online Application / More info:www.arteles.org 

International residency program for creative professionals from all the fields of
Visual Arts; Media & Tech Art; Music & Sound; Performing Arts; Design; Architecture; Literature; Research; Philosophy
This is a 1-3 month residency / February - September 2015

ARTELES CREATIVE CENTER in Finland is one of the largest and most international creative residencies in Scandinavia, welcoming over 90 selected visual artists/ curators/ musicians/ writers/ performance artists/ photographers/ designers / architects per year.

LICENSE TO CREATE - Designed to benefit both your present projects and long-term ambitions, our program allows you the time, space & facilities you need in order to develop yourself and your work. You can go experimental, test new ideas, produce works, collaborate with other energetic, international artists, or take it as an opportunity to turn towards to your inner self and the nature.

The center is located in the middle of extraordinary nature of Hämeenkyrö, Finland (European Union Landscape Award in 2009) where you can soak in the fresh air, enjoy the silence, go for wandering walks in the forests, swimming in the many lakes nearby, go skiing and skating at winter time, do hiking and trekking trips in the nearby nature or have daily relaxing in a traditional wood-fire sauna. You can also get to know the fascinating and rich old culture of Finland viewed through Kalevala Epic, full of trolls, witches, myths and its inherent ties with nature.

In case you’re looking for residencies in 2014, see our other residency programs at: .htmlhttp://www.arteles.org/residency_programs.html

If you need further info, contact us: info@arteles.org

Open Call for 2D Visual Artwork- Deadline Dec. 29, 2013

OPEN CALL FOR 2D VISUAL ARTWORK

SYNTHESIS

The Personal Florist is looking for artwork from local artists to exhibit during it's Grand Opening January 2014.

Dates:

• The deadline for submissions is 11:00 PM, Sunday, December 29, 2013.
• Judging will be final by December 31, 2013, with notifications emailed by January 2nd, 2014.
• The Grand Opening is planned for mid January; installation scheduled for 1st week of January 2014.
• Artwork will be exhibited for 2 months. Artwork will be brought down nor earlier than 1st week of March.

Please submit an artist bio along with 3-5 samples of work to be exhibited (in jpeg format) to no-reply@personalflorist.ca. Please include SYNTHESIS in your email subject line.

• We are looking for work with the theme of or incorporates the theme of SYNTHESIS. Boundary-pushing is welcomed and respected; Creativity, Technique and Innovation are expected. Works that use SYNTHESIS will be considered.

The Personal Florist looks forward to seeing and sharing your work!

Please share with all of your artist friends!

Any portrait artists out there?

You are invited to join the following activities arranged by Portrait Artists McMurray:

Portrait Drawing

Location: program room, main floor of Fort McMurray Public Library

Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Date: Tuesday, Nov 12th, 2013

Cost: $5

Please bring your own art supplies.

“Let’s Get Sketchy” 

Location: Keyano Theatre Lobby

Date: Saturdday, Nov 30th, 2013

Time: 6pm - 7pm (sketching), 7pm - 8pm stay to set up in gallery and for the intermission 

Live interactive art event!

Characters in costumes will be posing for visual artists to sketch them.  Theme will be Victorian/1800's era to fit with the play Vigilante.

Easels will be set up around the models for us to sketch them.  You can either bring your own art supplies or use the supplies which will be in place. Please contact Megan Storrar ASAP if you are interested in being a sketcher.  We need committed sketchers.  You can use any medium you choose.

The supplied materials will likely be pencils, paper and charcoal.

“Face Time” 

Location: 2nd floor of Fort McMurray Public Library

Dates: Sunday, December 1^st – Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Rules:  Maximum two images each.  Maximum size 22” x 30”. Work must include the human face, or portions of. (example, painting of an eye, lips, or a full portrait)

We are not allowed to have a sales price posted on the work.

We are allowed to have contact information attached to the piece with encouragement for people to contact you.

Please email Megan Storrar details of the work you have to show before November 22nd.  

- number of pieces (1 or 2)

- Titles

- medium

- contact info if you would lie that displayed with your work

For more information, please contact:

Megan Storrar
Cell: 780-713-8578
Portrait Artists McMurray
www.portraitmcmurray.com

Westwood Drama Production - MUSEUM by Tina Howe

@ Westwood Community High School Cheepiyak Theatre

Thursday June 6, Friday June 7 & Saturday June 8

8:00pm with door open at 7:30pm to view the Art Show.

All tickets $8 available at the Westwood office during business hours or 1 hour before show time at the box office. For more information call 780-791-1986 ex 178.

Recommended PG 13.

MacDonald Island Community Art Gallery April 2013 Newsletter

For more information, please contact: anamaria.mendez@macdonaldisland.ca

April 2013 Full Moon Cafe

The next Full Moon Café is this coming Saturday, April 20 7:30 at the Waterways Community Hall. 

The Full Moon Café is a cosy coffee house where musicians and other artists  are welcome to share their talents.

Family friendly, $5 donation. 

Drumming Circle starts at 7:30, stage starts at 8:00. For more info, call 780-715-5355

RBC Canadian Painting Competition 2013 Call for Submissions

In celebration of the 15th anniversary of the RBC Canadian Painting Competition, RBC will award $115,000 in total prize money. The National Winner and two Honourable Mentions will each receive a purchase prize of $25,000 and $15,000 respectively and these works will become part of the RBC corporate art collection. Additionally, the other 12 finalists will each be awarded $5,000 in recognition of the 15th anniversary.

Established in 1999, the RBC Canadian Painting Competition, with the support of the Canadian Art Foundation, is a unique initiative to help nurture and support promising new artists in the early stages of their careers; a time when they need both recognition and financial support. 

The finalists will be announced June 14, 2013 and the RBC Canadian Painting Competition winners revealed at a gala event at the National Gallery in Ottawa on October 2, 2013.

Submission deadline: Wednesday, May 1 at 5 p.m. EST

For more information and to enter, visit www.rbc.com/paintingcompetition

(Information in this posting was retrieved from www.rbc.com/paintingcompetition) 

Local Artist, Lucie Bause, launches new website!

luciebause.com is new and improved...please click on the link to have a look!

Lucie Bause is currently residing in Fort McMurray working as an Artist-Educator with Learning Through the Arts (LTTA).

She is also offering "Creative Ascent" art workshops. These workshops can be tailored to suit private or corporate interests.

Please contact her at lbause189@gmail.com for more information.

Call for Artists: 2013 Artist in Residency Program

www.woodbuffalo.ab.ca/artist

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: 4:00pm - Friday, April 12, 2013

Fort McMurray Studio 

This is an open call to Canadian-based artists issued by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, for a three month Artist in Residency project in Fort McMurray, Alberta. 

Budget: $1000 art supply stipend and artist’s fee 

Opportunity: Dedicated studio space, artist talk, professional development opportunities and a group exhibition. 

Duration: June 5, 2013 – August 28th, 2013 

Deadline for Submissions: 4:00 pm on Friday April 12, 2013 

Anzac Studio 

This is an open call to Canadian-based artists issued by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo for a one month Artist in Residency project in Anzac, Alberta. 

Budget: $1000 art supply stipend and artist’s fee 

Opportunity: Dedicated studio space, artist talk, professional development opportunities and a group exhibition. 

Duration: July 31st, 2013 – August 28th, 2013 

Deadline for Submissions: 4:00 pm on Friday April 12, 2013 

For more information, Contact Brandi Gartner at the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo: 

Phone (780) 743.7994 or email: brandi.gartner@woodbuffalo.ab.ca 

For more information and the print the application form for the Wood Buffalo Artist in Residency program, Fort McMurray and Anzac studios, please visit: www.woodbuffalo.ab.ca/artist

Travel Grants to Professionals in the Visual Arts - Canada Council for the Arts

 Please visit website HERE for uptodate information about this grant

(The information located in this post was retrieved on December 5, 2012 from the Canada Council for the Arts website)

Deadlines

1 April, 1 June, 1 September, 1 November and 1 February

If any of these dates fall on a weekend or statutory holiday, that deadline moves to the next business day. Your completed application form and all required support material must be postmarked on or before the deadline date.

Please refer to the Program Guidelines for detailed information.

Program Description

The Travel Grants to Professionals in the Visual Arts program provides assistance to professional visual and fine craft artists, independent critics and curators, and architecture professionals. The grants are for travel to attend or participate in activities related to their practice, whether in Canada or abroad.

Visual and fine craft artists may apply for either travel for exhibition OR travel to artists’ residency.

Independent critics and curators, and architecture professionals may apply for either travel for presentation OR travel for research.

Applicant Eligibility

Note that meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee that you will receive a grant.

General Eligibility Criteria

To apply to the Canada Council for the Arts, you must be a Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. You do not need to be living in Canada when you apply.

Only individuals can apply to this program. If you are travelling as part of a group or collaboration, each member must apply separately.

You must meet the Canada Council’s definition of a professional artist, defined as someone who:

·        has specialized training in the artistic field (not necessarily in academic institutions)

·        is recognized as a professional by his or her peers (artists working in the same artistic tradition), and

·        is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity, if possible financially

·        Visual and fine craft artists, independent critics and curators, and architecture professionals must also have:

·        produced an independent body of work, and

·        maintained an independent professional practice for at least three years following the completion of specialized training in the field.

Specific Eligibility Criteria

In addition to meeting the general eligibility criteria outlined above, you must have a history of public presentation or publication. This is defined as follows:

·        Visual and fine craft artists

·        You must have had at least three exhibitions of your work in a professional visual arts or fine craft context, over a three-year period.

·        Independent critics and curators

·        Critics: You must have had at least three independent critical texts or reviews published in a professional context, over a three-year period.

·        Curators: You must have created at least three independent public exhibition/presentations and have had three independent critical texts or reviews published in a professional context, over a three-year period.

·        Architecture professionals

·        Practitioners of architecture (architect, landscape architect, or architectural or urban designer): You must have had at least three published articles, publications, exhibitions or other public presentations of your works of architecture in a professional context.

·        Critics and curators of architecture: You must have had at least three published articles, publications, exhibitions, or other public presentations on works of architecture in a professional context.

Project Eligibility

This program covers the following types of travel:

·        Visual and fine craft artists

·        Travel for exhibition: Travel to attend an exhibition of your artworks. Travel must be in response to an invitation by a professional visual arts or fine craft organization, or in another context where your work is recognized by a professional curator, gallery director or art dealer.

·        Travel to artists’ residency: Travel to participate in a professional artists’ residency. Participants must be chosen through a selection process.  The host organization must offer support in the form of a confirmed grant or honorarium, or contribution towards accommodations.

·        Independent critics and curators, and architecture professionals

·        Travel for presentation: Travel to attend a public presentation of your work at a professional venue or to present at a conference or symposium. The travel must be in response to an invitation from a professional organization.

·        Travel for research: Travel to undertake professional activities, such as studio visits or site visits related to a specific research project.

Grant Amount

Grants are available in fixed amounts ($500, $750, $1,000, $1,500, $2,000 or $2,500). The amounts of $2,000 and $2,500 are usually reserved for travel to or from Northern or remote parts of Canada, or international destinations other than the United States and Europe.

Further Information

Program Officers
Canada Council for the Arts350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON  K1P 5V8

visualarts.travelgrants@canadacouncil.ca

1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, and the appropriate extension number.

1 April: Jim Logan, ext. 5266
1 June: Geneviève Landreville, ext. 5109
1 September: Pao Quang Yeh, ext. 5094
1 November: François Dion, ext. 5268
1 February: Brigitte Desrochers,ext. 5270

Wood Buffalo Artist in Residency: Alisdair MacRae Artist Talk

    

     Next Talk: Wednesday August 29, 2012

     Time: 6:30pm
     Location: MacDonald Island Community Art Gallery
     Featured Artist: Alisdair MacRae 

 

Wood Buffalo Artist in Residency: Janet Procure Artist Talk

     Next Talk: Wednesday August 22, 2012

     Time: 6:30pm
     Location: Fort McMurray Public Library, Programs Room (First Floor),
                        MacDonald Island Park
     Featured Artist: Janet Procure