Deadline extended for art mentorship project led by York group and McMichael gallery

Vaughan Citizen
March 21, 2014
By Adam Martin-Robbins

If you are an emerging artist looking to further hone your skills, you have until the end of March to apply for the Art Mentorship Project led by the York Region Arts Council and McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

Originally slated to close last weekend, the submission deadline has now been extended to Monday, March 31 at 5 p.m.

The program is designed to offer professional development to emerging local artists who have been practicing or exhibiting their work for less than three years.

Participants get to fine-tune their skills through technical assistance, theoretical discussions, critiques and exhibition preparation over a four-month period.

The mentor and apprentice meet at the McMichael gallery, in Kleinburg, over three, two-day sessions and collaborate on a piece or body of work that will be displayed at the gallery from January to March 2015.

This year’s mentor is Bonnie Devine, a member of the Serpent River First Nation of Northern Ontario, Ojibwa/Anishinaabe.

She is an accomplished installation artist, curator, writer and educator.

Her work is rooted in sculpture and site-specific installation, but also includes video, drawing and painting.

Ms Devine’s art is about stories, especially the narratives, history or legends of the land and has been exhibited in Canada, the United States and Europe. She is an associate professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto.

The mentor and apprentice will be granted the opportunity to exhibit in the community gallery upon completion of the project.

The exhibition will predominantly include work made as a result of this collaboration as well as additional works, as space permits, that would provide context to the project thesis.

Artists working in all mediums are encouraged to apply.

In addition to the submission requirements acceptance will be based on openness, willingness and enthusiasm to explore budding ideas and new techniques under the direction of their mentor.