Creative Residency in Public Policy Spaces

As First Voice develops and shares our vision for decolonizing and Indigenizing public policy, we have the opportunity to represent public policy ideas and discussions through artistic interpretation. These ideas and discussions can sometimes be quite abstract. Art can help to humanize them by bringing the conceptual into the physical. It can also be used to spark conversations by providing new and different perspectives on well-established concepts.

The purpose of the Creative Residency in Public Policy Spaces program is to communicate to decision-makers and the public at large the urban Indigenous community’s vision for change through creative media, including visual art (any medium) and creative writing (prose or poetry). In both cases the final work should reflect the possibilities and opportunities for the future were the ideas discussed to be enacted in public policy. Works produced through the Residency may be incorporated into final reports and policy papers based on discussions carried out in Indigenous-led public policy spaces.

Visual artists are required to provide both a physical piece and a written description of it. Creative writers are required to provide a physical autographed manuscript and a digital version of their text.

PURPOSE AND METHOD OF PRODUCTION

The contracted Artist in Residence and/or Writer in Residence would be present in spaces where policy ideas are being discussed. Contributions to the discussions are welcome but not required. It is expected that the works produced as a result of the Residency will be informed by these discussions.

Producing unique works of art through the Residency provides an opportunity to communicate to decision-makers and the public at large the public policy ideas and recommendations that are explored. It also provides a means to generate further public conversations about policy change when the works of art are finished, installed, and/or published.

USES

The final works of art produced through the program may be used in the following ways:

  • Published and archived online;
  • Shared publicly via social and/or traditional media;
  • Displayed in public spaces;
  • Reproduced through appropriate methods; and/or
  • Gifted to speakers who have contributed to public policy discussions.

Final works of art may also be gifted to policymakers and decision-makers who have led efforts to decolonize and/or Indigenize related areas of public policy, representing an end to that phase of the project. In these cases, the final works of art are meant to serve as a reminder of the importance of the policy change that was achieved.

SELECTION

Typically, selection of Artists in Residence and Writers in Residence is based on submissions or expressions of interest that are then judged and awarded by a panel based on published selection criteria. Members of the panel are selected on the advice of knowledgeable community members.

COMPENSATION

Selected Artists in Residence and Writers in Residence will be paid based on appropriate industry standards, such as:

  • For visual artists: pay to be determined in line with the Canadian Artists’ Representation / Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC), a non-profit corporation that serves as a national voice for Canada’s professional visual artists. The 2022 CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule can be found at https://carfac-raav.ca/2022-en/.
  • For creative writers: TBD.

PAST CREATIVE RESIDENCIES

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CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES

There are currently no open calls for the Creative Residency in Public Policy Spaces program.