Eastern Bloc x Art Volt Residency Program

We are thrilled to announce that Art Volt and Eastern Bloc have formed a partnership to support recent alumni of Concordia University’s Faculty of Fine Arts through residencies. 

Eastern Bloc is an artist-run center located in Montreal whose mandate is to disseminate, promote and support the production of digital-art in Quebec. The vision at Eastern Bloc is to explore and push the creative boundaries situated at the intersection of art, technology, and science, as well as all other emerging digital practices. Hybrid processes and new modes of production are at the core of the centre’s mandate, as is to support the work of emerging artists by providing them with an exchange platform with more established artists, through initiatives of a local and international scale. Eastern Bloc promotes audience participation, technological democratization, and the utilization of urban space via public intervention projects. Innovative in its nature, Eastern Bloc, through emerging artistic and technological practices, continues to advance a critical stance with regards to these many evolutions.

Art Volt and Eastern Bloc are now accepting submissions from recent alumni of Concordia University’s Faculty of Fine Arts interested in developing a digital art project. 

Up to three residents will be selected and will benefit from a 3 week residency at Eastern Bloc to develop and work on their project. These residencies will take place between March and May 2022. 

Projects which engage with the following areas are enthusiastically welcomed:

• Innovative and experimental uses of technologies

• Critical perspectives on technologies and platforms

• Engagement with socio-political and environmental issues

• Conceptual and aesthetic explorations of media art

• Postcolonial, feminist, and queer methodologies & theories

• DIY strategies, the development of open software/hardware and the use of recycled materials

• The intersection of Live Arts and technology

   

Residency support and honorarium

• The selected residents will be offered free desk space and lab access at Eastern Bloc for the duration of the residency.

• The selected residents will have access to tools, machinery and materials at Eastern Bloc’s Lab space.

• The selected residents will benefit from 5 hours of technical support from the Eastern Bloc Lab Technician

• The selected residents may have access to studio/rehearsal space, based on availability.

• The selected residents will each be offered an artist fee of 1000$ for their participation in the 3 week residency 

• The selected residents will also be offered an honorarium of 200$ to participate in an event where the work produced during the residency will be showcased. 

Applicants must be registered for graduation or have graduated from Concordia University’s Faculty of Fine Arts, within the last five years.

Alumni interested in applying, are invited to join an information session on Thursday, December 16th at 10am. Applicants will be able to ask questions about equipment and space availability, as well as discuss their project proposal with Art Volt and Eastern Bloc. To join the information session please request a zoom link with artvolt@concordia.ca. 

Please send your application in ONE PDF (5 MB maximum) to artvolt@concordia.ca before Sunday, January 23rd at midnight.

In ONE PDF FILE (5 MB), provide the following information:

1. Personal information:

• Full name

• Preferred pronoun (non mandatory) 

• Telephone number

• Email address

2. Supporting documents:

• A description of the artistic project, detailing the current stage of development and how the residency will benefit the project (1 pages max)

• Artist bio (max 250 words)

• Artistic statement (max 250 words)

• Curriculum Vitae (up-to-date and 2 pages max)

• PROOF OF GRADUATION: screen capture of your graduation status on your Student Center, your unofficial transcript or your diploma.

3. Audio/Visual Documentation:

• A portfolio of current or previous work, including relevant support material
  (max. 10 images and/or links to 2-5 audio/video excerpts, no more than 15 MB)

• Descriptive list of visual/audio documentation: name, title, media, context of distribution, year.

If you have any questions about this program, please contact artvolt@concordia.ca and art@easternbloc.ca.