Bouclair Residency in Digital Arts

We are thrilled to announce that Art Volt has renewed its partnership with Bouclair to support recent alumni of Concordia University’s Faculty of Fine Arts through a residency opportunity. The goal of this program is to help emerging artists gain paid professional experience and exposure by creating a digital artwork to be showcased on the large-scale screens in Bouclair’s Griffintown location.

Bouclair is a national company founded here more than 50 years ago. In addition to a thriving retail presence in home furnishings and décor, Bouclair has created Galerie B, a canvas to spotlight up-and-coming local artists in recognition of its Quebec roots. Its mission: to showcase emerging artists and invite them to share their art with the community and inspire Montreal to discover new artistic horizons.

Up to three residents will be selected and invited to create a new digital artwork to be showcased on the large-scale screens in Bouclair’s Griffintown location. 

This residency program will begin in November 2023 with Bouclair producing an introduction video showcasing the selected residents and their practice. This intro video will appear on the Bouclair screens and in a social media campaign during the month of January 2024.  

Residents will have 3 to 7 months to produce new work and will each benefit from a six week exhibition on the screen in between February and June 2024. Selected candidates will receive an honorarium of $5000 to develop, create and exhibit their work. This amount includes sustenance, artist fees, and production costs.

In addition to visibility and financial support, selected residents will receive mentorship and career counseling from LNDMRK creative agency. 

If you have any questions about the application process or need specific accommodations to help you succeed in applying, please get in touch with artvolt@concordia.ca.

Applicants should carefully consider the technical aspects of the exhibition screens and project feasibility in their project proposal. Keep in mind the screens are located at street level in a mixed residential/commercial neighbourhood:

• Residents need to create one digital artwork to fill two outdoor screens.

• Residents can choose to fill these screens with various artworks from the same body of work, or to simply repeat the same digital artwork on both screens. 

• Final artworks will need to be delivered as video and/or still image files. 

• Please note that sound/audio components are not possible.

• If they choose to, residents will also have the opportunity of showcasing some physical artworks in the Bouclair store.

• Proposed works must not depict violence, suggest violence, contain nudity or any other content not suited to a street-level public setting.

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

Alumni interested in applying, are invited to join an information session on Wednesday, October 4th 2023 at 12PM. Applicants will be able to ask questions, as well as discuss their project proposal with Art Volt and LNDMRK. To join the information session please request a zoom link with artvolt@concordia.ca. 

Please send your application in ONE PDF or in ONE ZIP FOLDER (if you are submitting audio recordings) to artvolt@concordia.ca before Monday, October 16th 2023 at 5PM.

Please provide the following information:

1. Personal information: 

• Full name

• Preferred pronoun (optional) 

• Telephone number

• Please indicate which exhibition period you prefer: 

  • February 5th to March 17th 2024,

  • March 18th to April 28th 2024,

  • April 29th to June 9th 2024,

  • or indicate if you have no preference. 

2. Supporting documents:

• A written bio (max 250 words), or an audio recording (1 min. max). 

• A written project proposal (max 1 page), or an audio recording (2 min. max): describe the artistic project, demonstrate a consideration for technical requirements and feasibility, outline how this residency will benefit the project and your overall practice/career.

• A written curriculum vitae (2 pages max) or an audio recording (3 min. max)

• Budget: Please download and fill out this budget and include it in your submission PDF. 

• Proof of graduation: screen capture of your graduation status on your Student Hub, 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)

• A written descriptive list of visual/audio documentation (max 1 page) or an audio clip (1 min. max) : Please include the title of the work, the media, the year of creation and any other relevant information. 

If you have any questions about the application process or need specific accommodations to help you succeed in applying, please get in touch with artvolt@concordia.ca.