Spark Fellowship

The Volt-Age Spark Fellowship, funded by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund, supports emerging research-creators from Concordia's Faculty of Fine Arts. The Fellowship provides an opportunity to develop an artistic practice within Volt-Age’s interdisciplinary research environment focused on electrification and theenergy transition.

Fellows contribute to and advance research and knowledge creation through their own artistic work. The Fellowship is not intended to serve as a vehicle for visualizing scientific research outputs, but rather to place artistic practice in dialogue with research.

Open to practitioners working in the visual arts, including media art, cinematic arts, installation, sculpture, drawing, fibres, painting, photography, print media, ceramics and design, the Fellowship also welcomes interdisciplinary approaches.

Through collaboration with researchers, students and community members across the Volt-Age network, Fellows engage with Impact and Living Lab projects while exploring themes related to electrification and the energy transition.

The Fellowship provides financial support to recent graduates as they transition into the professional art world. It supports the development and production of research-creation work, its dissemination, the expansion of research networks and preparation for future grant competitions.

The Fellowship runs for one academic year beginning in September, followed by a summer term, and has a total value of approximately $50,000.

Each recipient is registered with Concordia as a postdoctoral fellow and receives a stipend of $42,500, paid biweekly over the academic year, $2,000 for a public lecture and related costs and approximately $5,500 for a public exhibition or publication.

The stipend may be used at the recipient’s discretion for expenses such as living and studio costs, research travel, dissemination and production materials.

Projects focused on the following topics have expressed an interest in collaborating with an artist-researcher. This does not preclude collaboration with other projects, however additional discussion would be required to ensure a successful fit.

• Community energy systems: Designing and implementing efficient renewable energy solutions that are financially viable and community driven
• Decarbonized food production: Developing sustainable solutions for energy efficient food production in remote and urban settings through integrated building-based (rooftop and lean-to) greenhouses
• Building retrofits for energy efficiency: Creating digital tools and platforms that analyse building data and support decision-making for energy efficient retrofits across communities and organizations
• Reimagining climate resilience: Employing an interdisciplinary approach to reimagine city preparedness for climate shocks in more energy efficient and equitable ways, inform policy gaps and support vulnerable and marginalized communities
• Electrifying society with batteries: Advancing research into localizing sustainable supply chains of ultra-fast charging and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries to support off-grid energy systems, electric vehicles and zero-emission buildings
• Electrified transportation ecosystems: Charting pathways towards resilient, equitable electrified transportation systems that integrate electrified, automated and shared mobility within Canada’s existing social and infrastructural contexts
• Sustainable and electrified Concordia: Engaging in hands-on exploration and co-creation with researchers from multiple disciplines and campus communities to develop and test new approaches for electrifying and decarbonizing Concordia’s campus

If you are interested in working with a project not listed, please contact us at volt-age@concordia.ca to initiate a discussion with the research team. 

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Recent graduates* of one of the following programs:
  • MFA Studio Arts or Cinematic Arts
  • MDes
  • PhD HUMA or PhD INDI with a significant practice-based component in visual art

• Candidates graduating in June 2026, provided all degree requirements are completed before the start of the award tenure
• Must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents

* Recent graduate is defined as having completed one of the eligible programs within the last three years (June 2023 or later)

Applications are evaluated based on two equally weighted categories: the qualifications of the candidate and the quality of the proposed research-creation program.

• Qualifications of the candidate (50 points)

Assessment considers the candidate’s need for support and the potential impact of the Fellowship on their development as a professional artist (20 points), the quality of artistic work produced (15 points), record of achievement including transcripts, curriculum vitae, awards and letters of reference (10 points), and relevant experience such as exhibitions, publications and teaching or research roles (5 points).

• Quality of the research-creation program (50 points)

Assessment considers the originality, quality and significance of the proposed work (15 points), engagement with themes of electrification and energy transition (10 points), potential for collaboration with Volt-Age research projects (5 points), relevance of dissemination activities to the cultural community (10 points), and the feasibility of the proposed work plan (10 points).

The adjudication process involves a jury composed of members of Volt-Age governance, Faculty of Fine Arts administration and faculty, and an external arts expert.

• Volt-Age Spark Fellowship Full Details
• Volt-Age Spark Fellowship Application Template