CAFKA and Christie announce Artist in Residence Program

The Christie-CAFKA Artist in Residence program combines creative arts and advanced technology; adds impact to public spaces 

 

KITCHENER, Ont. – (May 13, 2011) – The Contemporary Art Forum Kitchener and Area (CAFKA) and Christie®, a world leader in visual technology displays, today announced a collaboration of creative arts and technology. Details of the program were announced tonight at CAFKA’s I Heart Video Art, a semi-annual event featuring contemporary video art, held at the Communitech Hub, where Christie is a founding partner. 

 

The goal of the Christie-CAFKA Artist in Residence program is to demonstrate that the blending of creative arts and technology is highly innovative and valuable, and in turn has a positive impact on Kitchener’s reputation as a high technology and creative community. 

 

The program is highly unique in Canada, and Kitchener will be home to two chosen artists –one per year–for two years, with the support of Christie. “CAFKA has enjoyed great support from Christie in the past and is very excited about our new collaboration,” said Gordon Hatt, CAFKA’s Executive Director. ” We feel that this will be a tremendous opportunity for contemporary media artists to work with the very best image technology developers in the world.” 

 

The programme is open to emerging and established Canadian artists. The call for submissions for this program will be announced this coming fall. Residencies lasting from two months to a year will enable artists to create a new work of art using Christie’s state of the art imaging systems.The artist in residence program includes 24/7 access to studio space at the Hub, technical assistance and mentoring from Christie staff and a housing, travel and living allowance. The artist will also be required to fulfill educational outreach, including exhibiting the work at CAFKA’s bi-annual exhibition in 2013. 

 

“Using technology as a creative tool is prevalent today, but the resources available to the arts sector to allow the creativity to flourish and to connect with the high tech industry, are still sparse,” commented Gerry Remers, president and chief operating officer, Christie Digital Systems Canada Inc. “We hope to inspire creativity in other corporations to support the arts sector, which inescapably contributes to building vibrant and sustainable communities.” 

 

Artists interested in learning more about the program and the application process should contact CAFKA directly until the call for submissions is released.