The 88,000 Project- Share Your Stories!

We all evacuated. We all have a story. The 88,000 Project is asking you for your stories. 

Ashley Tobin, creator of The 88,000 Project, explains: “ The 88,000 Project is a compilation of our stories - stories of evacuation, re-entry, and everything in between.  I came up with this project as a solution to my own anxiety about the re-entry process.  A good friend encouraged me to write my feelings down anytime I felt overwhelmed.  Whenever I felt that I couldn’t breathe, I wrote down how I was feeling.  I transferred my thoughts from my mind to a piece of paper.  It worked!”

Tobin hopes to inspire other residents to share their stories.  “By writing down their stories, residents can have an opportunity to be heard and to put their feelings onto paper, which will hopefully help them in their own journey of recovery.  I also find that reading about other peoples’ experiences helps me to put my own experience into perspective.”  

A few stories have already come in, and Tobin hopes to get 400 entries by October 31.  “The goal is to have the book published by Christmas,” says Tobin.  “As the months march on, it’s important that the community has an opportunity like this – to express themselves honestly and to learn of their neighbours’ stories.”  If you’re stuck for something to write about, there’s a list of potential topics at www.the88000project.com.

A portion of the proceeds from The 88,000 Project will be directed to the United Way of Fort McMurray.  

The submission guidelines are simple: write out (or draw!) your story on one side of an 8.5 in x 11 in paper.  Your submission can be a single sentence or it could take up the entire page.  Stories may be submitted in any language.  Submissions are open to all ages and must be anonymous.  

Check out the www.the88000project.com for submission drop-off locations, deadline,  and other details.

Open Call for Individual and Group Artworks

The MacDonald Island Community Art Gallery presented by Kirschner Family Corporation in collaboration with Wood Buffalo Communities in Bloom will be hosting a collective exhibition entitled In Bloom, open to the public from July 25th through to August 19th, 2016. For this exhibition the gallery will be accepting individual art submissions and group proposals.

The “In Bloom” exhibition coincides with the Communities in Bloom’s annual competition and artists are encouraged to be inspired by the CiB program’s judging criteria in their own visual interpretation and express what beautification means to them. Examples include floral, landscapes and heritage. We are also accepting three dimensional artwork for this exhibition. They must fit within our new gallery display cases. 

Group submission proposals are due May 29th at 4:00pm, giving the successful group a month and a half to complete the artwork. Individual artists submissions of up to 3 finished artworks are due June 26th at 4:00pm.

For more information please visit our WEDSITE or contact Christina Beckman, Arts Exhibit Coordinator, Regional Recreation Corporation of Wood Buffalo, P: 780-791-0070, ext. 5043, christina.beckman@ONErec.ca.

Call for Submissions-2016 Street Banner Contest

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo’s Street Banner Contest is back! The theme for the 2016 contest is My Home – Wood Buffalo Landmarks. The Street Banner Contest is a civic beautification program that aims to engage community members, showcase the beauty of the region and highlight local artists. Four designs will be selected by a panel of volunteer judges from the community. Winning artists will be awarded $500, and have their selected artwork displayed on street banners from May 2016 to November 2016.

Last years’ competition had 46 stunning submissions making it a difficult feat for our artist selection panel to choose only four finalists. The four finalists entries, shown above, had their selected artwork displayed on banners throughout the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in celebration of the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games.

Artists may submit their entry for the 2016 contest from January 6 until 4 p.m. MST to Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. For more information please visit the RMWB website or contact a Community Strategies Coordinator at 780-788-1489 or email beautification@rmwb.ca.

2016 CBC Creative Nonfiction Prize is Now Open!

2016 CBC Creative Nonfiction Prize is Now Open!

This is it! Your first writing assignment of the New Year! Send your original, unpublished work of creative nonfiction (between 1,200 and 1,500 words) and you could win a $6,000 grand prize, one of four $1,000 runners-up prizes, a 10 day writing residency at The Banff Centre, and more. The competition runs from January 1 to February 29, 2016. Visit www.cbc.ca/canadawrites for more information.

Praire Winter Songwriting Retreat - CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Submission Deadline: 4PM, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2015

Manitoba Music, SaskMusic, Alberta Music with Fort Whyte Alive are proud to present the Prairie Winter Songwriting Retreat. This retreat will bring nine songwriters together (three from each province) for three days of collaborative songwriting. The co-writing retreat will take place at a secluded lakeside field station and architecturally unique cabins at Fort Whyte Alive, February 28 to March 2, 2016. 

Artists considered for this opportunity must:

• ·       Be available from February 28 to March 2, 2016
• ·       Be an Alberta Music member and current resident of Alberta
• ·       Be 18 years of age or older

Submissions will be evaluated based on:

• ·       Songwriting
• ·       Past experience in collaborative songwriting
• ·       Rationale for how this event fits your career development plan

For more information, visit https://www.albertamusic.org/posts/call-for-submissions-prairie-winter-songwriting-retreat.

Free Gallery Space

A new group exhibit space has been created within McMurray Experience called Art in Motion. This gallery space is kinetic featuring a Ferris wheel style apparatus that rotates the art pieces. Artists will have their work exhibited within this rotating display case, and their information (didactic panel) shown on an electronic screen as their work rotates through the feature spot. They will also have the opportunity to sell their pieces to the public though their works will remain on display till the end of the exhibition. 

Art in Motion is currently looking for new submissions to their Fall Exhibition, Crisp, Oct. 1 to Jan. 8. From a freshly printed 50-dollar bill to a breath of fresh air in November the fall theme, Crisp, is deliberately ambitious to challenge artists to be creative and to think outside of the box. Express what “crisp” means to you, deadline for submissions is Sept. 18 and submissions are only accepted online via the online submission form. The exhibit has space for 12 pieces. Please visit www.rmwb.ca/artinmotion for more information and to submit your work.  If you have questions regarding A.I.M please contact Kizzie Sutton, kizzie.sutton@rmwb.ca, 780- 743-7984.

igNIGHT – Request for Proposals

  

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) invites artists to submit proposals to stage temporary, light-based public art in downtown Fort McMurray. The RMWB seeks to capitalize on opportunities to reimagine, transform, and energize public spaces by showcasing igNIGHT-Art Illuminated. This temporary public art event will take place from October 23 to November 1, 2015, from sundown to midnight daily. Artists are asked to explore potential opportunities for using light to enhance, animate, interact with or re-contextualize natural and/or built environments. Existing artworks that have not been showcased in Fort McMurray will also be considered.

Budgets For Each Location

Project Location                              Budget

A            MacDonald Island Park       $30,000

B            Poplar Crescent Par            $25,000

C            Bus Transit Shelter             $15,000

Deadline for Submissions: 4:30 p.m. (MST) Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015.

For more information and to review the Artist Call visit www.rmwb.ca/igNIGHT or  contact Theresa Jolliffe at the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, (780) 743-7994, theresa.jolliffe@rmwb.ca. 

Celebrate in 2017

The Government of Canada recognizes that Canadians are eager to celebrate Canada 150 in meaningful ways. We’re proud to join you in this important celebration.

Canada 150 programming provides a framework designed to maximize opportunities for Canadians to engage by participating in celebration events and initiatives and by contributing grass-roots ideas and energy within their own communities. In a country as vast and diverse as Canada, everyone has something unique and important to contribute.

The Canada 150 theme is Strong. Proud. Free. — three words that define and characterize present-day Canada.

• A Canada that is a strong model and leader in the world with one of the most robust economies.
• A Canada that is proud of its identity, diversity, innovation, and achievements as well as its natural beauty and resources.
• A Canada that is free with an open, diverse and pluralistic society. This theme enables us to connect with our past, embrace the present, and build toward the future.

Programming will support and promote activities that align with the Canada 150 vision, which includes three elements: 

• Giving Back to Canada: Canadians will be challenged to dream about what the future holds for the next 150 years, and to give back to our country, providing meaningful change and lasting legacies for future generations.

• Honouring the Exceptional: Exceptional Canadian people, places, achievements and events will be showcased to help shape Canada’s leaders of tomorrow.

• Celebrating and Bringing Canadians Together: Canadians and their communities will have opportunities to celebrate together and build a deeper understanding of Canada, its people and what it means to be Canadian.

What the Government of Canada is doing

The Government of Canada is inviting Canadians to play a central role in shaping celebrations for the country’s 150^thanniversary of Confederation.

The Canada 150 Fund

The Canada 150 Fund is a three-year funding initiative that aims to promote Canadian values, culture and history, generate national pride and bring citizens together to celebrate the country’s 150^th anniversary of Confederation. This Fund complements existing programs in the Department that may also offer funding opportunities for projects related to the Canada 150^th.

The Canada 150 Logo

The Government of Canada held a contest to engage young Canadians in the celebration of Canada 150. The Canada 150 Logo Design Contest was a competition open to Canadian post secondary students who were invited to create the official logo for the 150^th Anniversary of Confederation in 2017.

Road to 2017

Since 2012, the Government of Canada has been highlighting nation-building anniversaries that have contributed to building momentum on the Road to 2017 and Canada’s 150^th anniversary. These events include the Bicentennial of the War of 1812, the anniversaries of the First and Second World Wars, the Fathers of Confederation and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Sir John A. MacDonald and the 50th Anniversary of the National flag.

Learn more about the Road to 2017 milestones.

Call to Artists

Are you a local artist looking for a new avenue to showcase your work? The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo has the space for you! Art in Motion is a new display space within the McMurray Experience — an indoor community space attached to Jubilee Plaza, set to open in June.

The gallery is dynamic and moving, with pieces of art rotating in a Ferris wheel-style platform. Exhibits will change seasonally with four themes each year. The first theme is the Year of Sport, celebrating the seven major sporting events taking place in Wood Buffalo this year, including the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games.

“We’re excited to have a new space for residents to showcase their art,” said Deanne Lawrence, Community Strategies Supervisor. “We encourage all artists to submit their interpretation of the Year of Sport theme.”

 Apply by May 28, 2015 for a chance to have your artwork displayed in the showcase for a four-month period. Submissions can range from visual arts, such as photography, drawing or painting, to three-dimensional pieces, and even sports memorabilia or artifacts.

A volunteer selection panel will review submissions, and the selected pieces will be on display until Sept. 30, 2015. The next theme will be announced in the coming months.

McMurray Experience is a hands-on space with something for everyone. Sign the digital guestbook and pinpoint your hometown on the globe, learn about our past on the Historical Timeline, or share your favourite moment in Wood Buffalo with us in the Share the Experience booth.

Find the application, guidelines and more details at rmwb.ca/artinmotion. Please contact Kizzie Sutton at 780-743-7984 or kizzie.sutton@rmwb.ca with any questions.

The Salt Spring National Art Prize

The Salt Spring National Art Prize

To recognize, showcase and publicize the accomplishments of Canadian visual art, Salt Spring Island is establishing one of the few national, juried competitions in the country.

Located between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, Salt Spring Island is the most populous of British Columbia’s Gulf Islands. Set in the stunning Salish Sea ecosphere and internationally renowned for its strong arts and crafts movement and creative enterprise, the island has established an enviable reputation as one of North America’s most highly regarded small arts communities. 

The intent of the Salt Spring National Art Prize (SSNAP) is to encourage artists whose practice demonstrates originality, quality, integrity and creativity, resulting in significant work with a real visual impact and depth of meaning. This exciting endeavour is an initiative of the Salt Spring Arts Council (SSAC), which represents the arts for Salt Spring Island. The Finalist exhibition will be held on the island from September through October 2015.

The inaugural Salt Spring National Art Prize offers $24,000 worth of awards;

Best Work

The Joan McConnell Award and Residency for the best work in the competition

$10,000 + Salt Spring Island Artists Residency in 2016 to the value of $5,000

Jurors Choice

Three Jurors Awards representing the individual choices of each Juror

$1,000 each

Local Artist

The Alliance of Salt Spring Artists (ASA) Award

$1,000

People’s Choice

Three Rosemarie Behncke (People’s Choice) Awards
(determined by a vote of exhibition visitors)

1st Prize of $3,000

2nd Prize of $2,000

3rd Prize of $1,000

For more information or to enter please visit http://saltspringartprize.ca/artists/how-to-enter/

Words in Motion 2015- Submissions Now Being Accepted!

Submissions for the 2015 Words in Motion are now being accepted! 

Whether you are a student, a professional writer, or a novice wordsmith, you are encouraged to submit your poetry!

Words in Motion is a literacy program that promotes an appreciation for the art of poetry. It is open to everyone living in the Wood Buffalo Region. 

Anyone can submit a maximum of 3 poems in any style or language (an English translation must be included). The selected poems will be displayed on Wood Buffalo Transit buses, the Municipal website, and various media outlets throughout our region. The authors of the selected poems will be invited to participate in the launch event at the Fort McMurray Public Library in April to celebrate National Poetry Month.

Please visit www.woodbuffalo.ab.ca/wordsinmotion for more information about the program and its guidelines. 

Please submit all poetry to Jessica.Barry@woodbuffalo.ab.ca

Call for Submissions for The Fine Art of Hospitality

The Podollan Inn is excited to invite Fort McMurray and Wood Buffalo area artists to exhibit and sell their works of art in our luxury hotel. We are very proud of the success we have achieved as a result of our amazing guests, some of them artists themselves. As Fort McMurray’s number one upscale property our guests’ expectations of continual improvement is something that everyone at Podollan takes very seriously. Each day energy is vested in creating tangible improvements to our guests’ experiences.

In February, 2015 The Podollan Inn in Fort McMurray will open a portion of its 18 new rooms to our great guests. When guests enter their room, we want local artwork to be part of their experience. Guests will not only be exposed to fine art by our local art community, enhancing their Fort McMurray experience, but by you offering your work for sale in our rooms, our guests will be provided the opportunity to take a piece of their experience back to their businesses or homes with them.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: Midnight MDT, Friday, December 12th, 2014

To learn more about this opportunity and the submission requirements, please visit http://allegroeventsandpromotions.com/the-fine-art-of-hospitality-podollan-hotels/

NorthWord Accepting Submissions!

NorthWord is now accepting submissions for Issue #12. 

The theme is "Surprise." Deadline is October 30, 2014 at midnight. 

No late submissions will be accepted. 

Short stories or excerpts from current projects, fiction or non-fiction (3000 words maximum), verse of no more than 50 lines, along with anything surprising, original, or inventive can be submitted to the editors via northword@hushmail.com. 

For real time updates follow us on Twitter: @NorthWordYMM, or like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/northword.

ASA Call for Submissions- Guilty Pleasures

Guilty pleasures are enjoyed and considered pleasurable even though the pleasure is often accompanied by the guilt or embarrassment of someone else finding out about your “secret”. Do artists have guilty pleasures?  Of course they do. Things like junk food, music, video games, book tastes, films, etc. are all examples of guilty pleasures all people experience.  In addition, for the artist, it could also be about colours he or she uses in their work, the mediums he or she chooses, the topics, and the tools. This exhibition gives you, the artist, an opportunity to reveal part of yourself through your art which shares something about what gives you pleasure at the same time you may feel somewhat reticent about sharing with the public. In this exhibition, the artist must present a description that shows both the pleasure and describes the guilt associated with the experience. 

The Society will invite all artists residing in Alberta and all ASA members to submit their work to the exhibition Guilty Pleasures. The exhibition intends to showcase a variety of artistic media where artists explored an introspective, a deconstructed or literal exposure of a guilty pleasure.

For further information and to apply, please go to http://albertasocietyofartists.com/calls-for-submissions/

LOCATIONS 
There are currently no venues booked for this exhibition. However, the ASA is currently submitting the exhibition to prospective venues. Accepted artists will be notified of all exhibiting venue locations and dates once negotiations are solidified. 

IMPORTANT DATES 
Deadline for Submissions: December 31, 2014 
Notification of Acceptance: January 23, 2014

REQUIREMENTS:

1.  Eligibility: 

• All artists must be 18 years of age or older. Open to all artists residing in Alberta and all ASA members and supporting members 

2.  Exhibition Information: 

• Artists may not have submitted this artwork previously for consideration into any other ASA exhibits. 
• Artists may not have exhibited this artwork previously in Alberta, and may not exhibit the work elsewhere before the exhibit takes place. 
• The theme is Guilty Pleasures – up to the interpretation of the artist while adhering to the Overview in this Prospectus. 
• Artist gives permission to ASA to hold work for up to 2 years as we look for other venues for the exhibition. 
• Two pieces of artwork can be submitted per artist. 
• Date of Artists' Reception to be determined. While the primary purpose of this exhibition is educative, the ASA will accept both works for exhibition only and works for sale. 
• Any sale arising from this exhibit will have a commission not to exceed 50% of the value of the work. 
• The commission is dependent on the requirements of each venue. 
• Notification of the results of the jury will be by email. 
• Hanging and take down dates and times to be determined. Incomplete submissions will not move to jurying phase. 
• Jury results are final; artists will not receive feedback or comments from the jury. 

3. General Submission Information
Each submission must contain the following: 

• Completed and signed application form. Applications can be submitted by mail or through the ASA website. Please visit http://albertasocietyofartists.com/calls-for-submissions/ to print application or submit online. 
• Include the jury fee of $25 made out to The Alberta Society of Artists. 
• Please Note: submissions will not move to the jurying phase until the cheque has been received if submitting by mail.  Online payments may be made by Paypal. Check website for instructions. A 100 word artwork statement related to the piece submitted. Artist's CV of no more than 3 pages that describes education, exhibition history, art organization memberships, the image as described in the format described below that adheres to the exhibition's theme. 

4.  Image Requirements: 

• Entries must be submitted online through the ASA website or as digital files burned to a CD. Entries must conform to the guidelines as follows: 
• Artwork may not have been created as part of a class or a workshop. 
• Files and images submitted on a CD must include a signed hard copy of application form. Each image file must be in JPEG format and should not exceed 3 MB in size.  
• Please ensure that all image files are correctly oriented.
• Image files must be clear of frames, walls, borders or any other backgrounds. Images should be of the artwork only; no date stamps, no watermarks, no copyright symbols, or any other elements should be present that will obstruct the visual field. 
• If submitting online, a scanned or filled out entry form must be uploaded as a word document or PDF document labeled as: FirstName_LastName_Submission.doc or .pdf. 
• Artists must include an artwork statement that does not exceed 100 words. 
• Image files should be appropriately labeled: LastName_FirstName_Title.jpg. One extra detail image file can be presented for 2-D artwork and labeled: LastName_FirstName_Title_Detail.jpeg. 
• 3D Pieces can provide up to 4 images to present the 360 degree view of the work: LastName_FirstName_Title_1.jpeg. 
• Diptychs and triptychs must be submitted in one file showing how the pieces work together and individually as image files labeled: LastName_FirstName_Title_A.jpeg and B.jpeg. 
• Label the CD with your name, exhibit you are entering and telephone number. 
• All submission elements must be received at the same time including the jury fee.  

Read more at http://www.affta.ab.ca/Arts-In-Alberta/Arts-Opportunities/ASA-Call-for-Submissions---Guilty-Pleasures

Visual Arts Alberta- CARFAC CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Visual Arts Alberta – CARFAC accepts submissions from Alberta artists or artists with clear ties to the Alberta community. Artist groups and individuals are encouraged to apply as well as curators with specific exhibition proposals. Submissions from all regions of Alberta are welcome as well as submissions from under represented voices in Alberta. 

Visual Arts Alberta Gallery is a program of Visual Arts Alberta – CARFAC. As an organization, Visual Arts Alberta – CARFAC does not receive public funding to program a gallery, so the gallery operates as a program of Visual Arts Alberta – CARFAC. Art work in featured in the gallery can be for sale (we charge a 10% administration fee when sales are handled through the gallery or artists can elect to sell their artwork privately and forgo this administration fee). Currently we pay artist fees ($1800 for the two room gallery divided by the exhibiting artists) for exhibitions and pay return shipment of artwork by an economical freight company. CARFAC artist fees will be increasing by 3% effective January 2015. 

Currently, we are accepting submissions for late 2015-2016 programming. Exhibitions will be seven weeks in length and open on the first Thursdays of February, April, June, August, October and December each year. The deadline for submissions is: 4:00 pm on Friday, October 10, 2014. (Email submissions are not accepted for this annual jury submission). 

Submission requirements (images must be burned to cd / dvd or memory stick / USB stick; other documents should be digital as well and saved as PDF or Word documents): 

• Artist’s Curriculum Vitae -with full contact information and website if applicable (no more than three pages in length) 
• 15-20 images of current work in -a digital format (Digital images must be jpegs, 72dpi or higher. Maximum image size: 1024 pixels on longest side. Title each image with last name of artist and number of image – eg. Smith01, Smith02 etc.) 
• -OR If you are working with a medium that would benefit from submission in an alternate format, please contact us to discuss your proposal. 
• Description of proposed exhibition including title (no more than two pages) 
• Listing of artworks: (title, date, dimensions, medium) 
• Artist Statement (no more than one page) 
• SASE, if materials are to be returned. 

Please send your submission to or drop off submission at: Gallery Submissions Visual Arts Alberta – CARFAC 3rd Floor, 10215-112 St. Edmonton, AB  T5K 1M7

Read more at http://www.affta.ab.ca/Arts-In-Alberta/Arts-Opportunities/Visual-Arts-Alberta--CARFAC-Call-for-Submissions

Call for Submissions- Reel Shorts Film Festival

The Reel Shorts Film Festival is accepting submissions until midnight on Monday, December 15 for the 9th festival May 6-10, 2015 in Grande Prairie, Alberta. There is no submission fee and filmmakers will be paid screening fees if their film is selected. All Official Selections are eligible for the Audience Choice Award and three Juried Awards: Best Live Action Short, Best Animated Short, and Best Documentary Short. Each winning film will receive an award designed by Grande Prairie sculptor Grant Berg and made by Decca Industries in Clairmont with a base made by D.R. Sales Woodworking in Grande Prairie. Submission details can be found at http://reelshorts.ca/submit/. 

The festival received 625 submissions from 55 countries for the 2014 fest and the programming team considered another 630 films that were seen at other festivals or requested for consideration. From 1,255 short films, a program of 111 films from 28 countries was presented to 3,000 attendees including school groups of 1,300 students and their teachers from 15 schools in the region. Twelve Peace Region films were showcased including 11 that were created during the Frantic 48, a 48-hour film challenge offered by PRIMAA (Peace Region Independent Media Arts Association) and the fest.

Read more at http://www.affta.ab.ca/Arts-In-Alberta/Arts-Opportunities/Reel-Shorts-Film-Festival-Call-for-Submissions