Preambling the art workers’ inquiry

Friday, July 19, 2024

2 – 3:30 PM PT

Online (Zoom)

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RSVP HERE.

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Join us on Friday, July 19 for Steff Hui Ci Ling’s virtual workshop, Preambling the art workers’ inquiry. Part of Centre A’s 2024 Art Writing Mentorship, this event is open and free for all. 

This workshop will discuss, celebrate, and critique various designs of art workers’ inquiries circulated between 2015-2021. It will address some political economic conditions of labour in the artist-run and non-profit arts job market, offer a theoretical framework to organize against dominant actors and exploitative practices using the inquiry, and invite participants to draft their own.

The 2024 Art Writing Mentorship is generously supported by the Sector Innovation Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, Regional Cultural Project Grant from Metro Vancouver and SFU’s David Lam Center.

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The 2024 Art Writing Mentorship is generously supported by the Sector Innovation Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, Regional Cultural Project Grant from Metro Vancouver and SFU’s  David Lam Center.

 

Open Studio

Saturday, June 22, 2024

12 – 4 PM PT

Centre A

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No RSVP required.

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Centre A is delighted to invite everyone to an open studio by our current residents of the SLOW Relations + Practices Emerging BIPOC Artist Residency: Phoebe Bei, Kaila Bhullar and Rawan Hassan.

This month, the cohort is utilizing our gallery space to cultivate their proposed projects, and will be sharing about their practices with the public through the open studio. All are welcome.

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This program is funded by the BC Multiculturalism & Anti-Racism Grant.

Archive and Utopia: Art and Literary Criticism for a Better World

Friday, July 5, 2024

2 – 3:30 PM PT

Online (Zoom)

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RSVP HERE.

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Join us on Friday, July 5 for Larissa Lai’s virtual talk, Archive and Utopia: Art and Literary Criticism for a Better World. Part of Centre A’s 2024 Art Writing Mentorship, this event is open and free for all. 

In this talk, Larissa will discuss her own critical practice, with a focus on research and her relationship to the archive, but also the reasons for why she writes criticism–what she thinks it might produce for a better Asian Canadian future. What are some of the better and worse ways of approaching an artwork? How can a critic enter into productive conversation with someone else’s practice and production? How can criticism draw from existing cultural memory and what contributions can it make towards the meaningful evolution of Asian Canadian arts communities?

The 2024 Art Writing Mentorship is generously supported by the Sector Innovation Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, Regional Cultural Project Grant from Metro Vancouver and SFU’s  David Lam Center.

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The 2024 Art Writing Mentorship is generously supported by the Sector Innovation Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, Regional Cultural Project Grant from Metro Vancouver and SFU’s  David Lam Center.

 

ABOUT THE PROGRAM:

Centre A invites self-identifying emerging Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Artists based in Metro Vancouver to apply for our Open Call for SLOW Relations + Practices, an eight-week program from June 1 to July 27, 2024, including a four-week paid studio and research residency, followed by a four-week exhibition at our gallery space of new works created during the residency.

SLOW Relations + Practices is part of Centre A’s 25th Anniversary programming that examines the organization’s rich history as the only public gallery in Canada that focuses on Asian and Asian diasporic perspectives. The program is a new and revised iteration of Makiko Hara’s project of the same name at Centre A in 2010. For the early iteration of the project, led by Hara and initiated by a working group of diverse, local cultural producers, it addresses the pressing issue of time-slow and hurriedness.

During the one-month residency period, three chosen artists will be able to utilize Centre A’s gallery space as a shared studio, participate in group critiques, create collective works, share knowledge with the 2024 Art Writing Mentorship participants, and engage with the public through a series of open studios. Centre A will also facilitate and connect artists with arts and culture workers within the Vancouver area. 

Participants will have access to their shared studio space at Centre A from Wednesdays to Saturdays, 12 – 6pm, as well as our Reading Room and a list of digital media equipment, including projectors, monitors, media players, mixer, speakers, and more. The studio space has gallery lighting fixtures and no natural light. We do not provide accommodation.

At the start of the program, we will work with each participant regarding their accessibility needs, and provide support needed for successful applicants to eliminate any barrier to participate in the program, such as audio transcription and ASL interpretation.

 

PARTICIPANT ELIGIBILITY:

The program is open to emerging BIPOC artists residing in Metro Vancouver. We encourage all members of underrepresented and marginalized groups to apply, including but not limited to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, and/or disability.

An emerging artist is defined as an artist who works in any discipline within the visual and performing arts, who are in the early stages of their professional career, and are committed to the development of their craft and practice.

The applicant must be able to commit to the entirety of the program’s duration (8 weeks, including the month-long exhibition following the residency). This includes planned weekly events such as group sessions, public open studios, gallery visits and other programming:

• Friday, June 7: gallery visits with Art Writing Mentorship cohort 
• Friday, June 14: Chinatown studio visits with Art Writing Mentorship cohort
• Saturday, June 15: residency artist open studio day
• Saturday, June 22: gallery visits
• Wednesday, June 26 – Friday, June 28: group exhibition installation
• Monday, July 29 – Wednesday, July 31: group exhibition deinstallation

 

BENEFITS:

• Hands-on experience working with BIPOC artist peers
• Daytime access to a shared studio space at Centre A located in Vancouver’s Chinatown, within walking distance of numerous galleries and arts organizations
• Networking opportunities with established local artists, curators and arts and culture workers
• Opportunity to work with Centre A’s Artistic Director and Programming team to realize a month-long group exhibition at Centre A
• Curatorial, administration and marketing support, including event assets such as social media promotion, postcards and exhibition photos
• An artist fee of $1000 and material reimbursement of $250 for each artist upon successful completion of the program, and standard CARFAC fee for the group exhibition ($1190/artist) and any additional public programming

 

PROGRAM DETAILS:

Location: Centre A, 205-268 Keefer St., Vancouver, BC. See more accessibility details below in the “About Centre A” section

Duration: 8 weeks, June 1 – July 27, 2024

Commitment: Participants are expected to attend weekly programming (approx. 3-5 hours each week), and utilize the studio space on a weekly basis during the residency period

Remuneration: Upon successful completion of the program, each participant will receive an artist fee of $1000, a material reimbursement of $250 and an exhibition fee of $1190 per CARFAC schedule.

 

HOW TO APPLY:

Deadline to submit: May 13, 11:59 PM PST

During a time of urgent global and ecological catastrophes, the SLOW Relations + Practices residency welcomes applications from emerging BIPOC artists based in Metro Vancouver in response to the following questions: 

• What is the renewed condition of artistic practices and production? 
• How do we incorporate slowness as a methodology of care in the current condition? 
• How can slowness create time and space for meaningful interactions and collaborative learning? 

Please submit the documents below in a single PDF file by email to [email protected] with “Residency Application” in the subject line. Please make sure your PDF file is under 10MB.

Your application should include: 

• A project proposal (500 words maximum) outlining what you intend to create during the residency in relation to your background and artistic interests;
• A curriculum vitae (3 pages maximum);
• Contact details for one reference;
• Any access needs;
• 5-10 images or videos of past work (videos should be included as URL links, please ensure the link is publicly accessible) ;
• An image list corresponding to the images, including title, year, material, size, any collaborators, and a brief description of the work (100 words max. each).

A total of three applicants will be chosen for the program. Successful applicants can expect to hear back by May 20, 2024. Due to the large volume of applications, we are unable to provide individual feedback at this time. 

 

ABOUT CENTRE A:

Established in 1999, Centre A is the only public art gallery in Canada dedicated to contemporary Asian and Asian diasporic perspectives. We are committed to providing a platform for engaging diverse communities through public access to the arts, creating mentorship opportunities for emerging artists and arts professionals, and stimulating critical dialogue through provocative exhibitions and innovative public programs that complicate understandings of migrant experiences and diasporic communities. In addition to our exhibition space, we house a reading room with a collection of books on transnational Asian art, including the Finlayson Collection of Rare Asian Art Books.

Centre A is located in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown, on the second floor of the Sun Wah Centre Mall. The gallery is located on the second floor of a wheelchair-accessible building which has an elevator. Bathrooms are gendered with accessible stalls. Please contact us at [email protected] if there are any questions.

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This program is funded by the BC Multiculturalism & Anti-Racism Grant.

ABOUT THE MENTORSHIP:

Centre A is delighted to announce our 2024 Art Writing Mentorship Program, “Writing is a Practice, a Vapour, a Many-Toed Thing.” Facilitated by 2024 program mentor Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross, this 12-week summer intensive aims to introduce art writing and criticism to a small cohort of Vancouver-based Asian youth through weekly writing workshops, peer reviews, guest lectures, one-on-one consultations, field trips to local galleries, and studio visits with artists. 

Over the weeks, five chosen participants will share in reading, discussion, and generative writing exercises led by the mentor and designed to reflect upon the critical and creative stakes of art writing. We will consider art writing as, foremost, an activity of listening and conversation, and explore possibilities for writing alongside and in proximity to the object, the studio process, or the image. We will read works of literature that think through works of art, and experience works of art that think through literature. We will talk about co-creation, reciprocity, and generosity in language; we will journal together and consider how art can be a prompt and a portal. Participants will be expected to workshop each other’s writing and receive feedback, as well as follow a syllabus and complete assigned readings. 

Participants will leave the program with one short-form experimental review (1,000 words) and one longer piece (2,500 words) developed out of the ideas and methodologies explored in the workshops.

 

PARTICIPANT ELIGIBILITY:

• Open to self-identifying Asian youth or young adults between the ages of 18-30 residing in Metro Vancouver (a maximum of five participants will be chosen for the program)
• May be a high-school graduate, post-secondary student, or early/emerging arts professional
• Should have strong English reading and writing comprehension, with the ability to provide ONE writing sample (published or unpublished), i.e. essay, article, review, blog post, or other piece of creative or critical writing
• Must be able to commit to the entirety of the program’s duration (12 weeks), including weekly in-person sessions every Friday (11am-4pm TBC)
• Have an interest in contemporary art, critical writing, creative writing, and/or curation, and be passionate about Vancouver’s arts and cultural scenes
• Be willing to learn, listen, and work alongside a community of Asian Canadian and BIPOC writers, artists, and curators

 

BENEFITS:

• Hands-on experience working alongside established writers, editors, and curators in a professional setting
• One-on-one mentorship and support from an experienced writer towards the development of one’s writing practice
• The opportunity to connect and collaborate with other emerging arts practitioners in Vancouver
• Opportunities for networking and collaboration with local and international publishers, publications, galleries, and arts institutions
• Exclusive access to online workshops on special topics in art writing (previous guest speakers included Cecily Nicholson, Monika Gagnon, Yaniya Lee, and John Tain)
• The production of two high-quality, peer reviewed pieces of critical and/or creative writing 
• A $1000 participant honorarium at the successful completion of the program

 

ABOUT THE MENTOR:

Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross is a writer and editor based in Vancouver, the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh)nations. Her fiction, poetry, essays, and art criticism have appeared in BOMB, C Mag, The Ex-Puritan, Fence, Mousse, and elsewhere, as well as in the chapbooks Mayonnaise and Drawings on Yellow Paper (with Katie Lyle). By day, she works as the Art Editor of The Capilano Review. By night, she drafts suspended scenarios and propositions. The Longest Way to Eat a Melon, her debut collection of fictions, is forthcoming from Sarabande Books in 2025. She holds a BFA in Studio Art from Simon Fraser University (2012) and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph (2018). 

 

PROGRAM DETAILS:

Location: Programming will be conducted both ONLINE (Zoom) and IN-PERSON at Centre A, 205–268 Keefer Street, Vancouver, BC. Accessibility details are listed below in the “About Centre A” section

Dates: May 31–August 16, 2024 (12 weeks), with virtual and/or in-person workshops occurring every Friday (11am–4pm TBC)

Commitment: The program will run once a week for 5 hours each Friday (with 1 hour lunch break), with additional readings and writing assignments to be completed independently in between sessions (totalling approximately 8-10 hours each week)

Remuneration: Participants will receive an honorarium of $1,000 for successful completion of the program (including attendance at a minimum of 10 of 12 sessions)

 

HOW TO APPLY:

Deadline to submit: April 30, 2024, 11:59 PM PST

Please submit the documents below in a single PDF file by email to [email protected] with “Mentorship Application” in the subject line.

Your application should include:

• Your contact information 
• A letter of intent (500 words maximum) outlining your background and interest in contemporary art, art writing, art criticism, or curation, as well as your goals for participating in the program
• A curriculum vitae (3 pages maximum)
• One writing sample (3 pages maximum, double-spaced)
• Contact details for one reference
• Any access needs

Successful applicants can expect to hear back by May 13, 2024. Due to the large volume of applications, we are unable to respond to every applicant. 

 

ABOUT CENTRE A:

Established in 1999, Centre A is the only public art gallery in Canada dedicated to contemporary Asian and Asian diasporic perspectives. We are committed to providing a platform for engaging diverse communities through public access to the arts, creating mentorship opportunities for emerging artists and arts professionals, and stimulating critical dialogue through provocative exhibitions and innovative public programs that complicate understandings of migrant experiences and diasporic communities. In addition to our exhibition space, we house a reading room with a collection of books on transnational Asian art, including the Finlayson Collection of Rare Asian Art Books.

Centre A is located in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown, on the second floor of the Sun Wah Centre Mall. The gallery is located on the second floor of a wheelchair-accessible building which has an elevator. Bathrooms are gendered with accessible stalls. Please contact us at [email protected] for full details, including any accommodation requests. 

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This program is generously supported by the Sector Innovation Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Regional Cultural Project Grant from Metro Vancouver. 

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Your feedback can help shape Centre A’s future! We are calling for your valuable input on the organization today and your hopes for our service in the community for the future, through a community survey.

The survey is conducted by artist and community consultant Jenie Gao on behalf of Centre A. Your answers will be used to inform our 3-Year Strategic Plan and recommendations for the future development of the organization.

Learn more and fill out the survey, here.

 

Reopening Celebration

Friday, March 1, 2024

5 – 8 PM

Centre A

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Join us to celebrate Centre A’s reopening at our newly renovated space!

The Reopening Celebration will feature new products in our Boutique for sale, the launch our collaborative zine, Space(s) in Chinatown, with Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice, Hatch Art Gallery and UBC AMS, as well as the opening of our latest exhibition, Unseen Garden, by Chris Hamamoto & Federico Perez Villoro, curated by Diane Hau Yu Wong. Drinks will be available for purchase.

All of Centre A’s share of consignment proceeds during the Reopening Celebration will be donated to Islamic Relief Canada to send aid to Gaza.

We will be sharing some of the new products available for purchase on our Instagram page leading up to the event.

No RSVP. Masks required. We hope to see you there!

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Accessibility: The gallery is wheelchair and walker accessible. If you have specific accessibility needs, please contact us at (604) 683-8326 or [email protected].

Centre A is situated on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. We honour, respect, and give thanks to our hosts.