City Seeking Artists for 2023 Summer Artist-in-Residence Program

The City of Fredericton will hold its popular Artist-in-Residence program again this summer and is currently seeking submissions from artists interested in leaving their studios and working in the great outdoors.

This will be the fifth year for the program, which will take place at the Fredericton Botanic Garden in Odell Park and at Killarney Lake Park.  The City is inviting artists to submit proposals for a residency at either location during July or August. Residency periods are for two weeks with a new option this summer for a one-month residency, each with a stipend of $500 per week. Accommodations are not provided.   

The program provides a unique opportunity for artists to move their studio outdoors into the natural surroundings of Killarney Lake’s wooded recreational park on the north side, or in the community-run Botanic Garden adjacent to Odell Park on the southside. Both locations are open and free to the public.

Artists are required to engage with park and garden users daily on site, and with the broader community through online activities. Artists will be active on social media with brief daily updates on their residency as well as occasional, in-depth activities such as a demo, artist talk, or workshop. Selected artists are free to move throughout the park or garden as part of their creative process and will be provided with portable lawn signs which will indicate that they are the ‘Artist in Residence’.

This residency is open to all artists working in any medium, however preference will be given to work that is conducive to community engagement. The artist is expected to be in residence Monday to Friday, for 6-8 hours daily.

Less than a 10-minute drive from the city centre, Killarney Lake Park has more than 645 hectares and over 30 km of multi-use trails in addition to open recreational areas, a swimming beach, playground, and the Killarney Lake Rotary Centennial Lodge.  The park features natural landscapes and Acadian Forest with a significant hemlock ridge running through the northeast section of the park.

The Fredericton Botanic Garden is linked to Odell Park and covers 21 hectares of mixed forests, fields, and garden beds. Among the Garden attractions are magnolias, rhododendrons, peonies, lilacs and the Pollinator and NB Literature gardens.

Interested artists can check submission guidelines by visiting www.fredericton.ca/artistinresidence. Artists are asked to check available park amenities listed under submission guidelines to ensure their preference of location is best suited to their project.

The deadline to apply is 4:30 pm on March 10, 2023. Artists will be notified by April 30, 2023.  Submissions can be sent by email to culture@fredericton.ca.