ART WRITING MENTORSHIP

 

Emerging writers based anywhere in Saskatchewan are invited to apply to CARFAC SASK’s 2024-2025 Art Writing Mentorship program with mentoring writers Emily Riddle (Edmonton) and Nic Wilson (Regina). The program aims to foster critical art dialogues in, for, and coming out of Saskatchewan and will run from November 1, 2024 through May 31, 2025 with (2) mentees working remotely with each mentor towards specific mentee-led art writing goals and outcomes.

CARFAC SASK is thrilled that through partnership with Indigenous Curatorial Collective/ Collectif des commissaires autochtones (ICCA), Indigenous and BIPOC mentee participants in CARFAC SASK’s Art Writing Mentorship program will have paid opportunities to publish writing about Indigenous art through ICCA’s Digital Publishing Program Please prioritize your interest in this specific opportunity as part of your application, as applicable.

Application deadline is August 29, 2024. Please review the Program Details found below and scroll down to find the Application Form.

PROGRAM DETAILS:

  • The mentorship runs from November 1, 2024 - May 31, 2025;

  • The program will break over December. Mentors are not expected to work at this time but mentees are encouraged to continue working on their self-directed writing projects as schedules allow;

  • All mentorship activities will take place remotely;

  • As with all CARFAC SASK mentorship programs, mentees set their own goals for the mentorship experience, first in their application then later in a Mentorship Work Plan due December 1, 2024; 

  • Indigenous and BIPOC mentees are invited to publish writing about Indigenous art through ICCA’s Digital Publishing Program. As applicable, applicants should consider how this opportunity aligns with the goals when applying;

  • When applying, prospective mentees are strongly encouraged to research the Mentors. In your application consider how a specific mentor’s practice would support your specific writing goals;

  • Mentors provide support, encouragement, information, and resources which can help mentees  achieve their professional goals.

  • Mentorship pairs are required to dedicate seven (7) hours per month towards mentorship—primarily in the form of remote one-on-one engagement via Zoom, phone, or email—and are responsible for self-managing their meeting schedules;

  • Mentees should expect to dedicate significant additional amounts of self-directed time writing and working towards their writing goals during the mentorship;

  • Over the duration of the program CARFAC SASK will coordinate (2) virtual group gatherings;

  • CARFAC SASK will also organize (2) Mentor-led virtual writing workshops;

  • The remaining and central program activities will occur as self directed within the Mentor-Mentee(s) relationships;

  • The program is absolutely free and selected Mentees receive a small materials subsidy minus the cost of a CARFAC SASK membership, if not already a member;

  • Mentors reside in Saskatchewan and throughout Canada;

  • Mentees must be Saskatchewan residents;

  • Mentors and Mentees submit a Final Report by June 1, 2025.

 
 

HOW TO APPLY

Apply to be an Art Writing Mentee by 11:59pm on August 29, 2024 using the following link:

 
 

Please reach out to Program & Outreach Director Jera MacPherson at programs.sask@carfac.ca or at CARFAC SASK Regina office number: (306) 522-9788 with questions about the program or application process.

 

2024-2025 MENTORS

EMILY RIDDLE (she/her) is Nehiyaw and a member of the Alexander First Nation (Kipohtakaw). She is a writer, textile artist, and library worker based in Amisko Waciw Wâskahikan (Edmonton, Canada). In 2022, she released her first full length poetry collection, The Big Melt which won the Griffin Poetry Prize Canadian first book award. Her writing has been published in The Malahat Review, Canadian Art, The Washington Post, The Globe and Mail, among others. Emily Riddle is a dedicated Treaty 6 descendant and a semi-dedicated Edmonton Oilers fan. She loves to work in different genres and is excited to work with Saskatchewan-based mentors. 

NIC WILSON (they/he) is a settler artist and writer who was born in the Wolastoqiyik territory known as Fredericton, NB in 1988. He graduated with a BFA from Mount Allison University, Mi’kmaq territory, in 2012, and an MFA from the University of Regina, Treaty Four Territory, in 2019 where he was a SSHRC graduate fellow. They have shown work and across Canada and participated in projects with Remai Modern, Plug In ICA, Art Souterrain, and Modern Fuel. They have shown work internationally with Venice International Performance Art Week, Casa de la Primera Imprenta de América in Mexico City, and NADA in Bogotá. 

Fluent across media, Wilson creates videos, performances and artist books. Their writing practice encompasses essays and art criticism that take on hybrid forms and embraces experimentation. Their work often engages time, queer lineage, decay, and the distance between art practice and literature. In 2021 they were long-listed for the Sobey Art Award as a representative of the Prairies and the North. In 2022 they were the writer in residence for G44 Centre for Contemporary Photography. Their writing has appeared in BlackFlash Magazine, Peripheral Review, NORK, C Magazine, and Border Crossings. Their book of essays Colossal Equine Statue was published by ARP Books in 2024.

 
 
 

Thank you to past program participants:

2019-2020 CAW WRITERS

 

MENTORS

Blair Fornwald

Amy Fung

John G. Hampton

Nasrin Hamida

Jas Morgan

MENTEES

Jera MacPherson

Julie Yu

Nic Wilson

Hilarey Cowan

Lillian O’Brien Davis

 
 

2018 CAW PILOT WRITERS

 

MENTEES

Simon Fuh

Danielle Corson

Paige Adrian

MENTORS

Sky Goodden

Gloria Hickey

Barbara Meneley

 
 

For more information about Critical Art Writing Mentorship opportunities, email programs.sask@carfac.ca or follow us on Instagram and/or Facebook. Special thanks to Indigenous Curatorial Collective for their partnership and support of the special 2024-2025 iteration of CARFAC SASK’s Art Writing Mentorship.