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Artists invited to apply for grants

The Seventh Annual Visual Arts Development Award is now underway, giving a great big boost to B.C.’s emerging or mid-career visual artists and artisans.

The Seventh Annual Visual Arts Development Award is now underway, giving a great big boost to B.C.’s emerging or mid-career visual artists and artisans.

If you want to explore a new technique or process to further your practice and artistic development, this is the award for you as the focus of the whole initiative is to encourage the development of new skills and techniques. Grants range in size from $3,000 to $5,000.

Last year 13 visual artists and artisans received awards. Their projects included travelling to China to apprentice with a master Chinese ceramicist; learning underwater photography and exploring the loss of salmon in ancient fishing grounds. Another recipient apprenticed with a tailor to learn costume making, and another worked with a mathematician to learn advanced systems of mathematics to generate patterns and manipulate the results.

B.C. visual artists and artisans from all cultures working in traditional or contemporary methods are eligible. VADA offers opportunities for non-institutional learning, to learn from a senior artist, mentor or elder or a self-guided program. Applications will be evaluated on the basis of merit and quality of their proposals.

Visual artists and artisans who are serious about their practice and are at a stage in their career where they would truly benefit from this exploration, are strongly encouraged to apply. Deadline for applications is May 25, at 5 p.m. Download the official application form at www.vada-awards.org . VADA was initiated and is funded by the Vancouver Foundation, and is administered by the Contemporary Art Gallery. For more information, contact the award coordinator: celine@vada-awards.org .