A cornerstone of Burrard Arts Foundation programming, the BAF Artist Residency Program offered creative support and professional development to qualified Vancouver-based artists. Vancouver is a city where the space, time and financial resources needed to create art can be scarce, and these limitations can constrain artists, preventing their work from reaching its full potential. The BAF Residency Program helped artists surpass these barriers, providing a dedicated space for creative production in Vancouver, and facilitating work that otherwise may not have been realized.
While each Residency was tailored to its corresponding Artist in Residence, all were comprised of ten weeks at work in BAF Gallery’s Vancouver studios, followed by an exhibition in the adjacent gallery space. Six artists were welcomed into the Residency Program every year, with two artists working in neighbouring studios at any given time, eventually having their work shown together in simultaneous solo exhibitions. BAF Artist Residencies provided studio space, a materials budget, and an artist fee. The creation of new connections with the Vancouver artistic community, including possible mentors, buyers, and dealers, was also prioritized.
The Burrard Arts Foundation Residency Program was made possible by the generous support of the Chan Family Foundation, the RBC Emerging Artists Program, the City of Vancouver Cultural Grants Program, and TD Bank Group through the #TDReadyCommitment.