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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-14-007 - Artist in Residence Program Appointments for 2014 Staff Report ITC:HFI ? .R CA0 Office www1itchenerca REPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: February 3, 2014 SUBMITTED BY: Rod Regier, Executive Director, Economic Development, 519-741-2200 x7506 PREPARED BY: Emily Robson, Coordinator, Arts & Culture, 519-741-2200 x7084 WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: November 15, 2013 REPORT NO.: CAO-14-007 SUBJECT: ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM APPOINTMENT FOR 2014 RECOMMENDATION: That Dwight Storring be appointed as the City of Kitchener Artist- in-Residence for 2014 as recommended by the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee (ACAC) and the Public Art Working Group (PAWG). BACKGROUND: Established in 1995 as the first municipal program of its kind, the City of Kitchener Artist-in-Residence program aims to engage the community in the production of contemporary art that reflects our shared identity and supports the development of local artists. The program delivers on the understanding that meaningful engagement in the arts and growth of the arts sector contributes positively to the dynamism, authenticity, attractiveness and overall competitiveness of the City of Kitchener. The annual program includes community engagement components, such as workshops and events; exhibitions in the Rotunda Gallery and Berlin Tower ARTSPACE; collaboration with City events, programs and facilities; the possibility of a commissioned art work; and participation on PAWL. The artist-in-residence is provided with an honorarium for the year. Activities associated with the artist-in-residence program occur throughout the city over the course of the year. A wide variety of individuals are engaged during artist-in- residence program—from those encountering artwork and the artist at community events, those interested in workshops on artistic practice. REPORT: The annual call for proposals was advertised in summer 2013, resulting in the submission of eight entries by the competition close in October 2013. Members PAWG assessed the entries based on: 4 - 1 • Potential for meaningful exchange between artists and the community • Artistic excellence • Strength of the submission • Balance of professional practice and community engagement • Implementation strategy Members of PAWG reached consensus on the 2014 Artist-in-Residence at their meeting on November 12, 2013, selecting Dwight Storring as the 2014 City of Kitchener Artist-in-Residence. Dwight is a digital media artist and storyteller whose roots run deep in Waterloo Region. Dwight has collaborated on projects with a wide variety of local organizations, including working with the City of Kitchener in 2012 on Made in Kitchener, an interactive walking tour based on a series of interviews with people who worked in Kitchener's manufacturing sector in the post-World War II era. Dwight's proposal, Neighbourhood Voices, is designed to document and preserve the authentic character of Kitchener's neighbourhoods by giving voice to ordinary people. Through their personal stories of family and community, the richness of life in Kitchener in 2014 will emerge and be shared across the city and the world. This project will engage Kitchener residents in the making of a collaborative documentary film. Dwight will use the community centres as a focal point, consulting with neighbourhood associations, meeting neighbourhood residents, collecting their stories and capturing their day-to-day lives in video. Answering questions such as "what is the most beautiful place in the neighbourhood?" and "what do you love about where you live?" residents will share their experience through story and image. In addition, Dwight will hold three story-gathering events which will guide participants through a step-by-step storytelling process that includes: neighbourhood mapping; video portrait making; a story-sharing circle; and one-on-one story coaching. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: • Quality of Life: The Artist-in-Residence program nurtures a sense of pride and community by using art and artistic production as means of exploring and celebrating the community's identity. It also contributes to community vitality by offering creative and interesting people creative and interesting opportunities. • Development: Creative people live in creative communities, and the artist-in- residence program is a direct reflection of this. From supporting local artists as an economic sector, to creating an attractive and interesting place, the artist-in- residence program acknowledges artists as important contributors to both the economy and placemaking. • Dynamic Downtown: While artist-in-residence activities take place across the city, participating in existing city events and exhibitions in the City Hall art galleries contribute to the vitality and liveliness of downtown. 4 - 2 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: No impact. Within the Arts & Culture operating budget there is $7,500 available annually to support the program. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: A strong component the program is the requirement for meaningful public engagement during the course of the year. Artists-in-residence are encouraged to find meaningful ways of engaging the public in their project. City staff works with the artist-in-residence to identify interesting opportunities for public engagement and develop creative programming to suit these opportunities. For example, as part of the City of Kitchener's 2013 Artist-in-Residence Susan Coolen's Litter-Arti Project, she offered a trash-turned to treasure craft at Kidspark, installed an artwork along the Iron Horse Trail during Animate the Trail, and developed a large-scale installation as part of Waterloo Region's Waste Management public landfill tours. While PAWG is consulted during the development of the Artist-in-Residence call for entry, the selection of the Artist-in-Residence in entirely entrusted to PAWG and ACAC. A PAWG motion that ACAC support the selection of Dwight Storring as the 2014 City of Kitchener Artist-in-Residence was considered and supported by ACAC on November 19, 2013. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Jeff Willmer, CAO 4 - 3 OVERVIEW: NEIGHBOURHOOD VOICES The richness of life in Kitchener makes it an ideal place for Neighbourhood Voices to happen. A network of community centres, active neighbourhood associations, cultural diversity, deep commitment to social service initiatives, legacy of innovation and growing digital sector— my city is a fertile ecosystem for this proposed collaborative documentary project. As Artist in Residence in 2014 1 would have the opportunity to cultivate this promising environment and work with fellow citizens to see our city through new eyes, to give voice to our daily lives and share our stories across the community and around the world. It is a perfect opportunity to make a case for art as an integral part of our day-to-day lives. I began my working life as a journalist telling stories through words and photographs. While I've returned to this grassroots storytelling, I bring with me a perspective seasoned by a wide range of experiences and skills that have evolved from analog to digital. Much of my journalism career was spent at the Waterloo Region Record. Over 25-plus years there I developed a deep understanding of the community as well as a valuable set of digital media skills. From working with academics and dignitaries around the boardroom table at The Centre for International Governance Innovation, to interviewing homeless men in House of Friendship's Charles Street hostel, to creating a multimedia theatre piece with refugees, issues of social justice, human dignity, interpersonal relationships and scarcity-versus-plenty have been at the heart of what I do. My art is centred around the personal narrative and its resonance within the larger societal narrative. Sharing our personal stories informs our lives and connects us to the rest of humankind. Over the coming year I hope to bring the stories of everyday people to life by: • putting accessible digital media tools in people's hands, leading them on an exploration of their neighbourhood and city through the lens of Kitchener's six community priorities as outlined in its strategic plan for 2010-2014: leadership and engagement, quality of life, diversity, downtown, development and the environment. • using traditional interviewing and documentary filmmaking techniques to record the milestones in the lives of citizens and the neighbourhoods. • and by bringing these sights, sounds and stories together in digital videos and art installations that will be shown at Berlin Tower ARTSPACE, the Rotunda Gallery, community centres and other venues in the city. I can see, too, how this residency would benefit from other work I have planned for 2014: • As an associate of Research Entrepreneurs Accelerating Prosperity (REAP) I plan to work in the felt Lab to develop a method to transform my documentary films into interactive narrative art installations. This would allow people to interact with videos in public spaces, a good fit for showing the stories that emerge from Neighbourhood Voices in the galleries at city hall. • Another project I will undertake in the first half of the year is through ArtsSmarts Waterloo Region. Working with Civics and Photography students at Kitchener Waterloo Collegiate, we will create a documentary film about downtown Kitchener as a way for students to put the curriculum of the course in action. Work from this project could easily be included in Neighbourhood Voices. 4 - 4 • The night art event in the planning stages for June 21, 2014 will offer an excellent opportunity to take Neighbourhood Voices to the street as a work in progress. Undoubtedly other partnerships and opportunities both large and small would unfold as I work with the community centres and residents over the coming months. Also the extensive network I've developed in my work over the past few years would be an invaluable resource throughout the year. I am excited by this opportunity to explore my city with fresh eyes and to bring my experience, skill and passion to bear on a project that will reflect the place where I live. 4 - 5