Artist in Residence

Overview of Artist in Residency at St Andrew’s Wesley United Church:

We are seeking a visual or a literary artist for a residency period from January 2027 to June 2027 to engage, through arts-based community engagement, the congregation and wider community in explorations around Art, Spirit, Inclusion, and Social Justice and to provide the artist with paid time to work on their own creativity and projects. We are inviting an artist to teach us to move beyond our own experiences, beliefs and ideas and through a dialogue and curiosity sparked by their art, engage us to experience the world and the human condition through them.

Art, in all forms, provides an expressive language for human beings to experience awe, wonder, loss, love, suffering, and mystery. Artists inspire and delight, feed our souls and imaginations, bring inequities to light, and challenge political systems. We have a deep gratitude for their creativity and have made art one of our core values to actively support their work. St. Andrew’sWesley generates and participates in art with our music, architecture, weavings, stained glass, writing, sermons, and our hosting of artistic events.

We are now launching our fifth year of our artist in residence program for a visual artist or writer to accompany our church so we can: a) actively support the arts in our community and b) cocreate and engage both our congregation and the wider city in a dialogue around Spirit, Social Justice, Inclusion, and the Arts. (View our pillar statements here.)

Goals and purpose:

• To open people of all ages and stages to the intersections between art and spirituality,
  and to provide an opportunity for community engagement with the arts
• To provide a supportive space for an artist to continue to explore and create while
  receiving financial support to enable that work
• To enrich Vancouver’s downtown core with more art and art that is accessible regardless
  of financial status
• To further an ongoing dialogue between Spirit, Social Justice, Inclusion, and the Art

Scope of work:

1) This residency will provide financial support to the artist in the form of a monthly wage to develop, explore and further their own work.

2) The artist, working directly with Rev. Rhian Walker and with the support of the ministry team and volunteers, will create weekly and/or monthly community engagement opportunities for the wider community and/or the church. Community engagements are only expected to be for a minimum of 10 hours of a month and not more; unless otherwise, the artist wishes to do more than what is required. This might include workshops, artist talks, community art projects and collaborations with community partners. A budget for materials for these offerings will be provided by StAW.

3) The artist will be responsible for any community engagement design and execution, and will manage class lists, some communications, installations of any pieces for the residency and some social media. They will receive marketing, administrative and operations support from St Andrew’s Wesley to do this work.

4) The artist is invited to, at least, participate in three Sunday morning services in St. Andrew’s Wesley United Church. The purpose of these visits is, first, to introduce the artist to the congregation; second, to integrate the artist’s work into the worship service and engage the church into their work (potentially halfway of the residency); and finally, to conclude the artist’s time with the community with a meaningful farewell an acknowledges the artist’s time and contribution to the community.

Values and collaborative approach:

We commit to providing the artist with a warm, inclusive, supportive and open environment where they can bring their full selves. We commit to open and honest communication, curiosity and respect for beliefs, traditions and expressions of Spirit, including non-Christian traditions. We welcome diverse perspectives and beliefs and continue to affirm the sacredness of 2SLGBTQIA+ bodies.

Timelines and Deadlines:

Applications accepted are from June 1 to June 30, 2026. If it helps the artists to fill out the application, you can visit our church community on Sundays on any of our three services. Reviewing, processing and short listing of artists will take 2-3 weeks after applications close. Expect a response after this given time frame. Interviews will be conducted by August 2026. We will announce the successful applicant on September 2026. Residency will go from January 2027 to June 2027

Eligibility:

1. Applicants must be of legal age at the start of the program.
2. The artist must be willing to be located in Vancouver or the surrounding municipalities. Artist ideally will be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Artists from other countries will be considered but all Visa and Canadian-residency requirements are solely the responsibility of the artist. POC, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, people living with disabilities and all communities who have traditionally faced systematic barriers to access to participating in the public art space are strongly encouraged to apply.
3. For this year, we are seeking either a a) visual artist (painting, photography, sculpture, graphic art, etc), though if the visual artist is multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary, that is welcomed too or b) a writer (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, etc.,). Collectives and troops are also welcome to apply but the stipend unfortunately cannot be increased.
4. Community engagement is a key element of this grant. Applications should bring some experience in engaging communities or teaching workshops to non-artists as part of their skill set.
5. The artist(s) don’t need to have a faith background or spiritual practice but must be comfortable and intrigued at working with a faith community. We hope to create an open and supportive environment where we can collaborate with honesty, respect and integrity.

Duration: 6 months (January 2027 – June 2027)

Residency: 2000 a month plus budget for materials of $3000 for a minimum of 10 hours of community engagement a month and participation in, at least, three Sunday morning services 4 (introduction, integrating/sharing their work, and farewell) in St. Andrew’s Wesley United. If possible, studio space will be set aside in the church for the artist. Use of the venue for practices, performances, or studio work will be provided in dialogue with the church. Regretfully, we cannot provide a live-in space and artists will need to secure their own accommodation.

Location: St Andrew’s Wesley United Church, 1022 Nelson street, Vancouver.

Questions: Please contact Rev Rhian Walker, r.walker@standrewswesley.com