Boarding House Arts is non-profit organization with a mission to support and develop professional working artists by providing affordable studio space and programming. In the spring of 2013, Boarding House Arts launched Arts Incubator. This fall we are following up with two complimentary programs – Arts Hothouse and Arts Patron Circle. Arts Incubator is an eighteen-month studio residency and mento
ring program designed to help Guelph area artists advance their professional careers. Artists are selected through a competitive process in response to an open call for participants. The program supports a breadth of artistic practices ranging from media-based work to painting to socially engaged art. Arts Incubator aims to assist emerging and mid-career artists to advance to the next level of professional achievement. A particular focus is placed on understanding the business dynamics of the art world and upon the requirements of sustaining a career as a professional artist. At the start of the program, an individual mentoring and goal-based development plan is established with each artist. Participants in the program may re-apply for a second term through the open call for participants. Distinguished Canadian visual artist, writer and educator, Ron Shuebrook, is the Senior Artist in Residence, and acts as a mentor to resident artists along with a team of other mentors. The Arts Incubator is supported through a partnership between Boarding House Arts, Musagetes , the School of Fine Art and Music (SOFAM) at the University of Guelph and the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre (MSAC) with the additional support of the Guelph Community Foundation (Wood/Roberts Family Fund and Musagetes Fund). The Arts Hothouse provides career-minded visual artists with high quality and affordable co-working studio space. The program also aims to help build exposure and a client base among local and regional art lovers and collectors for the artist’s work. The program is open to professional working artists at any stage in their career. Entry to the Hothouse is by application and is granted for one year. After the first year participation may be renewed for subsequent one-year terms by mutual agreement. Along with co-working studio space there will be opportunities for exhibitions, networking and professional development. A large shared studio is located at Boarding House Arts. Artists also have access to a workshop along with common areas and a kitchen. Arts Patron Circle is being launched in support of the Arts Incubator and Arts Hothouse. Arts Patron Circle is seeking individuals and organizations that will commit to purchase a set value of art from participating artists. Income from the program is split between the artist and Boarding House Arts. Arts Patron Circle also serves to link participating artists with art lovers and collectors. Located in the restored, heritage designated, limestone building at the corner of Dublin and Waterloo Streets in downtown Guelph, Boarding House Arts is also home to a vibrant and diverse community of artists and arts organizations including:
Boarding House Gallery - is a unique collaboration between the University of Guelph’s SOFAM and MSAC, whose shared mandate is to present ongoing contemporary art exhibitions in the downtown core, featuring works by faculty, students, and the permanent collection of the Macdonal Stewart Art Centre. The Boarding House Gallery is generously supported by the University of Guelph’s College of Arts, School of Fine Art and Music and the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre. Musagetes works to make the arts more central and meaningful in people’s lives, their communities, and in society. Working with artists, cultural mediators and partners they develop new approaches to enhance the impact of artistic creativity on culture and communities. Both nationally and globally, Musagetes seeks to make a difference in how we think about ourselves; how we lead our lives; how we conduct public affairs; how we relate to one another; and how we shape the world around us. In addition to being the home of its headquarters, Musagetes uses the space at Boarding House Arts to host a wide variety of public workshops, forums, discussions and events
Capacity 3 Gallery – A space for contemporary art that engages, experiments and takes risks. Located in a recently discovered lost space between the main floor and basement of Boarding House Arts. This non-commercial venue provides artists with a space to publicly display their work and engage with the community. Capacity 3 Gallery shows the works of emerging, mid-career and established artists showcasing both regional and national work. For more information about Boarding House Arts, contact [email protected].
