Writing, Editing, and Publishing Indigenous Stories

The Indigenous Storytellers and Spoken Word Residency pushes the parameters of traditional storytelling, while retaining the integrity of how stories come to be. Participants are immersed in in-depth writing practices involving visual, research, and meditative exploration, as well as Elder teaching and land-based outings.

These seven-week residential fellowship with on-campus housing, studio space, supplies allowance, library support, and travel reimbursement to and from SAR provides time for each author to explore new avenues of creativity and further develop their ideas.

This residency is designed to provide dedicated research time for Indigenous artists interested in working within a Municipal Government context and in pursuing public art as part of their practice. Working with and responding to the City of Calgary Municipal Complex and considering St. Dunstan’s Anglican School (1896-1907), the only residential school site in Calgary, artists are invited to bring Indigenous identities, histories, cultures, languages, traditions, principles, worldviews, relationships, and ways of knowing to these important sites.

The artist-in-residence program embeds local artists into different areas in Edmonton to engage with the community.

The VPL Indigenous Storyteller in Residence program was created in 2008 in recognition of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and the importance of oral storytelling as a way to learn about and from Indigenous communities in Vancouver. Through the storyteller in residence, VPL seeks to honour Indigenous cultures and to promote intercultural understanding and communication between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

This program will ignite Indigenous authors and artists focusing on young readers to delve into new ways of storytelling using digital illustration techniques. Through guidance from experienced faculty including recognized Indigenous authors, an illustrator, and a digital animator, participants will learn to lift a story off the page, texturize it, and animate elements of it to life.

Note: There is a fee associated with the residency.

The Indigenous Artist in Residence is awarded to a self-identified First Nations, Inuit, and/or Métis artist or artist teams working in any artistic discipline. Knowledge and understanding of the significant cultural heritage and legacy of Indigenous people, especially the rich histories, stories, and customs of Treaty 7 Nations and/or Métis Region 3 is preferred.