Art in the County – Call for Submissions – Presented by the Prince Edward County Arts Council, Art in the County is a juried art exhibition and sale that showcases high quality works of art by Prince Edward County artists and artisans in a wide range of media, including watercolour, acrylic, oil, and encaustic paintings, sculpture, textiles, wood, photography, ceramics, glass, and more. The 32nd annual edition will take place at the County Arts Lab June 27th – July 13th, 2025, and will be simultaneously presented online at artinthecounty.com. Artists who are residents or ratepayers of Prince Edward County and are County Arts Artist Members in good standing are eligible to apply to this year’s show. The deadline for submitting the registration form, image(s) and payment is Friday, June 13th at 12 PM. Visit artinthecounty.com/apply to read eligibility requirements and conditions. Artists will be required to drop off artwork at the County Arts Lab on Saturday, June 21st.
The exhibition will be curated by Kelly Kyle & Sonja Scharf of Akasha Art Projects and Jim Turner of 2gallery. Jurors are solely responsible for the show’s content, as well as selecting one Jurors’ Choice Award and three Honorable Mention Awards. Show organizers are thrilled to announce the three award-winning artists and curator who will serve as jurors: Jim Bravo, Painter and Muralist (Toronto), Nicole Collins, Interdisciplinary Artist & Associate Professor of Material and Visual Culture in the Drawing & Painting program at the Ontario College of Art & Design University (Toronto), and Michelle LaVallee, Director of Indigenous Ways and Decolonization Department and Curatorial Initiatives at the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa).
County Arts’ Professional Development Grants – Applications are now open for this year’s Professional Development Grants Program. This program’s objective is to support artists as they advance their career through learning / skills-building and market development activities. The maximum grant request amount is $1000. There is no deadline. Grants will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis until the fund is depleted. More info here.
Melt Studio + Gallery – Rental Gallery Opportunities – Melt Studio + Gallery currently has two rental galleries available for rent to artists for solo exhibitions for a flat base rental fee ranging from $700-750 + HST: the FOCUS and FORMAT galleries. These project rooms provide and cultivate a supportive environment for artists to showcase work in an inexpensive gallery space. Melt Gallery will provide the gallery attendant, handle client inquiries and transactions and promote the Artist’s work on their website and social media platforms. Duo exhibitions are considered on a per case basis and are subject to an extra surcharge on the rental fee. Any sales made during the duration of the exhibition will not be subject to commission. There is no fee to submit. Click here to learn more.
The SHED STUDIO – Call for Fibre Artists – The SHED STUDIO at Chetwyn Farms is a new 350 square foot space within the established SHED shop. With a focus on fibre arts, Chetwyn Farms offers visitors viewing of alpaca in the fields, a farm-stay cottage, workshops and special events. Open daily May through December, the STUDIO space is available on weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis, suited to be an artist studio, for pop-up sales, a gallery or exhibition space, a workshop or educational programming space, or a space for marketing or visitor engagement/trials. Fibre or textile related preferred (cloth, yarn, paper, wood, etc.,) and or other mediums that relate to fibre, farm-life, animals etc. Click here to view the full call for artists. Contact chetwynfarms@gmail.com for more information.
A Path Forward – Call for Submissions – A Path Forward is seeking applications from Indigenous Artists for both permanent and revolving artwork in this evolving multi-disciplinary physical and virtual art exhibit developed in partnership between The Tsi Tyónnheht Onkwawén:na Language & Cultural Centre (TTO), the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, and Macaulay Heritage Park. Artists may apply online here or contact TTO at events@kenhteke.org for an application or for more information.
The Poetry Barn – 2025 Residency – The Poetry Barn in Prince Edward County is accepting applications from poets for their 1-week 2025 residency. Successful applicants will stay in a century farmhouse nestled into the rural countryside along Lake Consecon. The fee is $400/week and includes a bedroom, studio and shared kitchen. With lush landscaped gardens and the iconic Poetry Barn there is plenty of natural beauty here to inspire creative projects. Send a direct message to @thepoetrybarnpec on Instagram for the full application package.
Art Flow with Community Living Prince Edward – Visual Art Facilitator Call – We are recruiting two Visual Artists to facilitate a series of participatory workshops as part of Art Flow, a new project being carried out through a partnership between County Arts and Community Living Prince Edward. Art Flow will engage up to 10 participants aged 18+ in a total of 8 visual art workshops. 5 participants will join us from CLPE’s Youth in Transition program. To support the Youth in Transition program’s aim to help young people with an intellectual disability make a smooth transition from high school to life as an adult in the community, the other 5 spots will be open to other community members. The project runs from February-May 2025, and the extended deadline to apply is January 13th, 2025. A huge thank you to 100 People Who Care PEC, whose support will allow us to deliver this program for free! Click here to view the full Call for Applications and access the application form.
County Arts Artists in the Community Grant – Applications are now being accepted for County Arts’ Artists in the Community Grant, to assist artist members in realizing a community-based art projects that will directly engage residents. The total annual amount to be awarded in this program is $2500. Application deadline is October 1st, 2024 for projects taking place before April 15th, 2025. To learn more and apply, visit countyarts.ca/funding.
County Arts Lab – Artist Instructor Calls – We regularly run intake periods for our County Arts Lab community programming. Questions? Please reach out to Sarah Burtscher, Programs Manager, at sarah@countyarts.ca.
The Maker’s Hand Show & Sale – Call for Artists – This year marks The Maker’s Hand’s 20th anniversary! This signature County Arts event is happening November 8th-10th, 2024 at Lehigh Arena in Wellington. Artists working in fine craft and fine art are invited to apply. Booth walls will be provided to all exhibitors in 2024 (hard walls for fine artists in the Rotary Room and pipe and drape walls for artisans in Highline Hall, except in the 5′ x 5′ booth category). Deadline to apply to the second round is July 15th, 2024. For more information and to fill out the application, visit themakershand.com.
County Arts – Indigenous Voices Fund Grants Program – We have run two rounds of applications (in 2023 and 2024) for our Indigenous Voices Fund Grants Program. Learn more on the Indigenous Voices Fund page.
Drake Devonshire x County Arts Artist Residency Program – Since 2023, we have have collaborated with the Drake Devonshire Hotel in Wellington to offer 2-3 night artist residencies in January, February and March including free accommodation for one guest, a Drake contra card to be used onsite for food valued at $55 per day, and access to the property. The call generally runs in the fall (the application period for the 2025 residencies has now passed).
County Arts Artist Residency Program – We run an annual Artist Residency program at the County Arts Lab, generally in the month of January. The successful candidate receives 1-month access to the County Arts Lab and related amenities and a $500 honorarium. For more information about the program, visit our Artist Residency page.
County Arts Mentorship Program – In summer and fall 2023 we ran Calls for Mentors and Mentees for our first Mentorship Program, which offers 25 hours of mentorship from October 2023-March 2024. Learn more at countyarts.ca/mentorship.
County Arts Lab – Artist Instructor Call – We regularly issue Calls for Artist Instructors to run paid programming at the County Arts Lab. Courses in all artistic mediums are welcomed, including but not limited to visual arts, dance, music, writing, and more. We especially encourage non-visual artists to submit proposals, and accept proposals for both beginner and intermediate level visual arts course/workshops.
County Arts – Call for Facilitators – Healing Through Art – We are recruiting 2 Visual Artists to facilitate a series of participatory workshops for the individuals and families supported through Hospice Prince Edward’s Grief and Bereavement services. Click to view the full Call for Facilitators.
Murals and Public Art 101 Training – In February 2023, we collaborated with our community partner Base 31 to deliver a 2-day training for 14 local artists by Artists Chrissy Poitras and Meaghan Kehoe entitled Murals and Public Art 101.
Do You Belong Here Community-Engaged Art Mural Project in partnership with local youth – Run in partnership with the ROC (Recreation Outreach Centre), this initiative brings together local youth and 4 Artist Facilitators to work on a community-engaged art project. Teams of Youth Artists and Artist Facilitators are co-designing and painting 4 large plywood posters along the theme of “Belonging”, which will be affixed to the tennis court fence in Picton’s Benson Park from May-August 2023. Each Artist Facilitator is awarded a $3000 50-hour contract. The You Belong Here project is made possible thanks to a Canada Healthy Communities Initiative grant from Community Foundations of Canada / Government of Canada.
Nature’s Aviators – PEC Partners Inc and County Arts share a commitment to expanding opportunities for artists to create and showcase their work to new audiences. We collaborated on a Call for Submissions in spring 2022 as part of PEC Partners’ revitalization and restoration efforts at the former Camp Picton (now Base 31) with a strong focus on creative placemaking. 6 paintings were commissioned to help beautify a section of the facade of the former Officer’s Quarters. Click to view a PDF of this Call for Submissions.
The Maker’s Hand – The application period for vendors for our annual The Maker’s Hand fine craft show, set to take place at Highline Hall in Wellington, Ontario from November 11th-13th, 2022, is now closed. Please email makershand@countyarts.ca to join our artist mailing list for updates on our 2023 show.
Art Together Facilitators – We recruited 4 Visual Arts Facilitators to run our new Art Together drop-in art-making pilot project at the County Arts Lab. Learn more about the program on our Art for Well-Being page.
Sunflowers for Ukraine Silent Auction – In October 2022, we invited artists to donate sunflower-themed artworks for a silent art auction run in partnership with The County Museums. The auction is running throughout the month of November 2022, both in person at Macaulay Church Museum and online at https://app.galabid.com/sunflowers-ukraine/items. See the Call here.
