The Jr. Fellowship program at Artengine was designed to support recently graduated BFA students from student life into the next chapter of their creative journey. For different people this can mean many things; exploring the workforce, furthering your education in the arts, applying for grants, perhaps even taking a step back from the academic requirements that you are no longer bound to.
How To Make the Most of Your Time as a Jr. Fellow #
Firstly, take a short break. You are likely still on the heels of finishing your final project for the BFA. If the summer was a long enough break that is great! If you are still feeling overwhelmed by the idea of jumping back into creative waters, consider wading in slowly.
- Determine what you want from your creative practice and your relationship to it.
- This is obviously difficult and something you have probably been wrestling with throughout your BFA. The Jr. Fellowship program allows you lower stakes experience with discovering what that is. For example, do you want to use your creativity in your career? Do you want to continue learning about the arts and deciding where your academic career should go? Do you want to break free of both of these things and lean into your practice as a tool for expression and see where that takes you?
- Some ways you can explore these things:
- Recreate a project from your BFA you feel could have been improved on. Take the time to properly document it with artengine’s resources.
- Take the time to properly document a fully realized project that you did not have the time/capacity to properly document.
- Interested in accademia? What kind? Ask for resources. Likely we know someone we can connect you with to give the kind of advice you are looking for.
- Consider building a skill for the workforce. Coding, video editing, lighting production, set design, curation, graphic design (anything you feel you did not get the time to properly realize during your BFA)
- Use resources at artengine to create and document a fully realized portfolio ready for the workforce.
Case Study: #
Annika Walsh #
Annika’s time during the Jr. Fellowship was a great example of utilizing the resources at your disposal.
Residency with Prince Edward County
- applied to artist residency during the school year, did the residency in August
- At the residency Annika brought camera, recording hardware, tools from Artengine
- There was a deliverable required after the residency Annika created the art piece at artengine (and at uottawa)
- Annika came up with the idea in 4th year and had previously created this project however The rendition made in artengine was the best rendition.
- Assemblage of the Croquembouche at artengine
- Facility was used to document. This was not a new piece but the equipment and support was used to properly document a piece that was pre concieved.
- since this the documentation has been used several times for applications but also for speaking conferences and presentations.
Flower Project with Lazer cutter
- Someone at a conference ate annikas Croquembouche and commissioned annika to make a piece for the queer ecologies conference.
- used the lazer cutter in artengine cutting pine and leather and materials.
- Artengine commission. Annika acquired a volunteer studio assistant through artengine and created a piece for the TV that was created by a fellow. Making a work about how a soup is like a computer.
- They also paid Jackson which was awesome.
Panel Discussion Food studies undergrad textbook
- During Annika’s 4th year in the BFA, they worked with 3 food studies professors and researchers on an undergraduate food studies textbook.
- Annika had 8 works featured throughout the textbook
- The editors and Annika presented this textbook at the Authors Meets Readers event at Irene’s pub, a monthly event hosted by Carleton University
Application to UBC
- The majority of the application was made at artengine at the computer and using the space for focused alone time.
- Annika’s degree is a Master of Science in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems