RESIDENCY OVERVIEW & APPLICATION GUIDELINES

 

The Ironbound Creative Residency (ICR) is currently accepting applications for the summer 2022 season 

(July 16 – Sept 31, 2022). The deadline for receipt of applications is May 1, 2022, at 11:59pm Atlantic Time.

ICR’s goal with this pilot season is to enable a diversity of creative individuals to explore and connect with nature on West Ironbound Island and to share their experience with others.

This self-directed residency provides an opportunity for selected individuals (“Residents”) to immerse themselves in their work in a comfortable, inspiring, remote, off-grid setting.

NOTE: West Ironbound Island and its cabin are protected, maintained, and owned by the Kingsburg Coastal Conservancy (KCC). ICR is deeply grateful for KCC’s support of the creative residency program.

ELIGIBILITY

ICR invites applications from residents of Canadian Maritime Provinces who are emerging and established artists, scientists, and social innovators of all disciplines and who are interested in exploring how their work intersects with the sights, sounds, and spirit of the island’s unique habitat. Diversity and inclusion are core values of ICR; we encourage creative individuals who identify as members of historically underserved groups to apply.

The cabin is off the grid, without running water, though well-served by solar panels and a strong cell phone signal. As the island is uninhabited (except for sheep and other fauna), applicants should be comfortable with remote conditions (please see “What to Expect on West Ironbound Island” before applying).

Currently, there are significant accessibility issues for those with mobility challenges.

SETTING

Located near LaHave, off the tip of Gaff Point on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, West Ironbound Island is an extraordinarily beautiful and geologically significant island. While uninhabited, the island includes one artfully restored 850-sq-ft cabin (where ICR Residents stay). The island is also home to a flock of sheep managed by a farmer who visits intermittently. The island environment offers ocean vistas, sandy beaches, coves for swimming and seal-watching, an intricate network of sheep-trails, dramatic pyritic-shale cliffs, grasslands and meadows full of berries, and sculptural tree formations. The rich bird, fish, and marine life surrounding the island is nurtured by the special conditions created by the Scotia Shelf, the warm Gulf Stream, and frigid Labrador currents.

LOGISTICS

The residencies last for one week and are self-directed (neither ICR volunteers nor anyone else resides on the island, though an ICR volunteer liaison is available 24/7 by phone or email). There is no fee required from applicants/residents.

Individual (one-person) residencies are not permitted for safety reasons. Each week’s residency will accommodate two Residents in the island’s cabin (which has two bedrooms and shared living/working space). Residents are encouraged to apply jointly, though may pursue their individual work or collaborate on a shared project while on the island. If you are offered a residency as an individual, ICR will match you to another individual being offered a residency.

Due to sheep and other fauna on the island, no pets are allowed.

Residents will be taken by motorboat (about a half-hour trip) to the island. Residents are responsible for bringing all needed food, bedding, as well as personal and work supplies for the week (ICR will provide a suggested packing list). At the end of the residency, Residents are transported back to the mainland.

COMMUNITY: Sharing of Your Work

In the year after their residency, ICR Residents are encouraged to share some of their island work or experiences with the broader public. ICR will work with Residents to find suitable opportunities to do this, including hosting an event on the mainland (either indoor or outdoor, taking Covid into consideration).

With this public part of the program, ICR’s goals are to facilitate the sharing of the sights, sounds and spirit of West Ironbound's spectacular unspoiled habitat with the community at large, and to celebrate and support KCC's ongoing nature conservancy efforts.

EQUITY VALUES

ICR is committed to offering a space that is free of racism, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, misogyny, classism, ageism, or other bias. We expect all ICR volunteers and residents to treat each other with kindness and respect, to use considerate and inclusive language, and to respect both boundaries as well as beliefs that may be different than one’s own.

ADJUDICATION

ICR, in collaboration with representation from its collaborating organizations, will adjudicate applications for this pilot residency program. Criteria for judging the applications include:

• examples of past work (written, graphic, or other representations that convey your work to date – see #5 in “HOW TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION” for guidelines), 40%
• potential for residency having positive impact on the applicant’s work, 20%
• applicant’s desire & ability to interact with the natural environment of Ironbound, 20%
• potential to become part of a diverse group of resident alumnae who will share their Ironbound experiences with their broader communities, 20%

NOTIFICATION

Applicants will hear during the first week of June (at latest) about the decision made on their application.