Ender Gallery: Minecraft Residency
Ender Gallery is an exhibition space and artist residency that exists inside the game Minecraft.
ABOUT THE RESIDENCY
Ender Gallery and the MacKenzie Art Gallery are partnering for an exciting new online initiative curated by Sarah Friend, Cat Bluemke, and Jonathan Carroll, existing entirely in Minecraft. We have four residencies planned for 2021. Each residency will be 2 months long, followed by a two month exhibition period and will pay an artist fee of $1,600 CAD.
Available residency periods are Mar-Apr, May-Jun, Jul-Aug, and Sept-Oct. Each resident will create an artwork/installation during that residency period that will be hosted on our server in a two-month public exhibition. Each exhibition will have one hosted opening, but can optionally include other events during other performances or exhibition tours.
The emergent possibilities within Minecraft are arguably as rich as some game engines, making it an exciting yet underexplored artistic medium. The possibilities include creating custom textures, shaders, maps, mods, minigames, live performance, and video works. While we encourage applicants to research these possibilities prior to submitting their proposal, the residency is open to applicants from outside the existing game community. The Ender gallery curatorial team will be available during the residency period to provide technical support and virtual studio visits.
While we love beautiful builds, we are interested especially in proposals that extend the possibilities of play, that bring elements from outside the game world to bear, or that consider the game as an expressive medium. The call is open to video, media, game, and performance artists who are interested in pushing the medium’s potential. For this residency tranche, we are particularly interested in proposals exploring Indigenous sovereignty, storytelling, simulation, colonialism, alternative economies, materiality, fandom, and digital ontologies – but we look forward to being surprised.
Ender Gallery and the MacKenzie Art Gallery are committed to maintaining an inclusive community that welcomes applications from persons of all genders, races, ages, and abilities. We are excited to read your proposals!
To Apply
Please email the following to by 31 January 2021
- Name, location, and preferred pronouns
- Preferred residency period (Mar-Apr, May-Jun, Jul-Aug, or Sept-Oct – we may not be able to provide your most preferred period, but will coordinate as best we can)
- CV (max 3 pages)
- Proposal for the residency (500 words max about what you would like to work on and why)
- Technical spec (300 words max outlining what technical support you may need, what you know is possible, any challenges you foresee)
- Online or PDF portfolio