Supporting Artists to Make Art
The Comox Valley Art Gallery is committed to supporting research, creation, presentation, collaboration, dissemination of contemporary art and cultural practice. We provides space to engage in arts-based research, activations, creative exploration of materials and process, community engagement and concept development through our multiple residency programs.
CVAG Curated Residency Program
The Comox Valley Art Gallery Curated Residency Program was established out of a desire to provide extended research and site-specific production opportunities for artists, collaborators and curators presenting within the gallery’s convergent programs. This program supports deep and sustained artistic practice by facilitating meaningful relationships between artists and the local community + site-specific research, providing working and living spaces, hosting artist talks, and curatorial consultations to support + develop works for exhibition.
Accommodations are provided for participating artists at CVAG’s artist residence CVAG Next Door and through a collaborative relationship with the McLoughlin Gardens Society.
This opportunity is extended by invitation to artists who have been accepted for participation in programming at CVAG.
CVAG Independent Studio Program
CVAG Next Door Residency: an independent creative research residency opportunity for deep and sustained artistic inquiry during periods that are two – six weeks in length. Participants cover residence-related costs. This opportunity is open to artists and curators engaged in contemporary interdisciplinary art practice.
Incubators at CVAG: support artists, students and community with the opportunity to conduct research and to collaborate and engage with other artists/ students / wider community, as they develop their creative concepts and works-in-process. CVAG provides support for the hands-on experience of preparing small exhibitions of individual and collaborative projects that reach presentation readiness.
Project Room Studio: opportunities that occur throughout the CVAG spaces and offer artists dedicated time to do their work. Projects may be stand-alone or woven into the gallery’s thematic programming as preparatory inquiry and development for future exhibition work. Occasionally, artists will open their space to the community either informally or for specific events.
Inquiries about these opportunities are welcomed. Please write to curator@comoxvalleyartgallery.com.
Independent Studio Submission Guidelines
Submission Components:
- Your contact information (mailing address, email address, daytime phone number)
- A single page that includes the following:
- Your approach to creative research and concept development and how you would like to further this during the residency
- How you expect the residency will benefit your artistic inquiry and practice
- Your plans for public/community engagement if you anticipate this being a part of your residency
- Your interest in the residency being located in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island
- Preferred length and dates for residency (give first and second choice preferences)
- Current CV (maximum 3 pages)
- Up to 10 images of recent artwork (may include multiple viewpoints of one artwork) with brief
descriptions including title, date, etc. (alternatively, links that direct us to specific pages of your
website may be embedded in your PDF submission)
NOTE: Please compile all components into a single PDF that is small enough to be sent by email.
CVAG encourages digital submissions:
- Email digital submissions to curator@comoxvalleyartgallery.com
- Subject line: CVAG Independent Studio Submission 2026
Please write to request an information package by emailing curator@comoxvalleyartgallery.com.
The Wachiay Residency
The Wachiay Residency is hosted at Wachiay Studio, a professional screen printing facility located inside the Wachiay Friendship Centre, an Indigenous-led community organization. The goal of this residency is to amplify the voices of remote community-based artists. Each week of residency will see two to five artists both from the region and from across Canada to share the studio and create projects of their choice.
This opportunity offers artists at all stages of practice to experience printing on paper, fabric, or any other flat surface using the magic of screen printing. Screen printing is a printmaking process which uses a fine mesh screen to transfer layers of ink onto paper or another surface. Each colour is printed in a separate layer and lined up exactly with the layers underneath. In an ever-expanding digital world, making art by hand provides the opportunity to connect more deeply to the creative process.
Free studio space, accommodation, needed supplies, and the technical training and assistance, and supplies are provided to the Wachiay Residency artists thanks to support from the Canada Council for the Arts, Wachiay Studio, and the Comox Valley Art Gallery. This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to community-based, inclusive art practices.
Following each annual Wachiay Residency program, CVAG presents an exhibition of the work by the artists-in-residence.
Visit Wachiay Studio’s website or check CVAG’s social media for announcements about the upcoming calls for submissions and how to apply for the next Wachiay Residency.
Accommodations
Accommodations are provided for participating artists at CVAG’s artist residence CVAG Next Door and at the McLoughlin Gardens seaside studio residence.
CVAG Next Door: CVAG provides comfortable accommodation in the downtown district of Courtenay, BC (located steps away from CVAG) to CVAG Curated Residency artists, CVAG Independent Studio artists, and Wachiay Residency artists. The CVAG Next Door residence includes a working space, and artists-in-residence have access to the CVAG toolshed.
McLoughlin Gardens Seaside Studio Residence: through a collaborative relationship with the McLoughlin Gardens Society, CVAG Curated Residency artists may be offered accommodation at the beautiful seaside cabin at the McLoughlin Gardens in Merville, BC, during the summertime.
The Gallery Spaces
CVAG’s exhibition spaces include the South Gallery, George Sawchuk Gallery, Window + Plaza Media Gallery, Gather⋮Place, and Community Gallery.
View the Comox Valley Art Gallery Floor Plan.
Previous Residencies
View our archives to learn about our previous artists-in-residence:
The Wachiay Residency – Year 1: Spinning and Unraveling
The Wachiay Residency – Year 2: Fierce Transformation
Curated Residencies (NOTE: this Archive is Not Up-to-Date)
Independent Residencies (NOTE: this Archive is Not Up-to-Date)