Open call: Labrador Current Foodways

Fogo Island Arts is delighted to announce an open call for a new residency exploring the interconnectedness of food with our histories, ecologies, economies, politics, and social worlds. Fogo Island is geographically located within the Labrador Current, a section of the Atlantic being monitored closely by scientists as an indicator of climate change, but also, one which has considerable consequences for the whole of the Atlantic region. 

The sub-arctic maritime climate and socio-political history of Fogo Island provide fertile grounds for extensive research and practice related to its foodways. From the early history of the Beothuk people for whom Fogo Island was a key summer fishing and hunting station, to the arrival of settler-colonial populations for the island’s maritime connections, to its development as an outport community of fishermen, to the Canadian government’s 1992 moratorium on cod fishing, the relationship with the plant and animal world has always been at the heart of the island’s identity. Today, with the introduction of moose and caribou from the mainland, farming practices spanning from aquaculture to agriculture, the foraging of local berries reliant on the local bee population—one that is currently free of the mite affecting larger bee populations around the world, and the ongoing importance of fermentation and preservation in the North Atlantic climate, the opportunities for research abound. The relationship with the plant and animal world has always been at the heart of the island’s identity, and the selected residents will be interested in exploring these past and future connections further. 

The residency is intended to provide a unique set of experiences that the resident will be able to incorporate meaningfully into a new or existing project or body of research. Residents will be invited to work closely with Chef Timothy Charles, a founding member of the Kitchen team at Fogo Island Inn who believes in tapping into our heritage to create a better future, and who loves working with the vast natural larder at the Inn’s doorstep. 

Residencies
This residency will provide an opportunity for an artist, curator, writer, farmer, chef, food historian, forager, eater, or researcher to live and work on Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada for a period of up to three months. A research stipend of 2,000 CAD per month will be provided to support a new or existing project for the selected resident(s). 

Alongside the research grant, the resident will be provided with accommodation, including a domestic kitchen and limited commercial kitchen supplies, as well as a vehicle on Fogo Island. All travel expenses will be covered. 

Residents will have access to: scheduled use of Fogo Island Inn’s kitchens; assistance in sourcing and purchasing product; orienting to local producers, harvesters; and the possibility of sub-contracting the kitchen team.

Residents will be encouraged to give one public presentation, performance, workshop, or similar event during their residency in Fogo Island.

Application criteria
Applications are welcome from practitioners working in a wide range of disciplines including visual art, film, writing, farming, cooking, curating, design, and theory.

Due to the limited size of FIA studios and houses, applications are accepted from individual practitioners [or duos/groups who are comfortable sharing accommodation only]. In the case of a duo or groups, individual travel will be covered and all other residency costs (travel budget, stipend, etc.) will be shared between members. 

Applicants should consider the unique circumstances under which Fogo Island Arts carries out its programs, on a remote island with limited amenities.

Successful candidates will be responsible for acquiring the necessary visas and driver’s license permissions, Fogo Island Arts will help facilitate this process. 

Applicants should provide
–Portfolio/link to a website
–A short letter of motivation addressing how a residency would provide a meaningful experience for the applicant’s practise/research and how they would contribute to research into foodways of the Labrador Current through their proposed project (500 words max). 
–CV
–Name and contact info of one referee (no letter required) 

Sent to: info [​at​] fogoislandarts.ca 

The application deadline is January 31, 2022 at 12pm EST. 

Residency period
Ongoing throughout the year, residents will be invited to stay on Fogo Island for a period of six weeks, up to three months. 

Selection process
One candidate will be selected by a jury which includes founding member of the Kitchen team at Fogo Island Inn, Chef Timothy Charles; Innkeeper and Founder of Shorefast, Zita Cobb; FIA Adjunct Researcher, Claire Shea; as well as FIA Strategic Director Nicolaus Schafhausen as jury chair.