KOAC Artist in Residency
Kiyooka Ohe Arts Centre
Application Deadline: October 30, 2025
Location: Kiyooka Ohe Arts Centre (244034 Horizon View Road)
First Session (Winter/Spring): A period between December 1, 2025 and April 31, 2026
For more information and to apply visit form.jotform.com/KOAC_communications.
About the Artist in Residency Program
KOAC was established as a passion project by artists Harry Kiyooka and Katie Ohe in 2007 when they decided to offer their land and studio spaces to be transformed into a legacy art in nature park. KOAC holds charitable status with a vision to expand artist programming and workshops that inspire.
We officially launched our Artist in Residence program in 2020, hosting our first group of resident artists, featuring both sculptors and painters. These artists came seeking personal artistic growth and to be surrounded by the inspirational works of their peers in the beautiful natural setting of our twenty-acre outdoor sculpture park/nature reserve.
KOAC’s Artist in Residence program is a creation of our co-founder, Katie Ohe and inspired by her personal experience of growth as an artist. Having gained opportunities to expand her own art practice through artist residencies, Ohe recognizes the need for “concentrated spaces and time to resolve artistic ideas in a creative environment.” This Artist in Residence program allows artists of all levels, mediums and backgrounds to invest uninterrupted time in contemplation, research, exploration and discovery while spending time on the land and in nature.
Objectives
This program recognizes that physical spaces, time and the financial resources needed to create art are scarce, and these limitations constrain artists, preventing their work from reaching its full agentive potential. Situated near Calgary, with stunning views of the Rocky Mountains, the KOAC Artist in Residency Program aims to support a diverse range of artists each year to move their practice forward by providing a dedicated studio space for new exploration, inspiration, ideation and creation. Our Artist in Residence program cultivates a research and process-focused experience, facilitating artist work that otherwise may not have been realized. Artists in residence will work in a spacious, functional studio space, having opportunities to create, exhibit and document new works. Public engagement is a requirement of this residency, and artists applying will be expected to provide a plan for one public engagement activity with their application.
What to Expect
KOAC’s Artist in Residence Program provides artists at all levels access to studio space within our 20 acre art centre for research, art production, experimentation.
The program’s length is flexible and developed in close conversation with each selected Resident Artist, typically lasting between 4 and 12 weeks. While the duration proposed in your application is not guaranteed, your requested timeframe will be taken into consideration. Resident Artists are supported in sharing their work with the public and engaging with the local community through an artist talk, workshop, or other public event, as well as in connecting with KOAC’s longstanding community of art supporters.
To learn more, please visit the Jotform link above or read on our website at koartscentre.org/artist-in-residence-program.
Visit our website at koartscentre.org.
