Projects in Progress: Irving House Artist in Residence Pilot
The Irving House Artist in Residence Pilot was a partnership between Public Art and the City of New Westminster Museum & Archives. Two artists, Janet Wang and Holly Schmidt were invited to explore and experiment in response to the site and surroundings of the Irving House. Artists were encouraged to investigate the stories and narratives of one of British Columbia's oldest post-contact historic homes, and to engage in dialogues that deepen a shared understanding of the role of these sites in our current context.
The residency aims to support artists with time, space, resources to further their research, interests and overall artistic practice. It also seeks to generate new observations or perspectives, and facilitate meaningful and contemporary public art responses to the understanding of place and the overall context of Irving House.
Artists were invited to propose their own conceptual approaches to the residency that best meet the needs of their practice and initiate reciprocal exchanges with the areas' communities, museum and public art staff, and to share their thinking and working processes through public events/talks.
Artists for the 2023 pilot residency program were selected from the public art program Artist Roster.
This residency ran from June to October 2023.
The artists created temporary public art interventions that can be found on the grounds of the Irving House, on the windows of the adjacent annex building and inside the House. The artworks will be on display from April 2024 - April 2025.
Check out Holly Schmidt's Weeds of Cultivation on our Registry.
Check out Janet Wang's Arrangements and AR monuments on our Registry.
About the Artists:
Learn More:
Check out the Artist Talk from May 15, 2024 to learn about their research, experimentations, interventions as well as reflections on their on their time at the Irving House.
Photo credit: Rachel Topham Photography
