UCalgary Library announces new archival residency program

UCalgary Library staff have launched an application process for a student residency with Archives and Special Collections. The residency offers UCalgary students a chance to study and reflect on an artist's archives in a supportive, co-learning environment. 

"Archival notes provide unique insight into the creative process," explains Laura Reid, one of the grant's principal investigators. Students will use their research to create an artistic response to the archival materials in the format of their choosing (artwork, sound piece, text or multimedia). 

The program is funded for three years and will focus on a different Canadian artist each year. 

2024-2025 Residency #1: Norma Beecroft, composer and broadcaster
2025-2026 Residency #2: Edith Fowke, folklorist
2026-2027 Residency #3: Melvin Crump, influential Alberta jazz musician

For the first residency, the selected UCalgary student will spend time consulting Norma Beecroft's archives and create an artistic response to the materials. In addition to studying Beecroft's archives, students will have access to all of the materials in the Library's Archives and Special Collections to help build their response. 

The grant's principal investigators (Laura Reid, David Jones and Lelland Reed) are excited by the residency's potential to support a multi-faceted, student-driven project. "We are encouraging students from any discipline to apply, so we're excited to see what angle [the student brings] to the material." The residency's experimental process is "perfect for Norma Beecroft and a fitting tribute to her work."

Interested students are invited to join an online information session on May 16 at 12pm

Details of the residency are available here: 

The deadline to apply for the first residency is May 31, 2024. 

The program is funded by a Taylor Institute Teaching and Learning Grant