The most recent Canadian recipient of the coveted Glenfiddich Artist Residency was lately introduced at an occasion in Toronto. It was the nineteenth yr that the residency, which takes place over three months within the Scottish highlands close to Dufftown, was awarded in Canada.
Annually a choose group of artists chosen from everywhere in the world is invited to dwell and work within the scenic distillery. They’re chosen based mostly on a proposal that comes with each their creative observe and the place itself.
Within the crowd on the announcement occasion, there have been artists like Jon Sasaki, whose submission received in 2015. Like Sasaki and lots of others, the 2024 recipient, Julie Forgues, fell in love with the place, and returned to Glenfiddich after the residency was over, spending a complete of about 10 months on the distillery. Many described the expertise as profession altering and life-changing, and it made for a familial ambiance.
Dave Dyment was the 2008 Canadian Artists in Residence Prize recipient, and he’s been a member of the choice jury panel for this system ever since. “It was a genuinely life altering expertise,” he stated in his remarks.
The Glenfiddich distillery continues to be owned by the Grant-Gordon household after 5 generations. The artist residency program grew out of the household’s need to begin an artwork assortment. As an alternative of shopping for from galleries and auctions, they needed to ask the artists to create on their beautiful property and historic services, and foster a way of neighborhood with them.
Andy Fairgrieve has been the Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Program Curator since its inception in 2002. “It’s at all times an effective way to carry again a neighborhood of mates,” he stated on the Toronto occasion on April 15. “It’s actually simply an inspiring place.”
Right here’s a have a look at the Canadian artists in this system in 2024 and 2025.
Julie Forgues
“Final yr, I couldn’t imagine that I used to be right here, that I used to be chosen,” stated artist Julie Forgues on the announcement reception.
Julie Forgues relies in New Brunswick. She obtained a bachelor’s diploma from the Université de Moncton, adopted by a grasp’s diploma from Carleton College. At present, she is a professor of pictures within the Division of Visible Arts on the Université de Moncton, and was head of the division from 2016 till 2023. Her work has been broadly exhibited, and she or he has participated in different residencies in in China, Eire, and Japan.
In her artist’s assertion, she says, “By way of the photographic picture, I discover how the in-between in a panorama is a spot in itself, a blurry lieu between what was (area) and what shall be (place).”
That basically describes her strategy to the Glenfiddich residency, which was based mostly on the thought of the “angel’s share”. That phrase refers back to the mixture of alcohol and water that escapes from the whiskey barrel because the spirits age. It’s about 1% or 2% in a cool local weather, like that of Scotland. Her sequence, titled Go away some for the angels, depart some to the mercy of stillness, imagines what type that escaping essence would take.
To that finish, she created a sequence of gelatin silver prints developed onto Grant bottles, and in a second sequence, nailed on items of charred whisky barrel wooden.
“The photographs themselves have been developed with whisky,” she explains. Particularly, Glenfiddich 12.
The fascinatingly detailed photos seize the historic distillery, its equipment and atmosphere.
On reaching the distillery, the place artists dwell in their very own cabins, and are provided with supplies to make use of of their work, Julie’s first thought was to get acquainted with the place. She says she’d take walks across the premises within the evenings after the employees had gone dwelling.
“Step-by-step, it grew to become my place.” The photographs seize its essence. “What I needed to transpose with these [images] are the tales, the histories.”
As she factors out, the barrels themselves have a type of reminiscence; the whiskies distilled for 12, 18, 21 years and past depart their very own traces within the wooden.
And, it appears, the place and expertise left a mark on her too.
“I felt like I left a bit of myself in Scotland.”
Alex Morrison
Born in Redruth, UK, artist Alex Morrison lives and works in Vancouver, the place he was raised. His work has been broadly exhibited all through British Columbia, at White Columns (New York), La Plage (Paris), and the Walter Phillips Gallery (Banff), amongst others. His drawings, work, movies, sculptures and installations have been collected by the Nationwide Gallery of Canada, the Artwork Gallery of Ontario, the Vancouver Artwork Gallery, Musée d’Artwork Contemporain de Montréal, Museum Abteiberg (Germany), Zabludowicz Assortment (London), and different private and non-private collections.
His creative observe is anxious with subcultures, home structure and its historical past, civic areas, activism, rebel, and avant-garde aesthetics, and sometimes critques Modernism.
In his introduction, Andy Fairgrieve talked about that he’d been drawn to the visuals included with Morrison’s proposal. By the way, it was the second time that Morrison had utilized for the residency. Fairgrieve acknowledged that it was a mark of the standard of the submissions they obtain, and the problem the judges can have in making their remaining selections.
Fantastic artwork, subculture, and folks idioms are sometimes mixed in his works. Morrison’s proposal revolves across the thought of humanism in an industrial setting, pinpointing particular parts of the distillery’s structure.
His plans name for an architectural design case examine to discover the twin nature of a few of the particular options of the distillery, people who have a practical in addition to an ornamental objective, together with the rooftop pagodas designed by architect Charles Doig, creator of the Doig Ventilator (1889). His Ventilator system was adopted by the native distilleries in Speyside.
Morrison’s supposed result’s to create a design with a repeating sample that may very well be used for textiles, wallpaper or packaging design. In his remarks, he talked about bridging the hole between artwork and branding, utilizing a few of the Glenfiddich symbolism.
“I’m simply enthusiastic about what we are able to do collectively,” he stated of his coming journey.
The 2026 Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Program
The parameters of this system stipulate that the proposed work integrates some facet of the Glenfiddich distillery and atmosphere, but it surely’s a mistake to focus solely on that, as Julie Forgues explains.
“Take into consideration an thought that’s embedded in your observe,” she advises future candidates. Then, hyperlink your observe to the place.
“No matter occurs, it’s at all times attention-grabbing,” Andy Fairgrieve remarked.
Visible artists can be careful for purposes for the 2026 Artists in Residence program, that are scheduled to open in December 2025.
- Discover extra particulars [HERE].
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Anya Wassenberg is a Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. She is an skilled freelance author, blogger and writing teacher.