Patio Press, a virtual residency begun during the early days of lockdown by artists and ECU faculty members Sara-Jeanne Bourget and Mark Johnsen, has partnered with Emily Carr University to launch a fellowship for undergraduate students.

The project¡¯s call for applications opened Sept. 5, with three fellowships currently up for grabs to students interested in printmaking. Applicants are asked to send in their project proposals, including a sketch, by Sept. 25.

The fellowship will operate on the same model developed by Sara-Jeanne and Mark for their Patio Press remote residency.

¡°Basically, we created a small printmaking studio on our patio, and started experimenting with what we had at close proximity, or what we found in the street during our walks,¡± says Sara-Jeanne.

¡°It evolved into a residency where we invited artists to participate and send us their plates so we could print them. It is a win-win situation, as we are learning from every printing experience we have with the variety of plates we received, and artists get a free edition of prints.¡±

Students who participate in the Patio Press x Emily Carr Fellowship will likewise receive a free print edition; the costs of other materials, including linoleum and woodblock printing plates, paper and packaging will also be covered, says Sara-Jeanne. The Patio Press virtual gallery spaces will showcase the finished work of participants, while a print from each edition will be included in the special collections archive at the Emily Carr library.

Sara-Jeanne notes that the Patio Press initiative has helped her, Mark and residency participants forge new paths for art-making during the pandemic ¡ª a lesson she¡¯s keen on sharing with emerging artists at ECU.

¡°This project was key to understanding ¡®working online¡¯: how to collaborate online; how to keep connected with the community online; how to work from home; and what materials are accessible,¡± she says.

¡°Mark and I found ourselves craving connection with others, and wanting to (physically) see the work of our peers. This is also what I hear from students: they are missing seeing the work, interacting in the hallway after class, chatting together, forming community.¡±

Remote collaboration, she says, is a perfect way to make those connections, and to reflect more broadly on the nature of artistic agency.

¡°Both Patio Press and teaching online has made me realize that collaboration is so important and at the base of each of our practices,¡± she says.

You can find details on how to apply at Patio Press¡¯ website, where you can also find a gallery of works by artists who¡¯ve participated in the residency over the past six months. You can also see a gallery of works on Patio Press¡¯ Instagram.

To download a PDF with further details about the fellowship, click on the "Patio Press x ECU Fellowship" button, below.