Event Venue
Saint John, NB E2L 5B2, Canada
THIRD SHIFT is an annual festival of public contemporary artworks that takes place in Saint John, New Brunswick and online. THIRD SHIFT 2021 will take place from August 19 – 22, 2021.
Theme: TRAVERSE
When we are having these calls it is important that all applicants think about their relationship to the land; THIRD SHIFT offers an opportunity to re-imagine and engage with the natural and built environment in what we now know as Saint John. The land on which THIRD SHIFT takes place is the unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Wolastoqiyik and Mi’kmaq Peoples. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship” which Wolastoqiyik and Mi’kmaq Peoples first signed with the British crown in 1725. The treaties did not deal with the surrender of lands and resources but, in fact, recognized Indigenous sovereign title and established the rules for what was to be an ongoing, equitable, reciprocal, and respectful relationship between nations—a relationship that Third Space strives to uphold. We have an ongoing commitment to center Indigenous leadership and artistic expertise and we aim to foster meaningful relationships with Indigenous-led community groups through our festival.
To learn more about Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages, the Native Land Interactive Map is a great resource and educational tool: https://native-land.ca/
FESTIVAL PRIORITIES
We encourage proposals that reflect Third Space’s objectives as an alternative, non-commercial, contemporary artist-run centre.
We encourage applicants working in all mediums to apply.
We encourage emerging artists, creatives, arts workers, makers, to apply — even if you have never made art in a formal capacity before, you are welcome.
We aim to support efforts that are exploratory, challenging and critical in nature.
We encourage applicants to propose projects that have not yet been realized as well as investigations that have been started or completed elsewhere.
COMPENSATION
Third Space will be paying successful applicants in accordance with the 2021 CARFAC fee schedule ($360 for an individual, $600 for a collective).
A few successful applicants will be selected to present an artist talk or workshop in conjunction with their project. An additional CARFAC fee will be paid to selected applicants.
Limited production funds will be available in addition to the applicable CARFAC fees. Amounts will depend on Third Space’s financial resources for the festival. Funding requirements must be outlined in your proposal.
ACCESSIBILITY
THIRD SHIFT takes place in various off-site locations. Third Space is committed to organizing a barrier-free festival and will work with applicants to select project locations that meet their access requirements.
Third Space can arrange for closed captioning, ASL interpretation, translation of artworks at the applicant’s request, or any other accessibility requirement up to $150. Please indicate if you expect to utilize one or more of these services in your proposal, or if you require access to accessibility funds.
Third Space will also accept proposals via phone, video, or audio file. if email or text-based format is not accessible to the applicant. Please get in touch via email or give us a call.
Application assistance is also available upon request – one of our volunteers would be happy to help you through the process! Please get in touch via email or give us a call.
You may submit your application in English or in French. Please note that the selections process will take place in English, so your application will be translated.
2021 THEME: TRAVERSE
We are thrilled to announce that for the first time ever, THIRD SHIFT will have a theme!
“Traverse” means to travel across or through. It refers to movement, space, and change. For THIRD SHIFT 2021, we encourage projects that transcend boundaries, create intersections, relate to space and/or movement, or that exist at the margins. Boundaries can be physical or conceptual, real or imagined. Intersections can exist between different media, opposing concepts, or disparate places. “Traverse” can also be interpreted as traversing time, between past and future, or space, between the digital and physical or across borders.
THIRD SHIFT: TRAVERSE aims to create bridges and form connections between virtually anything. This theme is intentionally broad and, as such, can be interpreted alongside any other subject imaginable, from environmentalism to personal histories, from activism to technology. We encourage experimentation and collaboration, the proposed projects can take almost any form (see COVID-19 Festival Framework for limitations).
Please contact us if you would like to discuss TRAVERSE and how your work relates to it—we welcome any interpretation of the theme.
COVID-19 Festival Framework
Proposals for THIRD SHIFT 2021 must comply with the Government of New Brunswick’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan. This means that:
– Applicants who are currently based in New Brunswick may submit proposals for physical installations in Saint John that do not encourage large gatherings of people. THIRD SHIFT installations will be up for viewing throughout the Uptown area for the duration of the festival, August 19-22 (or longer, in some cases if the opportunity arises). This means that these installations must be weather-resistant or located indoors. Applicants who are currently based in New Brunswick may submit proposals for digital or virtual installations.
– Applicants from outside New Brunswick may submit proposals for digital or virtual installations – artwork that can be viewed on our website, on the radio, or that can be shipped and installed by our team in Saint John. We welcome any format that does not require the artist to be physically present.
For more information about THIRD SHIFT and to see installations from last year’s festival, please visit the festival website.
