Emma Collaboration

EMMA Collaboration

Due to safety concerns and complications regarding the coronavirus the Emma Collaboration made the decision to defer their 2020 residency program to 2022. The means that the applicants who were accepted in 2020 will be attending during the 2022 residency season, and we will not be holding an open call for the residency programs next year.

Only available every other year, the EMMA Collaboration applications will open again in Summer 2024.

In 2012, MECA&D introduced a new relationship with the EMMA International Collaboration, which brings 100 renowned artists and craftspeople together from around the world to create art in in the Boreal Forest of Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, a place where form and function collide. Known as "Emma," this biennial week-long residency is an innovative workshop model for unstructured creative collaboration between artists working in traditional craft and those engaged in contemporary method and has become a catalyst for worldwide creativity in the arts.

One applicant is selected to represent MECA&D at the Emma Collaboration, which funds the conference registration fee. MECA&D funds the participant’s travel expenses. The selected applicants is responsible for housing (free camping option) and meals costs.

For more information about this opportunity, please visit emmacollaboration.com, call the Alumni Office at 207.699.5018, or email alums@meca.edu.

Click to subscribe to the EMMA Collaboration mailing list and find out about future residency opportunities and updates.

Information about EMMA

EMMA Collaboration 2020

Participants experience 7 days of spontaneous and collaborative art making in a variety of media: blacksmithing, small metals, raising, drawing & painting, furniture, woodworking, turning, stone carving, weaving, sculpture, glass, ceramics, printmaking, leatherworking, clothing & fibers, and more.

Dates and Location

July 29 - August 6, 2020
Ness Creek Festival Site, Big River, SK, Canada

Citizens of the United States (U.S.) traveling between the U.S. and Canada require a valid U.S. passport.

Conference Fees and Travel

MECA&D funds the participant’s travel expenses up to $500 and the $1,500 conference fee and includes meals and lodging.

About EMMA

Every two years, one hundred artists from across the globe come together in the boreal forest of Saskatchewan to share in an experience of raw creation and open possibility. Artists at various stages of their careers are challenged to step outside their usual art practice, to explore medium, technique and subject matter through hands-on collaboration and exciting creative exchange.

2020 Participating Artists

To view the list of participating artists, click here

Past EMMA Participants

2018: Jude Valentine '78 (Printmaking)
2016: Ted Lott '06 (Woodworking & Furniture Design)
2014: Asherah Cinnamon '08 (Sculpture)
2012: Jordan Gehman '06 (Woodworking & Furniture Design)

Application Instructions & Requirements

Before applying, please review all the information on application requirements and instructions, as well as information about the EMMA Collaboration.

Application Instructions

Go to the MECA&D Submittable page
Create a Submittable account to start your application
Select the EMMA Collaboration
Complete your application via Submittable

Please note: If you do not receive a thank you confirmation and an email message after submitting your application, your application has not successfully uploaded. Contact the alumni office with any questions. alums@meca.edu or 207.699.5018

Application Requirements

One-page statement of purpose explaining why you want to attend EMMA and what you hope to gain from the experience
Biography
Resume / CV
Work samples descriptions
10 Work samples:
1. For artists submitting images: digital images of your work are required. All images should be formatted as jpegs with a minimum width of 800 pixels and a maximum of 1024 pixels per side, saved at a resolution of 72 dpi.
  1. Name your image files as follows: LastNameFirstNameNumber.jpg (i.e. OkeLillian01.jpg, OkeLillian02.jpg). Do not include any spaces, dashes, or other symbols when labeling your images.
  2. Image information, including title, date, media, and physical dimensions of each piece, must be supplied in the space below each image upload.
2. For time-based/ new media work: Supply URLs for 3 links via YouTube, Vimeo or Soundcloud to video or sound pieces less than 8 minutes in length.

All submissions must have been completed within the last three years. All documents listed above should be saved as a Word document or a PDF.

DEADLINE: The deadline for the 2020 EMMA Collaboration application is 11:59PM EST on February 29, 2020. Notification of awards will be made in mid-April 2020.