The organization and the Artch project

Artch’s mission is to support emerging artists in their first stages of professionalization. Artch identifies, shapes, finances, mentors and exhibits each year a cohort of a few artists at the beginning of their career.

An exhibition in the month of September in downtown Tio’tia:ke/ Montreal which for 6 years has become a new meeting place for amateurs, visual arts professionals and the general public. The public space then becomes a real platform for the dissemination of emerging visual artists.

Artch is an exchange platform whose objectives are to propel emerging artists by providing them with training and by putting them in contact with the Montreal visual arts community. The project also aims to sensitize new collectors and to introduce the general public to contemporary art. All this, with a view to ensuring the sustainability of the artistic ecosystem in Montreal.

What we offer

— A $3,000 grant —
For the production of the exhibition and to better prepare the dissemination of the works of the artists

— An Artist Entrepreneurship Training —
Free and mandatory for all artists participating in the project. (Value of $800)

The content of the training is developed as a real toolkit that will allow artists to overcome certain obstacles they encounter in the early years of their career, while addressing themes such as: the promotion of artistic work; legal aspects related to artist status and works; conservation, marketing and dissemination of works, carrying out artistic projects, (Dis)learn about colonialism, mental health for artists, financial management, etc.

— Technical assistance —
Before, during and after the event, the artists will be accompanied by our technical teams

— An exhibition or performance project —
At the Artch 2024 exhibition as well as technical assistance (Value $ 1000 for 4 days)

For visual artists applicants for an exhibition project: an exhibition space will be dedicated to you. For performing artists, outside the exhibition space will be dedicated to you.

— Exhibition cartels —

Presence of an explanatory text on the biography and the approach of the artist in each exhibition and performance space.

— Sale of works without commission —

The works exhibited at Artch 2024 will be available for purchase. Artch will not take any commission on sales.

— Mediation —
Each artist will be accompanied for 4 days by a cultural mediator to interact with audiences

— One-year access to the online store (September 2024 to September 2025) — Each artist will have private access with a password to sell their work and change their profile

— Discounts and membership cards for framers, screen printing workshops and some cultural venues. —

— Cultural outings and meetings with curators —

What is expected of artists

— Participation in all training—
The content and dates of training are not defined yet, but should take place between May and July

2024.
— Be available and present during:

– trainings: from May to July 2024 (dates to come)
– installation of the exhibition in mid-September 2024 (dates to come) – taking down of the exhibition at the closing of the event (dates to come) – the 4 days of the event in mid-September 2024

— Exhibit quality artistic work at the 2024 festival that is consistent with the accepted application.

Eligibility Criteria

— Be an Individual artist with a practice in visual arts: painting, printing, photography, drawing and object (sculpture), performance, or any other practice in visual arts.

— Less than 5 years of professional artistic practice.
— Living and working in the Montreal area during the time of the program

— Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident in Canada. — Define oneself as a professional artist

A professional artist – whether self-taught or academically trained – has acquired the experience and knowledge necessary for the development of his personal practice, while being recognized as such by his peers. (artists of the same artistic tradition). An artist creates, interprets or publishes works publicly, devotes themselves mainly to the practice of her art and should receive remuneration for the works they produce. See glossary athttp://www.artsmontreal.org/en/glossary

The selection criteria are:

— Innovation, originality and risk-taking —
The works in the application explore unknown creative notions and demonstrate a particular artistic approach. The artist is audacious about the language and execution of his work.

— Exhibition potential in the public space —
The proposition must be feasible in the context of Artch, an 4-day exhibition in a public space

— Quality of the application and the approach —
The works demonstrate creative and innovative qualities through the extraordinary use of a revisited medium or

by an atypical technical design.

— Coherence of the subject —
The corpus of works must demonstrate a coherence and must make sense as a whole.

— Commitment in the proposal —
The proposal engages the community and carries a message necessary for the evolution of societal questions.

Not eligible

— Artist collectives
— Incomplete or irrelevant applications

Important dates

— The call for artists 2024 —

September 29th, 2023 to January 25nd, 2024. Applications received after this date may not be accepted.

— Artist selection —

Artists who have applied can expect a response by April 2024

The selection will be carried out by our jury composed of professionals in the field of contemporary art.
The applicants ensure at all times not to contact the members of the jury for any questions

or inquiry related to the management, evaluation or decision related to their application. Artch’s team has the sole authority to answer questions from applicants. Do not hesitate to contact us via the info@artch.org mailbox, on our social networks, and we will post some “do’s” and “dont’s” and other tips on our social media while answering all of your questions.

Artch guarantees the confidentiality of the personal information in its possession as well as the non-acceptance of any confidential document it receives, subject to the circumstances provided for in the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information (R.S.Q., chapter A-2.1).

The acceptance of the grant constitutes for the artist a commitment to carry out the activities covered by the said grant and to respect the conditions attached thereto.

Artists who are unable, for any reason, to participate in the program as in be present for the training and for the exhibition, they must advise the Artch team. They may be required, as the case may be, to repay all or part of the amount awarded.

Works created under this agreement shall remain the intellectual property of the artists. On the other hand, Artch will not pay exhibition fees for the works that will be exhibited.

The artists are granted full commercial ownership of their works and full revenue from any sales that may have occurred as part of the event, since Artch does not take any commission from the sales of the works. Depending on the years, Mastercard and Visa can take less than 3%.