DARC Indigenous Residency Program
The Hnatyshyn Foundation is pleased to support the DARC Indigenous Residency Program, a one-month intensive on-site artist residency offered to mid-career Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) artists who are seeking to develop their current practice, experiment with a new medium, or continue an existing project. Now in its second year, the residency is open to Indigenous artists residing anywhere in Canada.
The Digital Arts Resource Centre (DARC) is a not-for-profit, artist-run media art centre that fosters the growth and development of artists through access to equipment, training, mentorship, and programming. Its mission is to support a diverse community of media artists empowered by technology, programming and the exchange of ideas.
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Presented with the support of The Hnatyshyn Foundation, DARC’s Indigenous Residency is a one-month intensive on-site artist residency, offered to mid-career Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) artists who are seeking to develop their current practice, experiment with a new medium, or continue an existing project.
Artists in residence are provided with access to DARC’s facilities, including the DARC Microcinema, Soundstage, Digital Edit Suite, and Recording Studio. Artists also have access to an array of audio-visual equipment and up to 16 hours of advisor time for the duration of their residency.
Artists in residence are provided with an artist fee of $2,500, as well as $500 for an artist talk or the presentation of their work.
Artists are invited to find creative ways to experiment with video and the moving image, the distribution of sound, and other tactics for presentation and audience engagement. The Indigenous Residency seeks to create a collaborative environment where hands-on technological play is encouraged. We welcome proposals for works in a variety of disciplines including film, video, animation, web-based art, sound art, AR/VR, interactive and time-based digital projects, and media art installations.
Artists will work with an artistic advisor of their choosing or an Indigenous advisor recommended by DARC.
Following the residency, artists are expected to participate in an artist talk to discuss their practice and share works in progress or any completed projects from their residency.
RESIDENCY SUPPORT INCLUDES:
Artist residency fee of $2,500;
Up to $4,000 in DARC equipment and facility waivers for the duration of the residency;
Access to DARC technical consultations;
An opportunity to present your work publicly through a screening, exhibition, or artist talk;
A fee of $520 for an artist talk or presentation of your work according to current CARFAC-RAAV fee schedule;
For artists who are not based in the Ottawa-Gatineau region: up to $1,500 in housing subsidy and up to $1,750 in travel expenditures;
A fee of $1,504 (CARFAC-RAAV fee schedule) for an artistic advisor of your choosing or Indigenous advisor recommended by DARC for 16 hours of consultation;
A full festival pass to the Asinabka Film & Media Arts Festival;
Ongoing support through membership at DARC following the completion of the residency, including free access to workshops for one year.
For more information on eligibility, assessment, and how to apply, please visit https://digitalartsresourcecentre.ca/indigenous-residency/.
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KJ Edwards (she/they) is a Kanien’kehá:ka, mixed-settler filmmaker and media artist. KJ’s family is from Kahnawa:ké and Longueuil, Quebec, Canada; while she was born and raised in Treaty 6 Territory, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Holding a BFA in Film Production from the Toronto Metropolitan University, KJ is trained in narrative, documentary and experimental filmmaking techniques, using both analogue and digital hybrid workflows. They are a 2023 MFA graduate from Emily Carr University of Art + Design where their thesis work involved eco processing analogue film, reflecting on the unpredictability of the medium, and the ways that dreams and memory can offer creative pathways.
Instagram: @eekathl
Residency outcomes
During her residency, KJ worked on Tethers: I Am With You Everywhere, a mixed media installation conceived via hybrid analogue-digital workflows. The Indigenous advisor that KJ chose to work with was Greg A. Hill.
Tethers was presented at DARC from October 29 to November 26, 2025. The exhibition text reads: “Tethers: I Am With You Everywhere explores yearning through the point of view of a lone traverser; a desire to grasp the intangible, that of our tethered connections between us and our loved ones in the Spirit World.”
On October 29, 2025, KJ held an artist talk at DARC.
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KJ Edwards was selected from a pool of applicants by JJ Neepin, Towustasin “Tao” Stocker, and Rhayne Vermette.
JJ Neepin is an Indigenous Director & Writer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is a member of the Fox Lake Cree Nation. JJ is the founder of JJNeepinFilms INC. and has screened many of her works in festivals around the world including the CBC short documentary Headdress. She began her TV career directing for several documentary series including APTN’s Taken and Michif Country. Making the move from documentary to scripted television JJ has directed an episode of CTV’s Acting Good, season 3 and an episode of Hudson & Rex, season 5.
Towustasin “Tao” Stocker is a multi-disciplinary artist from Old Massett, Haida Gwaii, blending spoken word, film, music, and digital media. Founder of Mycorrhiza InterMedia, his work spans award-winning documentaries, experimental sound, and AI-driven visual art. Rooted in Haida heritage yet globally minded, Tao’s projects explore resilience, identity, and the human experience, with support from the Canada Council for the Arts, CBC, Creative BC, YVR Art Foundation, and Telus StoryHive.
Rhayne Vermette’s work emphasizes an interference of image through collage, photography and analog filmmaking. Themes of place, time and rhythm are expressed through opulent layers of fiction, animation, reenactments and divine interruption. Deeply rooted in Manitoba, Rhayne frequently enlists the talent of her loved ones and community in the making of her films. Ste. Anne (2021), Rhayne’s first feature narrative featuring some of her own family members from Ste. Anne, Manitoba, received critical acclaim and accrued a number of accolades including TIFF’s Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. In 2024, Rhayne was shortlisted for the Sobey Art Award, Canada’s preeminent prize for contemporary visual artists. Rhéanne (Rhayne) Vermette was born to parents Jacqueline Deroche and Roger Vermette in Notre Dame de Lourdes, Manitoba. Roger Vermette was born in St. Boniface and raised in Ste. Anne, Manitoba, a community historically settled by Métis and French Canadians. His father, Joseph Vermette, was born in St. Norbert, Manitoba and died in Richer, Manitoba. His father before him, Jean Vermette, was also born in St. Norbert, a significant Red River Métis community, and passed in Richer, Manitoba.
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Oo Kierstead is a dynamic leader in media, project management, and cultural advocacy, with a deep commitment to preserving Inuit language and culture. Fluent in both Inuktitut and English, Kierstead has made a significant impact across various fields. As the founder of Oo K Couture in 2021, Kierstead transformed her passion for Inuit-inspired sustainable fashion and has showcased her creations at markets and craft sales across Nunavut and Canada.
Kierstead specializes in Inuktitut productions, contributing as a reporter, producer, and editor for various media outlets. In a leadership role, she has spearheaded the development of critical communication strategies and policies, enhancing organizational messaging and outreach.
Kierstead’s educational background includes studies in applied arts, technology, media, and design. Through innovative media, design, and community-driven initiatives, she remains dedicated to promoting and preserving Inuit heritage for future generations.
Residency outcomes
During the residency, Kierstead worked on Inuit Hand Stand, an animation and digital media project that includes recording audio of throat singing and digital gif creation.
The Residency involves working with an Indigenous art consultant and Kierstead chose to work with Geronimo Inutiq, a musician, filmmaker, cultural worker and media artist who also happens to be a laureate of our REVEAL Indigenous Art Awards (2017).
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Kierstead was selected from a pool of applicants by Sonya Ballantyne, Liz Barron, and Howard Adler.
Sonya Ballantyne is a Swampy Cree writer and filmmaker from the Misipawistik Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba. Her work focuses on contemporary and futuristic portrayals of Indigenous women and girls. Her past work includes The Walking Dead: The Last MILE, Sesame Street, and God of War: Ragnarok. The Death Tour is her feature directorial debut.
Liz Barron is a founding member of Harbour Collective. Working within the Indigenous media and visual arts, Harbour Collective engages in research activities, artistic programming and service delivery for Indigenous filmmakers, media artists and visual artists. Harbour Collective has hosted four LAB series and is currently working on Indigenous artist rights working in artificial intelligence, along with commissioning five Indigenous artists to create augmented reality stories based on their traditional moon stories with a launch in Vienna in November 2024.
Barron started her cultural career at Plug In ICA as their digital producer. During her time with Plug IN ICA, she met Louise Ogemah and Debra Prince who invited her to join them to create Urban Shaman, a contemporary Indigenous artist run centre, in Winnipeg.
Barron’s connection to place is the homeland of the Metis. Her mother is from St. Francois Xavier, Manitoba and her father is from St. Francois Xavier/Pigeon Lake, Manitoba. Her maternal grandparents are from St. Charles, Manitoba (Peltier / Pelletier) and Harperville, Manitoba (Miller). Her paternal grandparents are from St. Francois Xavier (Barron / Chalifoux). The Chalifoux were identified as Cree on the Canadian Census and claimed scrip.
Barron is a member of the Manitoba Metis Federation and a member of the Catfish Local, Winnipeg.
Howard Adler is the co-founder, director and programmer for the Asinabka Festival, an annual Indigenous film and media arts festival in Ottawa. Howard has a bachelor of arts in Indigenous Studies from Trent University and a master of arts in Canadian Studies from Carleton University. Howard’s films, video and art have been exhibited in gallery settings, broadcast nationally, shown on airplanes, featured on CBC Gem, and shown extensively at film festivals both in Canada and internationally. His practice is diverse and includes visual art, meme-making, stained glass, beadwork, VJ’ing, video projection mapping, and experimental and documentary filmmaking. He often works as a freelancer or on a contract basis in various capacities, including film and video production, as a university instructor, a guest speaker, a workshop instructor, or leading art making classes for youth. Howard’s pronouns are he/him, he is 2-Spirit, Jewish and Anishinaabe, and a member of Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation in North-Western Ontario.
