Balcone

From Fall 2010-11, Balcone, a nonprofit society that presents contemporary art projects in a variety of situations and spaces throughout Vancouver, presented the Hammock Residency as an ongoing project. Since Hammock Residency became larger than an artist project, somewhere between curatorial, community, and institutional alternative, it slipped through all the cracks in the arts funding, highlighting both the need for this funding to exist, and current limits on artist-run frameworks.

This partnership allowed me to remain autonomous as founder/director in Hammock Residency programming, mandate and ethics while being able to apply for government funding through Balcone. As Balcone had non-profit status, by-the-books, and had board support, I was able to apply for institutional funding through them. 

Any grants granted would be given to Balcone, who would take an administrative fee, and then given to Hammock Residency, which would then give the money directly to the artists whose projects were supported. The goal was to pay the artists fees for their projects, which would hopefully cover material fees, and travel costs. 

The downside, was that any project that was not recognized by the granting body as relevant, clear, or successful in their eyes, was not funded. Hammock, being an emergent-based body with pedagogical concerns of supporting arts as they happen, and allowing room for growth and change, applied for these grants, but the challenge was always getting the artists to pre-write their projects, which is the antithesis of the Hammock Residency. 

It was a loophole we were willing to jump through for a while, and Balcone did an excellent job of framing the Hammock Residency Projects in ways that administrative minds would accept and understand, and yes, we did get funding, but the whole process felt forced; the focus fixed on pre-planned projects, and not the ‘residency’ or the emergent nature of the project should it happen, or not.

For more information about Balcone

Written by Heidi Nagtegaal