TAIS 2021 MICRORESIDENCY ARTISTS
We are excited to announce the 2021 selected artists for the 2021 TAIS MicroResidencies!!
Selected artists are given a choice between 3 weeks at TAIS studios with equipment support (or equipment for At Home residencies during Covid-19, valued at $1500.00 and are paid $1000.00 to create a new short animated work, and conduct an artist talk discussing their project and processes.
Bronwen Alexina
Bronwen will be in the TAIS studios in March 2021
Bio:
Bronwen Alexina is a 3D generalist and technical artist, with a foundation in traditional arts, currently working in the video game industry. She is excited by the exponential progression of technology, and the unexplored potential it brings to art as we know it. Her personal work typically centers around nature and people, and she loves the effect of organic subject matter in digital mediums.
Project description:
Bronwen has proposed a real-time 3D animation created with Unity. It will be a single-channel, narrative piece centered around a singular character–a scientist working alone on an alien planet. The animation will explore the character’s attraction to isolation as a negative coping mechanism for their mental illness. Avoidant attachment, or an “I don’t need anyone” outlook, is often a symptom of trauma that goes tragically overlooked. We will see the character gradually succumb to their own negative disposition. The animation will be titled, ‘Lodestar’, meaning model or guide, addressing the magnetic appeal of toxic coping strategies for untreated mental illness. The futuristic setting is a nod to classic allegorical storytelling of hard science fiction as a genre. As a neurodivergent individual who struggles with her own inner demons, Bronwen hopes to raise awareness about some of the lesser-known and less widely discussed symptoms of depression, anxiety and C-PTSD.
Yen Linh Thai
Linh will do an at home residency with equipment support in March 2021
Mitchell Keys
Mitchell will be in TAIS Studios in June 2021
Lina Wu
Lina will be at TAIS Studios in April-May 2021
Bio
Lina Wu (BDes OCAD U) is a multi-disciplinary artist and illustrator based in Tkaronto (Toronto). Her work explores self-perception, mythology, femininity, and adolescence through a diverse range of media. Her art has shown in galleries such as Xpace Cultural Centre and Gallery 44; she has facilitated workshops with organizations including Tea Base, Insomniac Film Festival, and Canada Comics Open Library. Lina is interested in fusing highbrow with lowbrow, and softness with strength.
Project description
This project will explore navigating relationships with poor mental health through experimental hand-drawn animation and a hybrid of analogue and digital tools. The film will be comprised of illustrative vignettes of dreams, regrets, and fantasies, fragmented through time and space. I will be using different media to develop a rich variety of moving textures, exploring the fragility and malleability of memory.
https://linaw.format.com/
https://www.instagram.com/linaw_u/
TAIS programming is presented with the support of the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council for the Arts
