The Kingston Prize for Canadian portraiture is reorganizing. "The next competition will be announced on our website and emails will be sent to all artists in our database, once our fundraising and sponsorship goals are achieved," the prize's board said recently. "We need new board members with a strong interest in visual arts, a new sponsor, and sustainable funding to move the Kingston Prize forward." If you're interested in helping out, please reach out through the prize's website.
A high school art teacher, Matt Coleman, has opened the Mapleside Museum of Miniature Art in Hamilton, Ont. Inspired by the Little Free Library initiative, where anyone can take or leave a book, at MMOMA you can make a miniature art piece for display, or take one home. Read more here.
The BUMP Festival gets underway in Calgary in August, promising a new round of murals on downtown buildings. German graffiti artist DAIM has already finished what is being billed as the world's tallest mural. Other invited visual artists include Alex Kwong, Collin Elder, BB iskwew, Curtis Wright, Jacquie Comrie, Jae Sterling, tabouli and more. "Our muralists this year are each bringing to our city big, bold and ambitious ideas," BUMP organizers say. "From conversations around biodiversity and ecological change, to massive testaments to the human spirit of survival, to brilliant depictions of myth, fantasy and play – the murals of 2022 BUMP are going to be something you don’t want to miss." The Beltline Urban Mural Festival runs Aug. 1 to Aug. 28. For more information, go here.
Art in the Open, Prince Edward Island's annual summer festival, will transform downtown Charlottetown into an open-air art gallery on Aug. 27 from 4 p.m. until midnight. Artists will soon be announced. Find out more here.
SNAP, an Edmonton artist-run organization focused on printmaking, celebrates its 40th anniversary Aug. 6. It's planning to showcase works from its printshop, known for experimental techniques, and present a special project, Future Forwards, which highlights Black artists in Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto. Learn more here.
Tyshan Wright, on the short list for the year's Sobey Art Award, is making musical instruments such as cow horns, shakers and drums to honour his ancestors. He is inspired by the Trelawney Town Maroons of 1796, when Black freedom fighters were shipped out to Nova Scotia – after rebelling against the British in Jamaica – and were not allowed to bring their sacred instruments with them. Read more here.
Xchanges Gallery in Victoria is seeking proposals from artists for a project that brings together dance, visual art and media art. The initiative begins in September and runs for 16 months with artists at various levels of development. Find out more here.