Submissions for the internationally recognized 2021 Chilkoot Trail Artist Residency Program are now being accepted.

Yukon Arts Centre, Parks Canada and the US National Park Service are seeking visual artists to participate in a cross-border creative journey within Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Alaska and Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site in British Columbia.

Selected artists will follow the iconic 53-kilometre Chilkoot Trail once trod by Tlingit First Nation traders and Klondike Gold Rush stampeders. The duration of the residency is from 5 to 10 days on the trail depending on the option you choose, plus two days off trail. Artists will spend 1-3 days at each campsite along the trail in the first option or spend the residency at the end of the trail at Lake Bennett for the second option. You will interact with hikers along the route, with support from trail staff and from a friend or family member of your choice, while creating art and soaking in the natural and historic beauty of the trail.

The Chilkoot Trail, like all Parks Canada places, reflects the rich and varied heritage of our country and provides an opportunity for Canadians and visitors to learn more about our diversity, including the history, cultures and contributions of Indigenous Peoples.

The residency program holds a joint goal for the US National Park Service and Parks Canada: to increase public awareness of the Chilkoot Trail, particularly in major cities. By creating art during and after the hike, by leading workshops and/or art talks on the trail and in nearby communities, artists inspire people to appreciate the legacy of the Chilkoot Trail.

For the Yukon Arts Centre, the residency is a way of fostering the Yukon’s creative and cultural economy by developing ties with tourism, bringing new and broader audiences into contact with contemporary artists; providing a stimulating working experience for artists; and encouraging art making that explores and even challenges ideas and issues in landscape art.

“Hiking the Chilkoot Trail is pure magic. Being an artist in residence, living on the trail for two weeks, soaking up the history, exploring the landscape, and making art has been one of the best experiences in my life and continues to shape my work will after the residency ended,” said former Chilkoot Trail Residency artist Hilary Lorenz.

Quick Facts

• Beginning at tidewater in Dyea, Alaska and ending on the shores of the Southern Lakes headwaters of the Yukon River, the Chilkoot Trail covers 53 kilometres (33 miles) and reaches an elevation of 1074 metres (3,525 feet) at the pass. Each artist may bring one support person of their choice.
• Artists will receive $3000 CAD honorarium from the Yukon Arts Centre.
• Artists will be responsible for providing their own food, hiking/camping equipment and working materials and for their travel arrangements. Artists will be responsible for obtaining valid passports and the required international work permits and/or visas, however support through this process will be provided by Parks staff.

Fore more information click here and the online application form is filled out here.

If you have any questions send email to chilkoot@yac.ca

The application deadline is February 3, 2020.

Related Links
Parks Canada Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site
National Park Service

Yukon Arts Centre
Box 16
Whitehorse, Yukon
Canada
Y1A 5X9

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