FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tod A. Kniazuk; 716-912-8236
Three New York State artists awarded grants through
New York State / Province of Quebec Cultural Exchange
Arts Services Initiative of Western New York administered program on behalf of NYSCA
BUFFALO, NY – Arts Services Initiative of Western New York (ASI), in partnership
with the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and the Province of Quebec
Council of Arts and Letters, is pleased to announce recipients of the 2015-2016 New
York State / Province of Quebec Artist-in-Residence Exchange Program. Three New
York State artists in various artistic disciplines will receive a total of $27,000 for
artist residencies taking place in 2015-2016.
Quebec Residency Recipients
Kyle Marler (Flatsitter)
Home Town: Buffalo, New York
Artistic Discipline: Digital & Media Arts
Quebec Residency Venue: Sporobole (Sherbrooke, Quebec)
Belinda McGuire
Home Town: Brooklyn, New York
Artistic Discipline: Dance & Choreography
Quebec Residency Venue: Circuit-Est (Montreal, Quebec)
Bethany Ides
Home Town: Bloomington, New York
Artistic Discipline: Multi-disciplinary Arts
Quebec Residency Venue: SenseLab (Montreal, Quebec)
The recipients were selected by the following criteria:
 High quality and sustained artistic output in their chosen discipline;
 The positive impact of the residency on them and their work; and
 The artists’ engagement of the Quebec community in a meaningful way.
All artists will spend 3 months in Quebec with each artist receiving a $9,000 stipend
to cover their costs for travel, materials, and labor. The goal of the residency
program is to encourage New York State artists to create their work and engage the
Quebec community in a meaningful way.
ASI administers the Artist-in-Residence Exchange program with funds provided by the
New York State Council on the Arts in partnership with the Province of Quebec Council of
Arts and Letters. Through this program, NYSCA will offer New York State artists new
career development tools and develop fruitful collaboration with Quebec cultural
communities. “Arts Services Initiative is proud to administer this cultural exchange, and
we thank both the State of New York and the Province of Quebec for their commitment
to artists and the cultural community in both locations,” ASI Executive Director Tod A.
Kniazuk added.
“The Artist-in-Residence Exchange program provides a unique, inspiring opportunity for New York State artists
and fosters a deeper cultural connection between our neighboring nations, both with thriving artistic
communities. We thank Arts Services Initiative and the Province of Quebec for their integral role in this
Exchange,” said Mr. Aby Rosen, Chair, New York State Council on the Arts. “Congratulations to the three selected
artists. We look forward to the works they will create during their time abroad.”
Details of each artist residency:
Kyle Marler (Flatsitter)
Home Town: Buffalo, New York
Artistic Discipline: Digital & Media Arts
Quebec Residency Venue: Sporobole (Sherbrooke, Quebec)
Program Description: “SAFE WOR(L)D” – a virtual reality performance installation, which will require facilities
for the recording and surround-sound mixing the immersive soundscapes for the virtual reality environments.
This project is an extension of Flatsitter's recent forays in virtual reality performance.
And "They Kill Things" which is a feature-length experimental film centered around footage captured of a local
theatrical production put on by a theater production company called Torn Space Theater, utilizing the A/V studio
at Sporobole for editing and scoring the film. This will be one part documentary, one part documentation of the
event, and one part feature film adaptation of the theatrical performance.
Belinda McGuire
Home Town: Brooklyn, New York
Artistic Discipline: Dance & Choreography
Quebec Residency Venue: Circuit-Est (Montreal, Quebec)
Program Description: To create a dance project (danced by McGuire) which will involve new works by three
choreographers, Sylvain Émard (Montreal), Belinda McGuire (New York City) and Zoë Scofield (Seattle) and a
creative technical team. Though each artist has a unique vision and process, all three create sensitive, responsive,
and vital work, through their attention to the interaction between performer and environment, and the cultivation
of the performer as a decision-making, navigating, receptive, observant person, living within the choreographic
structure.
Bethany Ides
Home Town: Bloomington, New York
Artistic Discipline: Multi-disciplinary Arts
Quebec Residency Venue: SenseLab (Montreal, Quebec)
Program Description: "Deathbeds” - a multi-platform opera project focused on re-imagining the intermediary
zone between urgency and expiration. This residency includes a series of workshops, reading groups, open labs
for performance and public programming exploring themes of inter-causality, anticipation and active prevention,
irrevocable speech, bodies in trauma and celebrations of life.
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