Location: National Capital Region, Canada

Mission: Résidence de création Le Chalet (The Cottage Creative Residency, or, The Cottage) is a unique residency program in the Outaouais region of Canada. It offers creative people of all disciplines a quiet studio in the country and close enough to the city that you’ll never feel isolated or too far away. Our goal is to provide a calm, quiet, and respectful environment for visual artists, writers, researchers and even students needing that quiet time to write that final paper.

As a visual artist, I did a few residencies in 2015. I was inspired by some of the owners and wanted to do something similar in the National Capital Region where there is currently no stand alone residency program. The residency will welcome its first artists in September 2016. We are brand new and plan to expand with a third space, an online store and a yearly publication showcasing some of our residents.

The Cottage is located in a very special part of the National Capital Region. The Pontiac is located about 45 minutes from Ottawa Ontario and is nestled between the cherished Gatineau Hills and the Outaouais River. Located in a small cottage neighborhood, the cottage itself is only a few feet from a large sand beach, beautiful during both the summer and winter months. As you drive here from Ottawa you will be surprised at the beauty of the hills and the river as they welcome you into this unique region. Residents of the area are either seasonal cottagers or farmers, so winters are especially quiet. We are equipped for snow shoeing for the winter months, and have two kayaks, a stand up paddle board and two beach cruiser bicycles for residents to use to explore the area and to seek inspiration. The Cottage itself has an all pine interior and heats with electricity with provides a nice dry heat in the winter months. Well insulated the house also stays relatively cool during the summer. Many people love to rent cottages for vacations, but we want to offer artists a similar experience where they can also work, with a few healthy distractions.

Cost: Weekend residencies are $100. Weekly residencies are $320. Monthly residencies are also available at a reduced cost of $1150.00.

We provide a room and studio accommodation, based on your needs and your practice. Since our region does not have public transportation, we can also pick up residents in the Ottawa are for a small fee of $15.00. Half of these fees are paid upon acceptance to the residency, and the other half shortly before your arrival.

Application Fee: There is a small $10 (CA) fee for applications.

Number of Artists: We can currently welcome two residents at a time.

Length of Stay: Residencies can be a weekend, weekly or maximum one month.

Accommodations: We provide residents with a room and a studio or work space. Both private rooms have a bed, desk and chair. Common areas shared with the owners are the kitchen, dining room and living room. There is a second mini-kitchen in the 2nd floor studio along with a large balcony with another work table and chairs.

Demographic/Medium: The Cottage welcomes residency proposals from artists of all disciplines, and of established, mid-career and emerging status. It is open to regional, national and international artists.

The attic space is a great little nook for smaller projects and writers. Musicians might also want to discover this space, which has a small Juliette balcony overlooking the Outaouais river. The large studio on the second floor is amazing for painters and visual artists who love to work with natural light as it is surrounded by windows. This space also has a large easel, a work desk, a church bench and a table. The only thing we wish to enforce is the quiet aspect. In this sense, we do welcome musicians, but unfortunately cannot accommodate musical groups. That being said, paired or individual musicians wishing to get some writing done and play some acoustic instruments, either inside their studios, around a campfire or out in nature, are more than welcome and encouraged to apply. Writers are also encouraged to apply as we will eventually be creating a publication highlighting some of our residents and will be looking for writers to accompany the visual documentation.

Benefits: We pride ourselves on providing a work and play balance. Because we are located out in nature, residents get the best of both worlds : a cottage experience where they can also get some work done. What makes this program unique is the opportunity to work, but also go hiking in the Gatineau Hill and visit the Luskville Falls, go kayaking along the shores of the Outaouais river, try our stand up paddle board and discover the farmland riding on our beach cruiser bicycles.

This program is self-directed so we encourage residents to immerse themselves in their work and embrace the quiet solitary feel of The Cottage. The residency has a blog which will document resident projects and residents will be invited to write a short description of their project. If the resident is comfortable with sharing visual documentation, we will also take photos to accompany the blog post. This is to provide some basic exposure from our website and social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

In 2018, when we have had a full year of residents, we will be working on a publication which will highlight our residents. This publication will be available for sale through our online store “Le Dep”, launching in 2017 with other cottage crafts.

Other opportunities and programs will be offered as the residency establishes itself. We wish to offer workshops to the community during spring and summer months, as well as studio visits and artist talks.

Deadline: Ongoing

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