History
The Gushul Studio and Cottage, situated in the town of Blairmore, Alberta, Canada, opened in 1988 as a site for creative residencies for professional artists and writers. Owned by the University of Lethbridge and managed by the Gushul Residency Program Committee, this facility has hosted over 200 artists, scholars and other professionals, and has offered inspiration and sanctuary for the production of their work.
Thomas Gushul (1891-1962), a prolific and pioneering Canadian photographer, founded the studio in Blairmore where he lived and worked with his wife Lena. In the early 1980s the studio was restored and was registered as a historic resource by the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation. Today it remains an important cultural resource for the Crowsnest Pass community. Over the years, the facility has undergone significant upgrades to its infrastructure and to its residency programs.
Read more about the history of the Gushul Studio and Cottage
Gushul Residencies
The Gushul Residency Program Committee conducts a competitive selection process for artist and writer residencies. Applications are peer-reviewed on a basis of the professional experience of the applicant, the quality of past work, and the applicant’s potential to have a productive residency at the Gushul.
Through the Gushul Residency Program, the University of Lethbridge supports the pursuit of creative production by offering comfortable and private studio and living space for working artists and writers. Residents are housed in either the Studio or the Cottage, separate buildings situated in proximity to one another and nestled in the awe-inspiring mountainous landscape of the Crowsnest Pass.
Several residencies are offered in the Gushul Studio and Cottage:
Open Call Gushul Residency
Open Call Gushul Residency Application Form
The Open Call Gushul Residency is available to all professional artists and writers. Applications for Open Call Gushul Residencies are accepted on an ongoing basis for both the Studio and Cottage.
For more details please refer to the Gushul Residency Application Guidelines.
Southern Alberta Art Gallery Gushul Residency
The Southern Alberta Art Gallery Gushul Residency is administered and hosted by the Southern Alberta Art Gallery. Please refer to their website for more information.
Australia Indigenous Arts Residency Exchange
In 2011, an annual residency and exchange partnership began between the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s (RMIT) International Artist in Residency Program (iAIR) and the Gushul Studio Residency Program at the University of Lethbridge. This particular residency exchange was separate from the Open Call Gushul Residencies, and concluded in 2017. Please see the Australia Indigenous Arts Residency page for information about previous participants.