CAAF Artist Residencies
CAAF offers studio residencies with the aim to support emerging artists to reach their full potential. By providing space and funding, the CAAF Studio Residency enables emerging artists to further explore their creative practice and take advantage of opportunities that CAAF can provide. Artists are also encouraged to share their process and engage with the community during their residencies.
Apply Now for CAAF’s Residency Program!
Deadline: Sunday, November 9, 2025 at 11:59pm
The CAAF Studio Residency is offered by the Calgary Allied Art Foundation (CAAF). CAAF’s aim is to support emerging artists to reach their full potential. By providing space and funding, the CAAF Studio Residency enables emerging artists to further explore their creative practice and take advantage of future exhibition opportunities that CAAF can provide. Artists are also encouraged to share their process and engage with the community during their residencies.
Residencies are offered in 2 or 3 month durations with a stipend of $700 per month paid to artists upon completion of the residency. All residents are required to purchase an annual membership to CAAF; $20 will be taken from the stipend to pay for the membership. CAAF is unable to provide additional funding or assistance for travel or accommodations to out of town artists, but we can provide a letter of support should you apply for funding on your own.
Applications will be reviewed by an impartial committee, who will base their selections on the overall quality of each application. Artist submissions will be evaluated on the project proposal, artistic merit, need for studio space, and quality of past work.
All artists selected for the residency are expected to undertake this opportunity professionally, respecting the studio space and their neighbours while acting as representatives of CAAF.
We are committed to a diverse, inclusive, and equitable community where all staff, volunteers and artists feel valued and respected regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education or disability. For more information refer to our Diversity and Inclusion Statement.
CAAF will accommodate all applicants to the best of our ability, and we will work with applicants who experience barriers.
Please contact caafresidency@gmail.com for support with your application and with any questions.
THE CAAF STUDIOS
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APPLY TO THE CAAF STUDIO RESIDENCIES
CAAF’s cSPACE Studio
Suite #435, 1721 – 29th Avenue SW, Calgary, AB
The studio is located on the fourth floor of cSPACE Marda Loop, a multi-disciplinary creative hub and arts incubator.
280 square feet
Natural light (with room darkening blinds) and adjustable LED lighting
High speed Wifi and fibre connectivity
Elevator
Fully accessibleCAAF’s 500 Collective Studio
#500 – 321 50the Avenue SE , Calgary, ABThe studio is located at 500 Collective, a collective of working spaces for creatives.
85 square feet
Natural light
Wifi
Fully accessible
Current Resident - cSPACE Studio
Nikki Farzi - July to September 2026
Nikki Farzi is a Calgary-based multidisciplinary artist working in fluid art, jewelry design, painting, and installation. Her practice explores movement, color, and the emotional connection between people and place.
Inspired by the Canadian Rockies, the Northern Lights, and her travels, Nikki creates work that captures the fluidity and energy of the natural world. Using acrylic pouring and mixed-media techniques, she transforms abstract patterns into paintings, immersive installations, and handcrafted jewelry, extending her artwork beyond the canvas into wearable forms.
Travel plays a significant role in her creative process, influencing her use of color, texture, and storytelling. Through her work, Nikki seeks to evoke a sense of wonder, exploration, and connection, inviting viewers to experience familiar landscapes and memories through an abstract lens.
Her artistic practice is rooted in experimentation, embracing the unpredictable nature of fluid art while creating pieces that celebrate movement, transformation, and discovery.
Current Resident - 500 Collective Studio
Yu Chen
My work focuses on portrait painting, cultural identity, and personal stories. I was trained in both traditional Chinese painting and Western oil painting, and I combine these styles to explore ideas of heritage, belonging, and the emotions connected to migration.
As an artist who promotes Chinese culture and Hanfu, the traditional clothing of the Han people, I’ve always been interested in how different cultures express their heritage in Calgary at the present time. This has led me to my current project, “Portraits of Belonging,” focused on learning more about other artists’ backgrounds and building connections with them through my paintings.
This new body of work is heavily influenced by community interactions. I intend to invite people from different cultural backgrounds and engage in conversations with me, and then paint them wearing their traditional clothing. Through this process, I will create portraits that reflect their stories, culture, and personal experience of immigration.
