NEW ECHOES IN THE STAIRCASE | MURAL RESIDENCY PROJECT

Liminal space, reimagined.

New Echoes in the Staircase is an artist-in-residence program which invites local and regional artists into this historical staircase—a passage once used daily, now a liminal, almost forgotten, space rarely seen by the public.

As the former City Hall and Land and Immigration building, the Nelson Museum building denotes hegemony, power, and exclusion. The critical and crucial exchange of New Echoes alters the resonance of this space ensuring permanent change to the foundational structures of the building, and institution therein. The murals not only lay on the surface of the walls, but permeate the system to influence and demand change—to create a new echo, a new reverberation, a better system.

The intake for the fifth instalment is now open.

Click here to download the intake information.

The work aims to invoke conversations about access, behind-the-scenes decolonization work within the museum sector, representation/ (mis)representation and voice in historical spaces, and many other important topics. The focus of this fifth instalment is open to artist interpretation; video installation proposals are welcomed.

The artist-in-residence will have access to a specific section of wall along the staircase to add to this critical conversation. The project may include a studio tour and discussion (made available to the public via video), a workshop component, and a site-specific mural in the staircase. It will also support the work of local artists through this artist-in-residency program – connecting professional artists with the community at large in a unique environment. We will be able to increase our audience by developing a new exhibition space within a formally hidden heritage stairwell and invite people into the museum who might not have felt invited before.

The Nelson Museum, Archives & Gallery will be following the Work Safe BC guidelines for safe working environments as well as health and safety protocols for the artist, staff, and volunteers. The work will commence during the month of April and be completed by the end of May 2024.

Local artist and teacher Amber Santos created the first installation in 2018, followed by artist Damian John in 2021 and poet Smokii Sumac in 2022. In spring of 2023, we welcomed spoken word artist and 2022 Cultural Ambassador Zaynab Mohammed into the space for the fourth instalment.