Canadian Forces Artists Program Seek Units to Host Artists

Above images: Left, Ardell Bourgeois, On guard for thee, Oil on Canvas, 2002. Right, Douglas Bradford, The Bridge. Images of the Canadian Armed Forces. 

For more than twenty years, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have welcomed artists to bear witness to their missions and forever capture Canadian Armed Forces personnel in works of art.

And once again, the Canadian Forces Artists Program (CFAP) is calling on units to open their doors and host an artist for a short deployment.

“The Canadian Forces Artists Program (CFAP) offers civilian professional artists access to CAF culture activities, training, peacekeeping, and or general operations by providing a short but fully immersive deployment. The artists then produce work reflective of their experiences, which is showcased in an exhibit at a prestigious cultural institution,” reads CANFORGEN 158/24 announcing the call.

CFAP Seeking Units

According to the CAF, CFAP is currently looking for Units with active operational tasks to host one of its artists. Deployments should be short, seven to nine days. According to CANFORGEN, five deployment opportunities will be available internationally and domestically in the next year.

Units looking to absorb an artist can request to share the costs of the artist’s travel and accommodation expenses.

Twenty Years Supporting Artists

The Canadian military has a storied history of welcoming artists, tracing back to 1916. Canadian war art became intertwined with the military with the creation of the Canadian War Memorial Fund, which has commissioned over 800 paintings, sculptures and prints.

Over the next few decades, different programs attempted to capture the spirit of Canadian military members through art. The modern iteration of these programs is the Canadian Forces Artists Program, launched in 2001 by then-Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Maurice Baril.

According to the CAF, the first projects under the new program were produced in 2002, with artists joining OP APOLLO in Afghanistan, Camp Mirage in Dubai, and the Navy in the Arabian Sea.

The CFAP program works in a biennial cycle.

Units interested in the CFAP program can contact the CFAP Program manager here or call (343) 597-7740.