The Name Of is a one week residency held at Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts, facilitated by multidisciplinary artist Maddie Alexander (They/He). This residency is for trans* artists, inclusive of all who fall under the gender diverse, 2 Spirit, Intersex, GNC, or Non-Binary experience. The intention of this residency is to foster a focused space for trans* artists to collaborate, share research, expand your networks, and nurture space to dig into your practice in new and explorative ways. Throughout the week, artists will be guided through skills sharing workshops, artist presentations, studio visits, work-in-progress crits, visiting artist talks, and a final presentation/ work-in-progress exhibition. This residency welcomes visual artists, performers, curators, writers, and sound artists across media and practices.
Our residency title, “The Name Of”, is a fragment of text pulled from trans activist Lou Sullivan's Diary (We Both Laughed in Pleasure). In this phrase, Lou exclaims “ I don’t need to know the name of why I feel so run down”. The act of naming our experiences as trans* folks is layered and expansive. “The Name Of” offers guided space for trans* artists to move through this exploration, however they feel fit.
Deadline to Apply: October 30th 2026, 12pm EST.
Questions?: maddie.b.alexander@gmail.com
This residency is hosted at Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts on Toronto Islands. The cost per artist for this residency is $700.00 CAD (inclusive of HST). If artists intend to apply for grants or bursaries, the facilitator is happy to provide letters of support. The fee for your residency includes;
Private accommodations
Studio space
Access to Facilities at Gibraltar Point, including : Photography Darkroom, Resource Library, Artist Tool Library, Projectors and various Media tools.
Welcome Dinner
Facilitated events; including artist presentation, visiting artist talks, workshops, and an open studio
This residency will also include a curated group exhibition of all participating artists at Orchid Contemporary, the following fall.
You can learn more about Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts here:
https://gibraltarpointcentre.ca/
If you would prefer to submit a video or audio application, please use the questions below as guides- and submit to maddie.b.alexander@gmail.com by the deadline. If you have any questions in regards to accessibility within residency, please reach out to maddie.b.alexander@gmail.com so they can answer with specific detail to your access needs. If there are any access barriers to filling out this application, please contact maddie.b.alexander@gmail.com.
THE NAME OF 2026 Exhibition
As a culmination of the inaugural year of “The Name Of” residency, a space for Trans and Two-Spirit artists, we present to you our collaborative exhibition, hosted by Orchid Contemporary.We thank the Canada Council for the Arts for supporting this project, Gibraltar Centre for the arts for hosting us, and Adrien Crossman of Orchid Contemporary for our ongoing collaboration.
With warmth, love, and resistance.
THE NAME OF 2026 Cohort:
Jadi Darawi, Abi Hodson, Michael David Battle, Azka, Cameron DePutter, Amir Patros, Nahrain Yousefian, Robin Alex McDonald, Shannon Sandwell, Eli Nolet, Aras Pars Aykus, Theo Donovan. Lorelei d'Andriole, riley yaxley, Whess Harman and Aida Lodge.
