Central Library's Artist in Residence programs are three-month, paid community engagement residencies that support individual artists, arts organizations, and collectives working in Indigenous art and place making, children's art and illustration, or the newcomer experience.
The resident is invited to work in a designated space at Central Library and engage with the public at libraries across the city. Artists are selected in partnership with arts and culture organizations.
Lyndsay Wasko is an award-winning designer and fledgling children’s book illustrator whose work focuses on themes of childlike discovery and thoughtful observation of nature. Raised on the shores of Vancouver Island by nature-loving DIY-er parents, she learned the best way to share stories with her family was to draw them.
Lyndsay graduated in 2014 from the Alberta University of the Arts with a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Communications, and self-published the children’s book Down in the Jungle written by Maxine Spence that same year. Recent work includes Canada Parks public engagement projects such as the Banff museum exhibits Welcome to Bison Country (2018) and These Mountains Are Changing (2019).
During Lyndsay’s residency she hopes to complete digital illustrations for a 32-page children’s book manuscript she has written called Best Nest. This colourful rhyming book is aimed at preschool to early readers and features birds from around the world, from hummingbirds to flamingos, boasting about why their nest is the best.
Visit Lyndsay in her Level 4 studio Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 am to noon, or check back later for upcoming programs.
Through their residency, chosen artists working in any artistic discipline will bring their Indigenous identities, experiences, and perspectives to the public. Indigenous Artist in Residence applications open in the winter.
The Newcomer Artist in Residence is an artist who recently arrived in Canada (five years or less) and is the winner of the annual Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) New Canadian Artist Award at the Mayor’s Luncheon for Arts Champions.
This residency recognizes the contribution of children’s artists to literature through exhibitions and workshops for all ages.
