The Gibson is pleased to partner with the Institut français du Canada, as part of their “Résidences Ouest-Ouest” programme, and Simon Fraser University’s Department of Physics, to launch the Cosmic Commons Artist Residency on SFU’s Burnaby campus in Fall 2026.
The Cosmic Commons invites applications to participate in a month-long, immersive residency experience for artists who have lived in France for at last five years, and who are interested in exploring the intersections between the arts and astrophysics and/or cosmology. Open to practices across the visual arts (including but not limited to sculpture, installation, film, video, digital arts, drawing, painting), performance; and sound, the residency seeks to build exchanges between artistic practice and astrophysics (studying the machinery of celestial bodies) and/or cosmology (studying the evolution of the universe as a whole), with particular research opportunities in particle physics phenomenology; the search for dark matter; galaxy evolution and stellar environments; and cosmic origins and acceleration.
The Gibson Art Museum and Department of Physics will provide the selected artist with a space within the Gibson to work, as well as access to a studio and other spatial and AV resources as necessary. The artist will also be able to visit the Trottier Observatory and observe and take part in astrophysics seminar discussions. The artist will culminate their residency time with a series of public programmes, which could involve a lecture, performance, seminar, workshop, soundwalk or otherwise at the Gibson. Our aim is to create a supportive platform for new research at the crossroads of the arts and sciences.
The residency will take place from November 2 to December 1, 2026, on SFU’s Burnaby campus.
