2025 artist in residency: regina’s oldest tree

The City of Regina is requesting mid-career or established artists to apply for an artist in residency at the Neil Balkwill Civic Arts Centre to transform the tree trunk from “Regina’s Oldest Tree” into an artwork(s) to be accessioned into the Civic Art Collection. In addition, this residency includes an opportunity to mentor an emerging artist to further the legacy of art, craft and woodworking at the Neil Balkwill Civic Arts Centre.

Project Background

Regina was first established in 1882 on a treeless grass prairie; today there are over 500,000 hand-planted trees throughout the City. Regina is one of nine Canadian cities to be recognized as a Tree City of the World by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Arbour Day Foundation. Regina’s Oldest Tree was an American Elm that saw 123 years of history in Regina unfold. The tree lived in Victoria Park where it observed the City of Regina incorporated in 1903, survived the Regina Cyclone in 1912, witnessed the Regina Riots in 1935, was present for the birth of Medicare in 1962, and stood tall as Victoria Park was designated a Heritage Conservation District in 1996. Unfortunately, the tree had been slowly dying since 2020 and was ultimately felled in August 2023 as it had become a hazard to public safety and posed a risk of becoming a breeding ground for the insect vector of Dutch Elm Disease.

This project will write a new chapter in the life story of this beloved tree, which has shared in so much of our City’s history. The branches have been donated to local Elders for Indigenous ceremonial uses and now the City looks to the artistic community to help repurpose the tree trunk into an artwork to live on for future generations to enjoy.

The Artwork

The City of Regina invites practicing artists to submit a proposal for the creation of an artwork using the tree trunk from Regina’s Oldest Tree. The winning proposal will honour the life of the tree and the century of history it witnessed, while expanding awareness of Regina’s Urban Forest and promoting discourse on woodworking and craftsmanship in fine art.

Project Information

• Since it’s felling in 2023, the tree has been debarked and stored within a temperature-controlled building. Due to the trunk of the tree still being intact, we are unable to determine the state of the interior of the wood.
• A viewing of the tree will be held at 1430 4th Avenue on Wednesday September 11 from 2:00 – 4:30 for all interested artists to view the tree.
• The artist will be provided with the raw material (trunk) from the Oldest Tree. The artist’s dominant material must be wood.
• The delivery deadline for this work is April 2025. Installation (if applicable) is between May and June 2025.
• The artist will be required to dedicate 150 hours over four months
• The artist will be required to get insurance as part of the agreement.
• The selected artist will determine the terms and execution of the mentorship program including how they will select their mentee and the involvement of the mentee with the project, this can include but not limited to; being an artist assistant with the opportunity to create their own piece.
• Mentorship must meet the following criteria:

1. The mentor must set a budget for mentee material costs from the greater residency material budget.
2. The mentor and mentee must meet at least three times during the residency.
3. The mentor and mentee must set established goals at the beginning of mentorship.

• The selected artist will facilitate one public engagement session along with an artist talk near the end of the residency to showcase their work. Public engagement opportunities may include but are not limited to facilitating workshop(s), artist talk(s) or open studio hours.
• Reproductions of artwork may be used in City promotional material as part of the residency.
• As part of the residency, the City will be documenting the process and project in a video through third party production company including footage of the artist.
• This residency is to help facilitate the production of artwork(s) that will be accessioned into the Civic Art Collection at the end of the residency.