VMF Residency Program - Meet the Artist: Jonas Jones
VMF Residency Program is an experimental project that examines the opportunities and barriers around utilizing vacant retail spaces for low-barrier temporary artist studios.
In 2020, the program undertook a feasibility study and a year of community engagement with stakeholders for Phase 1.
In the fall of 2021, three local artists were selected by a jury of their peers to take part in a six-month residency at retail units donated by our project partners, Bentall Centre and The Royal Centre Mall.
Read more about the program on our Community Projects page.
The residencies are on the stolen and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Jonas Jones is one of the three local artists selected for the six-month residency. We asked him a few questions about the VMF Residency Program and his thoughts on the studio space.
Jonas Jones comes from the village of Átsnach (Tsleil-Waututh) with strong bloodlines running from Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) as well.
His kwshámin (ancestral name), TsuKwalton, comes from the Squamish village of Chʼiyáḵmesh. He is learning and apprenticing under the guidance and support of Ses Siyam (Ray Natraoro), indulging within the Coast Salish laws of art, a system that is passed down from master carver to apprentice.
He is honoured to be practicing this craft, as this foundation of art and way of life has been running through his blood for thousands of years. To live and breathe a little piece of the old people of their swa7am (ancestors) is truly a beautiful thing.
Xa7melsem, 2021. Image Courtesy of Inuit Gallery of Vancouver. Xa7melsem depicts an old Squamish legend, a sxw7umten who uses the powers of the sea kingdom. Creating storms and sinking canoes till the almighty xaays pays him a visit.
How is the VMF Residency Program supporting your art practice?
The VMF Residency Program gave me the freedom to indulge into my craft. Thanks to it, I have the space and time to focus on the projects in front of me.
I am new in the game, so this program will help promote my work a little more. Having a space where I’m able to store my equipment and prepare for the next endeavours gave me a great boost for what is to come.
How would the VMF Residency Program benefit other artists?
This program has been an outstanding experience for me, it helped me set a foundation for my art practice and get more exposure.
I think it would be a great opportunity for many other Tsleil-Waututhh, Squamish & Musqueam youth or artists alike, as a form of reclaiming the connection to our culture through art to cope with day to day life, almost as art therapy. It could also help the youth from our territory and our host nations to overcome that first step and take that jump into becoming an artist.
Twenty years ago these opportunities were unheard of and bypassed our people. We were almost shunned from our own territory (City of Vancouver). Today our future is a lot brighter as we are learning to coexist with what is around us. This can be another step in the right direction.
What are you currently working on, and what's your process?
At the moment I’m working on a Thunderbird portrait for the Squamish Nation Youth Centre.
It’s quite the process. It starts as a block of wood, then I slowly shape it into a mask using traditional wood carving techniques. After the design work and paint, the mask can be finished with some decor. For most pieces I use cedar bark rope and tuffs, while others can be finished with feather down or horsehair.
My mentor shared with me that we are the tool for the wood. Only the wood knows what the true form will become. We just take away chip by chip to reveal what it was destined to be.
How will you activate your studio space?
I’m not sure about it yet, but I think I’ll do an artist talk and possibly an open studio, so as to engage directly with the public.
Any plans for when your residency ends?
I got awarded an artist live/work studio through the Artist Studio Award Program and I’ll be moving there soon. I also applied for the Squamish Language Immersion Program, so I’ll be learning my traditional language.
Program Producer
VMF is a non-profit art consultancy and production agency dedicated to artistic and cultural development. VMF produces the annual Vancouver Mural Festival and VMF Winter Arts.
Program Partners
Hessey Consulting + Architecture | www.hessey.ca
Germaine Koh | germainekoh.com
Funding Partner:
City of Vancouver Cultural Services Grant
Supporting Partners: