Makers Award 2020
Luna Collective is proud to announce the launch of our first ever Makers Awards. Supporting the creative community has been the foundational pillar of Luna Collective since we first opened our doors. This award was created in the hopes to support makers to further reach their goals.
BIPOC and Queer owned businesses may face disproportionate barriers to access reliable funding, which impacts their ability to reach their business goals. With this award Luna Collective hopes to provide opportunity for advancement to those who may face challenges in starting/growing a makers based business.
The intention of this grant is to offer Vancouver Island BIPOC and Queer (LGBTQIA2S+) makers, who are driven to make a living through the making of wares/art, a funding opportunity to help their creative business goals flourish.
This award is for makers at any stage in their professional development. We are offering 2 grants in the amount of $1,000 CAD awarded through an open call application intake from November 30th, 2020 until December 31st, 2020. Please read the Application Guide to learn more about eligible expenses within this grant. Applications are now Closed for the 2020 Makers Award. The 2021 Awards will open at the end of the year
Our 2020 Winners:
Anne van der Sloot (they/them) is a non-binary artist living on the unceded territory of the Lekwungen peoples (Victoria, B.C). Anne’s work in the music industry dwindled due to the pandemic, which led them to chainmail jewelry making, and then starting their business Ditch Metals. One of Anne’s highlights of starting Ditch Metals is that it has allowed them to connect with their queer community and actively engage in creative spaces through steel wearable art in a queer aesthetic.
All Ditch Metals pieces are hand linked and made of 100% stainless steel. Anne prides themself on their creations being durable, unique, artistic statement pieces. Anne operates their shop exclusively on a sliding scale model which allows their work to be more accessible to people who may be struggling financially, and for marginalized people, namely BIPOC and Trans people. Chainmail is a slow and careful craft, and you can see the dedication and hard work directly reflected in each piece Anne makes.
You can learn more about Ditch Metals by visiting them on instagram @ditch.metals or at their website www.ditchmetals.ca
Laveen Gammie (she/her) is biracial black artist currently based on the unceded territory of the Lekwungen peoples (Victoria, B.C). Laveen is currently completing a double major in Bio-Psychology BSc., and Visual Art BFA and is the creator behind Always L8t3. Laveen started Always L8t3 in 2020 when she began handmaking rugs, and has grown to include other mixed media. Laveen’s artistic interests often relate to the exploration of duality and perception. Her time at university has highlighted the interspace between experiencing museum objects and the existence of them. Socially, we have learned to create distance between art and our experience of it. We see this through the continuous relevancy of observing meticulously curated objects on white walls, with restrictions on time, space and proximity. Her current practice aims to find a resolution to these restrictions. She does this through her sense of humour and satire in the objects she creates as well as the ways she presents them.
One of Laveen’s goals for this year is to pursue showcasing her work in a gallery setting. Although rugs are typically showcased in people’s personal spaces, Laveen is working to explore the duality of how they can exist in the gallery setting and explore presenting her rugs using industrial materials, like concrete and metal.
You can learn more about Laveen by visiting her instagram @alwaysl8t3 and her website at www.alwaysl8t3.com