About the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund

Inspired by Chanie’s story and Gord’s call to action to build a better Canada, the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF) aims to build cultural understanding and create a path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians.

As a registered charity with national reach, our goal is to improve the lives of Indigenous people by building awareness, education, and connections between all Canadians. DWF’s programs – Legacy Schools and Legacy Spaces – are centered around these guiding pillars and contribute to a national movement where all Canadians are participating in reconciliation – or reconciliACTIONs. Each year, DWF’s annual awareness campaign, Secret Path Week (October 17 – 22), is an opportunity to launch, celebrate, or participate in reconciliACTIONS on a national level.

DWF has been in operation since 2016 and received charitable status in March 2018. Throughout the last two years the organization has been focused on establishing our mission and vision, building a foundation of sound programs, and re-engaging an audience built during the height of Gord Downie’s final days. To grow and remain relevant, DWF must engage a broader audience and connect on a deeper level in order to meet our mission and vision.

About the Animated Video Series

In late 2019, DWF planted the seed of “Reconciliation Begins With You”, a sentiment that embodies the vision of DWF and Gord’s call to “Do Something”. The animated video series seeks to build out the narrative, in a storytelling of sorts, featuring DWF champions sharing their journey of reconciliation.

The video series will feature audio from individuals such as a Legacy Schools educator, a Legacy Space champion, an Artist Ambassador, and more, with coinciding animation. In addition to building out the theme of “Reconciliation Begins With You”, the series seeks to empower viewers to join us on our shared journey.

Justin Stephenson, award-winning filmmaker and moving image designer will be coordinating the project alongside DWF. Collectively, we are seeking five (5) emerging Indigenous artists to participate.

Requirements

• Selected artists will work alongside Justin Stephenson to create visual idea to tell the story.
• Artist must be able to produce layers for the animation team to work with, such as separating figures from background, mid, and foreground of scene, different perspectives of figure, textures, and more.
• Selected artists must be able to provide high resolution scans of final pieces at 600dpi (or higher) or be able to ship final artwork safely (at DWF’s expense).

Timeline

• Selected artists will be notified by Friday, December 11, 2020.
• Work will be completed over the course of 3 months, based on a staggered start
  

Selection Process

All submissions will be reviewed and selected based on;

• Their concept’s alignment with the guiding theme “Reconciliation Begins With You”
• Demonstrated excellence of past work and ability to complete a series of professional pieces to coincide with a story

Honorarium

Selected artists will receive a $1500 honorarium for their successfully completed pieces.

Deadline

Artists must submit their application by Friday, December 4 at 11:59pm. Click here to submit your application.