Spring & Summer 2025 Residencies and Workshops at Island Mountain Arts

A Selection of Artists’ Projects and Workshops for artists of all kinds in the heart of the Cariboo Region of BC

Photo by Jessica Peachey for Island Mountain Arts, 2023, featuring artist Wen Li and 2023 Mentors Ed Pien and Johannes Zits.

The Toni Onley Artists’ Project

Dates: July 05 – July 13, with opening gathering the evening of July 4
Cost: $750.00 + GST – Scholarships and Bursaries Available
Applications Close: May 15, 2025
Location: Wells-Barkerville School Studios (2nd Floor), Wells, BC
More information: www.imarts.com/events/2025/toap

About the Program
Since 2000, the Toni Onley Artists’ Project (TOAP) has offered a unique rural residency opportunity for professional and emerging visual artists. We would be delighted to welcome you to our 2025 program, which will run in Wells from July 5 – 13 with mentors Cindy Mochizuki and Sandeep Johal!

About the Mentors
Cindy Mochizuki creates multi-media installation, animation, drawing, audio fiction, performance, public artwork, and community-engaged projects. She has exhibited her work in Canada, US, Australia, and Japan.

Sandeep Johal is a Punjabi Canadian visual artist, advocate, and leader whose practice engages drawing, collage, textiles, and large-scale murals.

Learn more about the mentors.

Graphic by Isaac Forsland, with images submitted by Steve Woloshen

Slow Process – A Celluloid Filmmaking Residency

Dates: July 19 – July 27, with opening gathering the evening of July 18
Cost: $750.00 + GST – Scholarships and Bursaries Available
Applications Close: May 15, 2025
Location: Wells-Barkerville School Studios (2nd Floor), Wells, BC
More information: www.imarts.com/events/2025/slowprocess

About the Program
Join us for our inaugural artist residency tailored to new and experienced experimental filmmakers working with celluloid film. Set against the backdrop of Wells, BC, this week-long stay offers a unique opportunity to dive into analogue filmmaking with hands-on mentorship.

This self-directed residency allows you to focus on a new or existing project, while receiving personalized one-on-one mentorship from filmmakers who specialize in analogue techniques.

About the Mentors
We are delighted to welcome filmmakers Lindsay McIntyre and Steven Woloshen as mentors for 2025.

Learn more about the mentors.

Upcoming Workshops

Image submitted by Cocoaro Craft Chocolate, Mary Anne Molcan

Basic Principles of Chocolate Making

Date: April 26, 2025
Cost: $75.00 + GST
Registration Closes: April 11, 2025
Location: Island Mountain Arts Public Gallery, Wells, BC
More information: www.imarts.com/events/2025/chocolate

Learn how to take cacao beans and transform them into delicious chocolate.
In this hands-on class, you will learn about sorting out bean imperfections, roasting, winnowing and then hand-grind your beans into chocolate that you can take home to enjoy (or enjoy on the spot). On the way, you will also learn about the commercial processing and how different ingredients are added to various grades of chocolate.

About the Instructor
Cocoaro Craft Chocolate began in Wells, BC and was created by independent entrepreneur, Margaret Inoue. The business grew out of Margaret’s passion for food, flavour, social justice and, well, chocolate. It was the intersection where she felt she could make a difference through the business she developed.

An Introduction to Linocut Reduction

Dates: May 17 – 18
Cost: $200.00 or $185.00 for IMArts 2025 Members, + GST
Registration Closes: May 1, 2025
Location: Wells-Barkerville School Studios (2nd Floor), Wells, BC
More information: www.imarts.com/events/2025/linocutredux

This workshop is a beginner or intermediate level course for those who want to expand their one colour linocut experience to two or more colours. No prior printmaking experience is required. This process is fun and ensures that each print edition is truly one of a kind and impossible to replicate!

About the Instructor
Mary Anne Molcan is a Canadian visual artist who employs the reductive or multi block processes of linoleum printing to build diverse layers of colour and textures within her work.

Learn more about Mary Anne Molcan.

Image from Island Mountain Arts

About Island Mountain Arts

Island Mountain Arts (IMA) is a not-for-profit charitable organization located in Wells BC. A culture of gathering, sharing and idea exchange permeates the programming that Island Mountain Arts has cultivated through the forty-six years of its existence. IMA serves artists, builds community, and stimulates and enhances artistic, cultural and economic development. We foster connection and expression through workshops, residencies, seminars, exhibitions and performance.

Here and everywhere, we believe an art-full life is possible.

Wells, and the operations of IMA, are carried out on shared territory of seven first nations: Lhtako, Nazko, Lhoosk’uz, Ulkatcho, ?Esdilagh, Xatśūll, Simpcw, and Lheidli. Wells continues to be a meaningful place to gather, exchange ideas, and share the human experience through a growing variety of mediums. The region itself is an intersection of artistic practice, forestry, the Gold Mining Industry (both historically and presently), and outdoor activity and adventure.

Island Mountain Arts
2323 Pooley Street, Box 65
Wells, BC V0K 2R0
Canada
www.imarts.com
info@imarts.com
1 250 994 3466

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Accessibility
The nature of our town’s 1930’s architecture may be difficult to navigate for folks with different mobility needs. The Island Mountain Arts Public Gallery is partially accessible, as the venue includes a level entrance or ramp access to enter but lacks an accessible washroom. The studios for the Toni Onley Artist Project are on the second floor, and are not accessible, as the building lacks an elevator. If you would like to chat more about your needs to make the most out of your experience in Wells, please message info@imarts.com.

Acknowledgements
IMA’s workshops and Artists’ Projects are made possible through funding from the BC Arts Council and the Province of British Columbia. We are also grateful for the support we receive from the Wells-Barkerville Community Forest, the relationships we hold with the District of Wells and local non-profits and businesses for space to accommodate our programs, as well as our individual donors.

Image descriptions:
1. Artists are gathered in the 2nd floor Studios in Wells. 1 artist is giving an artist talk, her drawings are tacked up behind her. Folks sit on chairs, benches and the floor listening.
2. A light green background with a small image in the centre (submitted by Steven Woloshen) that features an outstretched hand with a spiral in it. Text spirals around the image, reading “Slow Process, A Celluloid Filmmaking Residency,” “Deadline May 15, 2025,” “Presented by Island Mountain Arts” and “July 18 – 27, 2025.”
3. Two images. On the Left, a stone pestle to the left, resting on Cocoa Beans. The right, and image of Mary Anne Molcan’s hands, carving a large lino-cut.
4. An image of the Island Mountain Arts Public Gallery Façade on a sunny Autumn Day. The building has beige siding and a fire-truck red front, with a large sign along the top of the building that reads “Island Mountain Arts” and large windows trimmed in beige. There is a wooden patio with wooden railing in-front of the building. Large trees on the right cast shadows onto the building.