Call : Residency in the VIVA! Kitchen

Image: Diyar Mayil, Sans titre (Seed to bead), VIVA! Art Action 2023. Photo : Document Original 

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Call for applications for the VIVA! kitchen

Deadline: Friday February 28, 2025

Since the first edition of VIVA! Art Action in 2006, the VIVA! kitchen has been at the heart of the festival’s programming. This unique platform now takes the form of a two-week artistic residency, offering an artist or artists’ collective the opportunity to integrate their action art practice within a community kitchen service. 

VIVA! Art Action invites artists and collectives exploring the relationship between performance and food (cooking, serving or eating) to apply for this residency. 

Residency mandate
The VIVA! kitchen offers the general public an artistic and culinary experience. The artist or collective in residence will be responsible for conceiving and animating the culinary platform, infusing each stage of the process – menu, meal preparation and service – with a unique touch of their artistic practice. 

In previous editions, some artists took advantage of their presence in the kitchen to create a single performance spanning the duration of the festival. Others have proposed more occasional interventions that use the service of the meal as a performative moment, or developed a relational approach to the preparation, sharing and consumption of food. Whatever the approach, what these proposals have in common is that they transform the meals that punctuate the daily program into a space for encounters between the artwork and the public. 

Logistical information 
The residency is scheduled to run from September 15-29, 2025, at VIVA! headquarters (Montreal). As part of the residency, the selected artist or collective will develop a menu, then prepare, produce and serve meals for the duration of the festival. Expect one meal service per evening for 5 days, and around 100-150 guests per meal. The service period lasts about an hour.  

In addition to the daily performance meals, simple meals and snacks should be available throughout the day to satisfy the hunger of artists, staff, and volunteers. 

Resources and support

  • Fees: The artist or collective in residence will receive a performance fee of $900 (doubled in the case of a duo or collective). A residency fee of $2,000 will also be offered in recognition of the hours invested in production and service.     
  • Support team: A minimum of three people will be hired to support the artist or collective, in addition to daily support from volunteers. 
  • Food budget: An initial amount will be allocated to organize the kitchen and stock the pantry with basic ingredients, as well as a modest daily budget to purchase the ingredients needed to make the meals.
  • Donations and sponsorships: The artist or collective will be supported by the festival in seeking donations and sponsorships from targeted businesses and producers. These partnerships help meet the needs of the kitchen and contribute to reducing food waste.  

To submit an application, the dossier must include:

  • A letter of intent (1 page maximum) explaining your interest in the VIVA! kitchen residency, as well as your your personal relationship to hospitality, and your experience in food service;
  • A brief text (maximum 1 page) presenting your artistic approach and/or your performance proposal;
  • A CV (maximum 3 pages);
  • Between 10-15 images and/or video related to the call (including a descriptive list of equipment).

Artists with atypical backgrounds or from culturally, gender or ability diverse communities are encouraged to submit applications. However, our ability to pay for special access costs such as interpreters is conditional on obtaining additional funding.  

Applications should be sent by Friday February 28th to: info@vivamontreal.org
(Please write “VIVA! Kitchen” in the subject line)


All applicants will receive a reply by the end of March.