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The Canadian Forces Artists Program
BG-03.057 - November 13, 2003
Canadian War Art
The production of Canadian war art began officially in 1916, with the creation of the Canadian War Memorial Fund. Canada's war artists would go on to produce over 800 paintings, sculptures and printed works by the time the First World War ended. These works were exhibited throughout Canada and around the world, making appearances in major art centres such as New York and London.
The Second World War presented another opportunity for the actions of those serving Canada to be officially recorded in art. The Canadian War Records Program was launched in 1942 and recruited artist candidates to serve in uniform alongside Canada's soldiers, sailors and airmen. However, with the end of the war Canada was again left with no official military art program.
Civilian Artists Program
After a gap of more than 20 years, a new military art program was created. The Canadian Armed Forces Civilian Artists Program, active from 1968 to 1995, recorded the work of the Canadian Forces' domestic and foreign operations of that era. While preserving the same aim as previous war art projects, the new program allowed civilian artists to become involved, working alongside Canadian soldiers in both domestic and foreign operations.
Canadian Forces Artists Program
The end of the Civilian Artists Program did not dampen the need for Canada to record the actions of its military, and on June 6, 2001-the anniversary of the Normandy landings-then-Chief of the Defence Staff General Maurice Baril, announced the creation of the Canadian Forces Artists Program. This new artistic endeavour would give Canadian artists the opportunity to document the Canadian Forces at work, in Canada and around the world. It is hoped that this new generation of artists, all volunteers, will help usher in a new era in Canadian military art.
The Canadian Forces Artists Program provides a range of unique opportunities to support the independent and creative work of professional Canadian artists who wish to make a contribution to Canadian Military heritage. The program is open to all forms of art and all artists, from painters and sculptors to writers and poets.
It is the aim of the Canadian Forces Artists Program to enable artists from across Canada, working in a variety of media, to capture the daily operations, the people, and the spirit of the Canadian Forces, and in so doing give the Canadian public a lasting record of our military men and women and their work.
Pilot Program
As a first step, the Canadian Forces Artists Program initiated a pilot project in 2002 whereby three artists, each representing a branch of the service, were selected to enter the Southwest Asia theatre of operations (Operation Apollo) and-in the medium of their choice-document the activities of the Canadian Forces.
The artist attached to the navy, John Horton, completed a week-long deployment with Canada's Naval Task Group in the Arabian Sea. Ardell Bourgeois (air force) and Allan MacKay (army) each spent time in theatre in summer 2002. There has since been a post-mission debriefing, and the Directorate of History and Heritage (the organization within the Department of National Defence responsible for the Artists Program) and the three services are gathering useful information to better enable the launch of the full-fledged program.
The full program began with a call for applications last January. With the cooperation of the Canada Council for the Arts, National Defence followed an application process similar to that of existing Council programs. From 32 applicants a total of 21 artists were accepted into the program by a selection committee in April 2003. The committee included Dr Serge Bernier (Director, History and Heritage, DND), Mr Joe Geurts (Director, Canadian War Museum), Mr Jean-Louis Roux (Chairman, Canada Council for the Arts), Dr Roch Carrier (National Librarian), Mr Pierre Théberge (Director, National Gallery of Canada), Senator Lucie Pépin, and artist Michael Flahault.
The Canadian Forces Artists Program is currently in the process of identifying appropriate assignments and locations to accommodate as many of these artists as possible over the next two years. Each artist will donate one or two works to the Canadian Forces after their experience.
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