The Guitar Project
The Guitar Project | Artscan Circle | 2024 Indigenous Youth Guitar Residency Program
Art is our instrument of impact. To celebrate twenty years of creating safe and artistic spaces for Indigenous youth, Grit Laskin has built by hand a literal instrument in recognition of our mandate: a gorgeously crafted acoustic guitar with inlay art on the neck that, in Grit's words, "is dedicated to honouring Artscan Circle, and especially the young people from remote communities who are participating in and discovering their creative musicality." The guitar's inlay, including Artscan Circle's logo designed by renowned Anishnaabe artist Phil Cote, as well as renderings of founder and harmonica virtuoso Mike Stevens and numerous Indigenous youth he's collaborated with over the years, tells the story of cultural exchange while highlighting the understanding that the youth are forever, and so are we. We think of the guitar as a musical talking stick, and our dream is to see this instrument travel our country and land in the hands of countless young people who will tell their artistic truths. Join us in our mission of becoming ambassadors of art and witness how this truly can speak louder than words.
We're pleased to announce that along with the creation of this guitar, we've also created a 2024 residency that will cover all costs for one youth from a remote community to participate in Canada's most prestigious guitar-making workshop run by none other than the world-renowned Sergei De Jong in Chelsea, Quebec.
* The Guitar Residency Program is sponsored by Indspire’s Rivers to Success Program and Grit Laskin.
2024 Indigenous Youth Guitar Residency Program
The Indigenous Youth Guitar Residency Program is a one-month residency that supports the practice of a young Indigenous artist by offering mentorship by Sergie De Jong as well as the opportunity to workshop with like-minded individuals.
WHO: Eligible artists are Indigenous Youth living in northern communities in Canada aged 16 – 25. An Artscan Circle Steering Committee will select the artist in residence.
Where: Residency Program, Chelsea, Quebec.
Duration: The residency will be from June 24 – July 26, 2024
STIPEND: The artist will receive an honorarium of $2000. Artscan Circle will cover the cost of transportation (flights and hotel) and the residency program (mentorship, accommodation and food).
Application deadline: April 30, 2024
De Jonge School of Lutherie
Guitar Making Courses
No experience is required
● The course offers hands-on instruction in the workshop for five days/week, with optional room and board. Students will learn every aspect of the process from start to finish and build their own guitars during the course.
● These days, my home and shop are in Chelsea, QC. Canada (near Ottawa). I've been at various locations over the years (mainly in and around Toronto), but in 2003, I bought an old, restored farmhouse in the country, including an old barn, a renovated shop, and a guest house.
● The 15-acre property is mostly wooded and surrounded on two sides by the Gatineau River. In the warmer months, the Wakefield steam train used to roll by twice a day. These days, the tracks have been replaced with a walking trail.
● This is a comprehensive and detailed course covering the construction of classical and flat-top steel-string guitars. Students will, in the course of this program, build a guitar from rough materials and follow through to a completed instrument.
● Students will be familiarized with the luthier's tools, their safe use and proper maintenance. Plans, templates, and special jigs will be introduced and constructed by the students for their own use and retained by them upon completion of the course.
● Students will gain an appreciation for the choices of woods in guitar construction and why different woods are used for different parts of the guitar. Practical design and acoustic principles will also be examined, as well as comparative approaches of other established guitar makers.
Sergio’s Biography: http://www.dejongeguitars.com/about-biography1.html
Key Course Learnings
designing their instruments and bracing patterns based on preferences and acoustic principles
designing and constructing jigs and templates for specific operations;
use of all power and hand tools; how to maintain them and use them safely; good work habits
making all internal and external parts from rough stock; cutting raw stock as necessary
joining, planning and bracing a soundboard and back
making kerfed linings
hand bending the sides to fit the mold and assembling the guitar frame; adding back and sides
inserting or inlaying purfling and sound hole rosettes
cutting and fitting the neck-to-body dovetail joint
building, shaping, and re-enforcing the neck; making and slotting the fingerboard; installing frets
finishing materials and techniques; sanding and polishing
final assembly and set-up to critical specifications
some repair techniques
WiFi high-speed internet is available on the property
All tools and materials are supplied with the course.
Classes run for 8 hours per day, Monday through Friday.
Class size restrictions are in place to optimize student/teacher interaction and shop resources
http://www.dejongeguitars.com