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ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM
Lawnya Vawnya’s Artist-in-Residence program offers a week-long residency each March to two Newfoundland and Labrador musicians/groups: one from the East Coast and one from the West Coast. These independent residencies can be remote or on-site at LV HQ or the Rotary Arts Centre in Corner Brook.
The program aims to provide artists with dedicated time and space to research, develop, and produce new or ongoing musical material. Each chosen applicant will receive a $1,000 artist fee.
The residency culminates in a community outreach activity, such as an artist talk, workshop, or performance, facilitated by the artists at the end of their week-long residency.
Want to apply? Keep an eye out for our call each winter.
March 16th-22nd, 2026
ZAYNAB WILSON
ST. JOHN'S RESIDENCY
Zaynab Wilson is a soulful singer, drummer, strummer, improvisor, and composer whose roots run deep in rhythm, community, and creative freedom. Raised in a family and community steelpan band, and performing since age six, her musical mosaic is steeped in a celebration of her Afro-Caribbean heritage.
As a drummer, Zaynab has a Bachelor of Music from Humber College and has performed and toured with various Canadian and international artists like Lorraine Klaasen, Alysha Brilla, Jason Wilson, Martin Carthy, Dave Swarbrick and Pee Wee Ellis, at notable festivals such as Woodford Folk Festival (Australia), Hillside Festival (Canada) and Celtic Connections (Scotland). Since the debut of her original music project in 2018, Zaynab has toured in Canada, the US, and Australia. Her recent EP, A Way Home, earned a 2025 MusicNL R&B Artist of the Year award and praise from Caribbean Beat magazine for its heartfelt take on diaspora, heritage, and home. For 2026, Zaynab will receive her Bachelor of Music Education from Memorial University and is working on her first full-length album with the support of the Canada Council of the Arts.
March 9th-15th, 2026
R SHEAVES
CORNER BROOK RESIDENCY
R Sheaves is an alt folk/rock project founded by Corner Brook-based composer/singer-songwriter/producer Robert Humber. Their debut album, titled ‘MARY SPINS,’ was released via Milltown Records in March 2025 and garnered 3 MusicNL award nominations. It has recently been coined a “lo-fi masterpiece,” and “the mother of all sleepers in 2025” by Fred’s Records. The music aims to fuse Robert’s more experimental, contemporary classical leanings with gritty, intimate chamber folk aesthetics. They are planning their first out-of-province shows for Summer 2026, and have a new album coming soon!
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