Assistance to Visual Artists: Project Grants

Deadline

1 December 

Program Description

Project Grants support professional visual artists who contribute to contemporary visual arts for research/creation, production, and career development. The project must be significant and advance the long-term artistic practice, dissemination of the artist’s work, or career development of the applicant at a key moment in their career. There are three types of project grants:

• Research/Creation: This type of grant allows for a period of independent research at a key moment in the artistic practice of the applicant. The project must demonstrate the capacity to advance the artistic practice of the artist.
• Production: This grant supports production costs of one or more works where there is at least one confirmed public presentation of the work(s) in a professional visual arts context. The project must demonstrate the capacity to advance the career of the artist.
• Career Development: This grant supports the development of an artist’s career through development activities and/or the growth of a professional network with partners such as critics, curators or art dealers. This can be done in conjunction with the development of tools such as websites, portfolios and small monographs. The applicant must demonstrate that the project occurs in a key period with regard to its impact on the progression of his or her career.

Applicants may apply to only ONE of the above project grant types per deadline.

This Canada Council program is accessible to Aboriginal artists and artists of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.

Eligibility

General Eligibility Criteria

To apply to the Canada Council for the Arts, you must be a Canadian citizen or have Permanent Resident status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. You must also meet the Canada Council’s definition of a professional artist, which is an artist who:

• has specialized training in the field (not necessarily in academic institutions)
• is recognized as such by his or her peers
• is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity, if financially feasible.
• To meet the above definition of a professional visual artist, you must have:
• produced an independent body of work
• maintained an independent professional practice for at least three years after receiving specialized training.
• made at least three public presentations of work in a professional visual arts context over a three year period

Professional Context

Artists’ public presentations and exhibitions, both in Canada and abroad, must be in a professional visual arts organization or context where the artists work is recognized by a professional curator, gallery owner/art dealer, or collective of professional artists.

In Canada, to be considered professional, an organization must be a public art gallery, a museum or an artist-run centre that pays a professional fee to participating artists. The condition of paying fees does not apply to commercial galleries or professional venues outside Canada.

The Canada Council for the Arts recognizes that, for contemporary visual artists from Aboriginal as well as culturally diverse communities and, in rare cases, artists living in remote areas, the networks for peer recognition and exhibition venues may exist in alternative professional contexts.  The acceptance of alternative professional contexts will be determined with the expertise of Aboriginal and culturally diverse communities in the Visual Arts Section and, if necessary, in collaboration with peers in the milieu.

Note: Exhibitions and public presentations in venues that do not have a mandate in the visual arts (coffee shops, restaurants, libraries, etc.) are not considered to be professional visual arts venues.

First-time applicants to the Visual Arts Section with questions regarding eligibility are encouraged to contact a Program Officer at least several weeks before the deadline.

Other Restrictions

Students are not eligible.

Educational projects, as well as capital and large equipment costs, are not eligible.

Retroactive funding, or funding for projects taking place prior to the competition deadline, is not available. Project Grants cannot be used for projects that have already been completed or for expenses already committed before the program deadline.

You may apply for only one Canada Council Grant to Professional Artists program (or to one deadline of that program) in any fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). You may also submit one request for a Travel Grant per fiscal year.

You can receive a maximum of two Grants to Professional Artists from the Canada Council in any 48-month period.

Note: If you are an established professional artist who works in more than one discipline, such as Visual Arts and Music, for example, and meet the eligibility criteria as an established artist in both disciplines, you may apply to two different Grants to Professional Artists programs per fiscal year. You must, however, accept or refuse the first grant offered by the Canada Council within two weeks of the date of the grant notification. If you accept the first grant offered, your other application will be withdrawn from any subsequent competition in that fiscal year.

Each disciplinary section defines its own criteria for determining who is considered to be an established artist. For the Visual Arts Section, established artists are those at a mature stage in their careers who have created an extensive independent body of work and have made a nationally and/or internationally recognized contribution to their discipline through public presentation of their work. Established artists must have at least 15 years of exhibition history in a professional context.

Note that meeting the eligibility criteria allows you to apply to the program. It does not, however, guarantee that you will receive a grant.

Grant Amount

The maximum grant amount that you can receive from this component of the program is $20,000.

You are expected to determine the amount of your grant request based on your needs, the period of time required for the project and the budget guidelines provided under each project grant type described below. You might not be awarded the full grant amount requested.

Research/Creation

This grant can be used for studio time and travel costs, for a period of independent research and creation. This may also include participation in residencies and specialized professional development activities (such as workshops or specialized training).

Eligible costs include:

• subsistence, to a maximum of $2,000 per month
• research-related costs
• studio, material and small equipment costs
• travel costs related to activities in the project.

Production

This grant is for the production of work for a confirmed public presentation or exhibition. It is not for costs normally assumed by the exhibiting organization.

Eligible costs include:

• subsistence, to a maximum of $2,000 per month
• production, studio and technical costs
• material and small equipment costs
• shipping costs for exhibitions outside Canada or to Canadian venues that do not receive operating support from the Canada Council for the Arts
• travel costs related to production of works.

Career Development

This grant is for activities that advance an artist’s career, such as travel to expand a professional network with partners such as critics, curators, art dealers or publishers. This can be done in conjunction with the development of promotional tools such as websites, portfolios, documentation or small monographs.

Eligible costs include:

• subsistence, to a maximum of $2,000 per month
• small equipment costs
• technician and career development services
• shipping of works or materials related to the project
• travel costs related to the project
• salaries and fees to professionals.

Application Form

Or

To apply for a grant online go to GO! Grants Online

Further Information

Michel Gaboury or Pao Quang Yeh, Program Officers
Visual Arts Section
Canada Council for the Arts
350, Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8

Téléphone: 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 5265 or 5094

TTY: 1-866-585-5559

Fax: 613-566-4332

July 2009

Application Form and Guidelines

	Project Grants (pdf, 505 KB)
	GO! Grants Online Apply for a grant online