Deadline: 16-Oct-2025
The British Columbia Arts Council is inviting applications for its Project Assistance: Professional Arts Festivals program, an initiative designed to support distinctive programming within existing multi-day arts and culture festivals across British Columbia.
This opportunity allows organizations and curatorial collectives to create innovative new projects, performances, and experiences that enrich audiences and strengthen cultural vitality across the province.
Grants are provided for project components rather than for overall festival operations. Funding can support activities such as special commissions, curated artistic showcases, installations, or other enhancements that deepen audience engagement and highlight the diversity of creative practices. By focusing on specific projects, the program encourages artistic innovation while ensuring festivals remain accessible and relevant to their communities.
Applicants may request a maximum of $25,000 through this program. The funding aims to give organizations the flexibility to deliver high-quality, professionally managed programming while maintaining accountability to clear project goals and outcomes.
To be eligible, applicants must meet specific criteria. Professional arts and culture organizations must be registered non-profits or community service co-operatives in good standing for at least one fiscal year, with the majority of staff and leadership based in British Columbia. These organizations should have a mandate dedicated to arts and culture programming or services and maintain creative control within the province. Indigenous community organizations, Indigenous governments, and professional arts and culture organizations operated by local governments or public post-secondary institutions may also qualify, provided they offer ongoing public programming and retain autonomy over artistic and curatorial decisions.
All eligible organizations must fairly compensate artists, technicians, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers in line with industry standards. They must also adhere to international intellectual property rights and cultural ownership protocols, and meet requirements under the Criminal Records Review Act when working with children or vulnerable groups. Applicants cannot have overdue final reports from previous BC Arts Council grants and cannot be current recipients of Operating Assistance Program funding.
Arts or curatorial collectives may also apply if they consist of at least three independent artists, curators, or practitioners who have been active for at least two years in their field, each with a demonstrated body of work and at least one public presentation for which they received an artist fee. Collectives must show a history of creating or presenting work together, with an intention to continue future projects as a group. Applications must be submitted by a designated representative, and a member must be identified as the payee to receive grant funds on behalf of the collective.
Through this program, the BC Arts Council strengthens the role of festivals as cultural anchors in British Columbia, providing essential resources for organizations and collectives to create meaningful experiences, foster community connections, and highlight the province’s artistic excellence.
For more information, visit BC Arts Council.
