Deadline: 24-Apr-23
Toronto artists, arts organizations and artist collectives are now being invited to submit applications for the 2023 Newcomer and Refugee Arts Engagement Program.
Specific equity measures or targeted programs are in place to ensure full access and participation by Black artists, Indigenous artists, artists of colour, artists who are Deaf, have disabilities or are living with mental illness, artists who self-identify as 2SLGBTQIAP, newcomer and refugee artists, young and emerging artists and artists working outside the downtown core.
Funding Information
- The set grant amount is $20,000. This grant may cover up to 100% of project costs.
- A TAC Accessibility grant will provide up to a maximum of $5,000 towards accessibility costs for artists incurred during the project.
- Project activities may not start before July 1. Projects must be a minimum of 3 months in duration. Projects must be completed within two years of the date of your Notification Letter.
What does this program support?
- The Newcomer and Refugee Arts Engagement program provides targeted funding to Toronto non-profit organizations and artist collectives engaging newcomers and refugees through the arts, supporting the integration and inclusion of newcomer communities to Toronto. They define a newcomer as: an immigrant or refugee who has lived in Canada for less than 7 years; a refugee is a person who was forced to leave their home country and is now located in Canada.
- Projects involving Deaf artists and artists with disabilities may apply for an additional TAC grant by completing the Accessibility Expenses section of the application and including the requisite information in their budget.
- Accessibility costs include but are not limited to: ASL interpretation, audio description, closed captioning, communications assistants, attendant care (including helpers for Elders), support workers and equipment rentals or other supports required to meet artists' accessibility needs).
Eligibility Criteria
- If you are a first-time applicant to the Newcomer and Refugee Arts Engagement program or if you have any questions about your project’s eligibility, please contact the Program Manager.
- To apply to this program, applicants must be either an incorporated non-profit organization or an unincorporated collective operating on a not-for-profit basis.
- A collective is defined as two or more artists working together under a group name, either on a single project or on an ongoing basis.
- Organizations and collectives must be located in the City of Toronto. A Post Office Box address cannot be used to meet this requirement. Organizations with a regional Toronto office must have operated in the City of Toronto for at least one year prior to the deadline.
- For collectives of two artists, both must be City of Toronto residents. For collectives of more than two artists, the majority of members must be City of Toronto residents.
- Artists must be professional. A professional artist is someone who has developed their skills through training and/or practice; is recognized as such by artists working in the same artistic tradition; actively practices their art; seeks payment for their work; and has a history of public presentation.
- The activities for which the grant is requested must include the collaborative involvement of professional artists and newcomer and/or refugee community members.
- Applicants must have a strong track record of engagement with newcomer and/or refugee communities and demonstrate a viable administrative and financial plan for achieving the goals of the proposed activities.
- TAC recognizes that due to systemic barriers within the broader arts community (e.g. limited mainstream presentation opportunities for artists from equity-seeking communities) that some flexibility may be required in interpreting eligibility criteria to take into account equivalent professional experience and contexts. Potential applicants from equity-seeking communities are encouraged to discuss their eligibility with the Program Manager in advance of submitting an application.
- The project for which the funding is requested must take place in the City of Toronto.
- Applicants are eligible to receive only one grant from each funding envelope per calendar year.
Ineligible
- Funding cannot be used to support an organization’s ongoing staff or faculty salaries. Where a portion of permanent staff or administrative resources are dedicated to the project, you may estimate the value of these resources and include a detailed breakdown in the budget as in-kind revenue.
- Applicants may not receive funds from both this program and any other Toronto Arts Council program for the same activities and timelines.
- Organizations receiving operating funding directly from the City of Toronto’s Economic Development and Culture Division are not eligible to apply to this program.
- This program does not support schools, tuition-funded training programs, curriculum-based programs, or research projects. Projects with a school as the venue cannot take place during school hours.
- Educational and religious institutions, unless there is a clear separation at both the program and budget level between their regular activities (i.e. religious/congregation activities or educational/student body activities) and their arts activities;
- Schools that are part of Ontario’s public or private education system;
- Individual artists.
- Costs related to equipment purchase, capital projects (e.g. building purchases, renovations, etc.), film/video production, archiving, publishing, awards and award ceremonies, art therapy, fundraising events/projects and deficit reduction are not covered by these grants. Costs related to activities occurring outside of the City of Toronto are also not covered (e.g. touring, travel, etc.).
- Arts-based research initiatives or arts enrichment programs for students.
For more information, visit TAC.