Deadline: 2-Nov-23
The British Columbia Arts Council (BCAC) is currently accepting applications for the Project Assistance Program to support eligible organizations and arts or curatorial collectives in the development, expansion, enhancement, or creation of new or unique independent media arts works, programming and community engagement initiatives.
Projects and works must be independent of commercial industries for film, video, and gaming.
Areas
- BC Arts Council grant programs support independent digital and media arts practices in the following areas:
- Moving images (film and video practices, including narrative, experimental, expanded cinema, and installation-based works)
- Audio or sound art (including sound sculptures and installations, sound walks, or other use of sound and listening as the foundation of artistic expression, generally for presentation in gallery spaces)
- New media and digital arts (including interactive installation, immersive and interactive environments, web-based art, or other information and communications technologies used for artistic expression)
- This grant program does not support film production activities of works primarily intended for festival or commercial distribution, or film and creation projects outside of programming and engagement initiatives.
Funding Information
- There is no maximum request amount, but project assistance grants typically range from $5,000 to $25,000. Requests for amounts beyond this range must include a clear rationale for why the project requires a higher amount.
Examples of Eligible Projects
- Examples of eligible activities include but are not limited to:
- Screenings and exhibitions of independent media arts works, including development and presentation or installation
- Documentation, publications, and dissemination of digital and media arts works and exhibitions
- Professional skills development, including workshops, artists’ residencies, and activities that develop the arts sector
- Exploration of new artistic or independent media arts-based works or curatorial practices, including practice-based research, experimentation, and creative development
- Audience development, collaborations, exchanges, and activities that creatively engage communities
- Examples of activities that are not eligible for support in this program:
- Creation or production of works that do not involve collaboration, consultation, or engagement with artists or communities as part of project development or realization
- Works created primarily for distribution through social media channels, network television broadcast, or streaming platforms
- Creation or documentation using media or technology with the intent of supporting works primarily rooted in disciplines other than media arts
- Podcasts and radio programming that are not embedded within established artistic practice or specifically dedicated to the dissemination of artistic works. Activities based within journalism, broadcasting, creative industry, or for general interest or commercial purposes are not eligible for support.
- Ongoing multi-day festivals and projects embedded within ongoing multi-day festivals, and other activities eligible within the Project Assistance: Professional Arts Festivals grant program
Eligibility Criteria
- Media Arts Organization Applicants
- To be eligible, an organization must be:
- A professional media arts organization registered and in good standing as a non-profit society or community service co-op in B.C. for at least one fiscal year prior to application with:
- The majority of key staff (paid or volunteer) and board members based in B.C.
- Creative control and decision making for programming and engagement primarily maintained within the organization and by leadership based in B.C.
- A purpose or mandate dedicated to arts and culture programming and activities. or
- A purpose or mandate to provide services to the arts and culture sector in B.C.
- Operations and activities that reflect this dedicated purpose or mandate. or
- An Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) community organization registered and in good standing as a non-profit society or community service co-op in B.C. for at least one fiscal year prior to application with:
- The majority of key staff (paid or volunteer) and board members based in B.C.
- A commitment to offering regular arts and culture activities. or
- An Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) government in B.C. that offers regular arts and culture activities. or
- A professional media arts organization operated by a local government in B.C. for at least one fiscal year prior to application, that:
- Maintains an ongoing arm’s length, community-based board of management or advisory structure that sets policy for the organization’s programs and services.
- Holds a dedicated programming space and has at least one dedicated staff person in an artistic, curatorial, or administrative leadership position who is responsible for programming and engagement.
- Offers ongoing public programming by professional arts and cultural practitioners.
- Primarily operates with autonomy, holding creative control and decision making for programming and engagement within the organization, with separate financial records for operations. or
- A professional media arts organization operated by a public post-secondary institution in B.C. for at least one fiscal year prior to application, that:
- Holds a dedicated programming space and has at least one dedicated staff person in an artistic, curatorial, or administrative leadership position who is responsible for programming and engagement.
- Offers ongoing public programming by professional arts and cultural practitioners, the majority of which is not programming of faculty or student works.
- Primarily operates with autonomy, outside of curriculum, holding creative control and decision making for programming and engagement within the organization, with separate financial records for operations.
- A professional media arts organization registered and in good standing as a non-profit society or community service co-op in B.C. for at least one fiscal year prior to application with:
- An eligible organization must also:
- Provide public arts and cultural programming (or service to the arts and culture sector) in B.C., as a primary activity, and have done so for a minimum of one year prior to the intake closing date.
- Provide programs that benefit the community at-large and not solely the interests of its nonprofit society members.
- Engage skilled artistic, curatorial, and administrative leadership (volunteer or paid) for project or service delivery.
- Fairly compensate artists, arts and cultural practitioners, technicians, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers. Compensation must align with project and community contexts and industry standards within the field of practice.
- Follow international intellectual property rights standards and cultural ownership protocols.
- To be eligible, an organization must be:
- Arts or Curatorial Collective Applicants
- To be eligible, an Arts or Curatorial Collective must:
- Be established and readily identified as a collective of independent artists, curators, or arts and cultural practitioners, consisting of three or more individuals who are professionally active in their field of practice, each of whom must:
- Have a minimum of two years of professional practice in their field following basic training, with roles that hold creative control of projects.
- Have a demonstrated body of previous work as an individual practitioner, including at least one public presentation of work for which an artist fee or equivalent was received.
- Be a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident.
- Have been a resident of B.C. for at least 12 months immediately prior to the application deadline, and ordinarily reside in B.C.
- Have a demonstrated history of creating or presenting work as a collective and have a clear commitment to a current practice. At a minimum, the collective must have:
- A demonstrated body of previous work by current members of the collective.
- At least one public presentation of work by the current collective, for which artist fees or equivalent were received.
- The intention to continue working together as a collective with current members on future projects.
- Apply under the name of an individual member of the collective who acts as the key contact person and is listed as the submitting representative or “Primary Contact” within the online grant system. If the application is successful, this person will:
- Receive payment of the grant on behalf of the collective.
- Be issued a T4A for the full grant amount.
- Be responsible for submitting the final report.
- Be established and readily identified as a collective of independent artists, curators, or arts and cultural practitioners, consisting of three or more individuals who are professionally active in their field of practice, each of whom must:
- An eligible Arts or Curatorial Collective must also:
- Engage skilled artistic, curatorial, and administrative leadership for project or service delivery.
- Not be applying on behalf of the activities of a for-profit business.
- Fairly compensate artists, arts and cultural practitioners, technicians, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers. Compensation must align with project and community contexts and industry standards within the field of practice.
- Follow international intellectual property rights standards and cultural ownership protocols.
- Adhere to the Criminal Records Review Act which requires that people who work with or may have unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults must undergo a criminal record check by the Criminal Records Review Program.
- Collectives with two members or ad hoc collectives may be eligible to apply to Individual Arts Grant programs for a collaborative project.
- To be eligible, an Arts or Curatorial Collective must:
For more information, visit British Columbia Arts Council.
