Deadline: 2-Nov-23
The British Columbia Arts Council (BCAC) is currently accepting applications for the Professional Arts Festivals Program to support eligible organizations and arts or curatorial collectives in the development, enrichment, and creation of new or unique public programming through a specific project, component, or programming initiative within an existing festival.
A festival is an event that includes related arts and cultural activities and programming presented over a continuous period of more than one day. Grants received through this program are intended to encourage specific art forms or practices, increase the availability of professional arts in the community, and support the artistic programming of festivals.
Priority Groups
- The BC Arts Council’s designated priority groups include applicants and arts and cultural practitioners who are:
- Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, or Inuit) Peoples
- Deaf or experience disability
- Black or people of colour
- Located in areas outside greater Vancouver or the capital region
Funding Information
- There is no maximum request amount, but project assistance grants typically range from $5,000 to $30,000.
- 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 a specific project include but are not limited to:
- Discipline-specific programming within a multidisciplinary festival
- Specific programmatic streams, screening series, presentations, or performances of B.C. artists and arts and culture practitioners within the larger festival
- Specific screening series, speaker series, presentations, stages, or performances within the larger festival
- A collection of activities under a specific programmatic theme within the larger festival
- Programming related to B.C. artists and arts and culture practitioners presented within the festival
- Examples of a specific component include but are not limited to:
- Artist fees for performing and contributing artists as a component of overall festival expenses
- Expenses related to accessibility and accessible programming
- Fees for Elders and Knowledge Keepers
- Examples of activities that are not eligible for support in this program:
- Festivals in their entirety
- Festivals being offered for the first time, and single-day festivals (these activities may be supported through discipline-specific project programs)
- General operating expenses and activities, ongoing expenses, or annual suites of programming
- General marketing expenses as a primary focus of activities
Eligibility Criteria
- Organization Applicants
- To be eligible, an organization must be:
- A professional arts and culture 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.
- An Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) government in B.C. that offers regular arts and culture activities. or
- A professional arts and culture 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
- A professional arts and culture 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.
- A professional arts and culture 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 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.
- 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
- To be eligible, an Arts or Curatorial Collective must:
For more information, visit British Columbia Arts Council.
