BCAC: Professional Arts Festivals Program (Canada)

Deadline: 15-Oct-21

Applications are now open for the Professional Arts Festivals Program to support the development, enrichment, and creation of new or unique public programming through a specific project, component, or programming initiative within their existing festival.

Awards under this program are intended to encourage specific art forms or practices, increase the availability of professional arts to the community, and build the artistic programming of festivals. Awards are not available to support a festival in its entirety.

Eligibility Criteria

Assistance through this program is available to arts and cultural organizations that meet the following criteria:

Be a professional arts and cultural organization registered and in good standing as a non-profit society or community service co-op in the Province of British Columbia for at least one fiscal year prior to application. OR
Be a professional festival organization led by a local government, Indigenous Government, Indigenous Community Organization, or Métis Chartered Community in the Province of British Columbia for at least one fiscal year prior to application, with a community-based board of management that sets policy for the organization’s public programs and services. AND
Provide public programming in British Columbia and have done so for a minimum of one year.
Compensate artists, and arts, museums and cultural practitioners fairly in keeping with community contexts and industry standards within the field of practice, including adhering to international intellectual property rights standards and cultural ownership protocols.
Adhere to the Criminal Record Review Act, which requires that people who work with or may potentially have unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults must undergo a criminal record check by the Criminal Records Review Program.
Not currently receiving Operating Assistance from the BC Arts Council.
Have submitted any overdue final reports on previous BC Arts Council grants by the submission deadline for this program.

Exclusions

Project Assistance is not available for:

International travel as per BC Arts Council’s current COVID-19 policy.
Community arts festivals.
Operating costs.
Project phases or activity that have begun prior to the submission deadline.
Project or budget deficits and/or contingency funds.
Capital expenditures (construction, renovation, or purchase of property or equipment).
Feasibility studies, start-up costs, or seed money.
International travel costs or fees of foreign artists visiting British Columbia.
Community-based, user-pay arts societies and like organizations (e.g. choirs, bands, theatre troupes), unless this criteria is met.
Fundraising activities, conferences, conventions, or projects that are secondary to the arts-related activity (e.g. competitions, or family, religious, or community celebrations or anniversaries).
Subsistence to arts and cultural practitioners.
Costs of producing demo recordings.
Projects or activities funded through other BC Arts Council programs or its third-party delivery partners, including First Peoples’ Cultural Council, BC Touring Council, or Creative BC.
Private or for-profit entities.