Deadline: 15-Oct-20
The Edmonton Arts Council is accepting proposals for the Equity and Access in the Arts. To invest in a thriving and diverse arts community in Edmonton by supporting Edmonton based artists and collectives from communities that face barriers to access.
This includes, but is not limited to, groups whose members are treated differently because of systemic barriers that disadvantage people based on their Indigenous heritage, the colour of their skin, their disabilities, sexual orientation and identity, and/or immigration status.
Program Streams
This program has three distinct streams, artists may only submit to one stream:
- Stream 1: Exploration and Experimentation: This stream is intended to support the individual artist in the creation, research, development, and revision of work. The applicant must present a short description of the work they will do and how it relates to their artistic goals. There should not be a commitment to a specific production, or presentation of the resulting work. An application to this stream does not need to be for new work. It can also be for enhancement or extension of existing or ongoing artistic work. Examples of Exploration and Experimentation initiatives:
- A dancer wants to independently integrate Alexander theory and practice into their movement vocabulary, to shape their future work.
- An author and poet want to dedicate time to write a draft of their first novel.
- A musician wants to write new songs that may one day be included in an EP or full-length album.
- A visual artist wants to experiment with new materials or techniques.
- playwright wishes to spend creative time on the second draft of their current play.
- Stream 2: Skills and Career Development: This stream is intended to support an individual artist or arts professional, or a collective ensemble of artists and arts professionals, in the development of skills, knowledge, or capabilities. Examples of Skills and Career Development initiatives:
- A costume designer seeks out a mentorship with a designer well-known primarily for their work in kathak dance, with the relationship carried out online over the course of a year.
- An Indigenous improvisation trio plans to learn how to record and shape their own web-series while observing distancing restrictions, and they propose working with a named expert to share the appropriate skills, including the purchase of some necessary equipment.
- A literary agent and manager wishes to enrol in an online conference focusing on methods of maximizing sales on online platforms.
- A paraplegic sculptor seeking to incorporate arc welding into their practice wants to take a beginner’s course at NAIT, including the purchase of some necessary equipment.
- An existing collective of dancers plans to engage a specific mentor to lead a series of virtual and distanced movement classes to learn Crump.
- Stream 3: Major Artist-Driven Projects: This stream is intended to support work that does not fit in the other two streams, such as collective creation or work that is materially ready to enter production and presentation (Applicants should only consider production or presentation once the major artistic and logistical decisions relating to a project have been made). Examples of Major Artist-Driven Projects:
- A visual artist plans to 3D print a thousand magpies, each in a slightly different pose, and has permission to install them along the railing of the High-Level Bridge for a summer.
- An ensemble of capoeira dance artists seeks to develop and present their new work designed to be performed outside of classroom windows for junior high school audiences, with the intent of maintaining physical distancing requirements.
- An illustrator and writer team collaborate on completing and self-publishing a graphic novel telling the story of a family new to Canada learning to integrate into their Terwilliger neighborhood.
Funding Information
- Stream 1: Exploration and Experimentation: These $5,000 grants support an artist to work on solo creation, experimentation, or research.
- Stream 2: Skills and Career Development: These grants of up to $10,000 support professional development projects for individual artists and collectives.
- Stream 3: Major Artist-Driven Projects: These grants of up to $25,000 support artist-initiated projects created by individual artists and collectives. A combined total of $500,000 will be allocated to the three Streams in this program.
Eligibility Criteria
Individuals and collectives who identify as members of groups facing systemic barriers to access may apply, with limitations in each stream. Applicants must:
- Have a history of work in any arts discipline (including customary and contemporary Indigenous artistic and cultural work);
- Be 18 years of age or older;
- Be a resident of the City of Edmonton;
- Be a Canadian Citizen, Permanent Resident, or have a valid open work permit; and
- Have no overdue Edmonton Arts Council final reports.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2GjTiny