Deadline: 17-Oct-23
The British Columbia Arts Council is currently accepting applications for its Project Assistance Program to support the development of community-based arts through the creation or presentation of public programming initiatives that provide engagement between artists, participants, and communities, and reduces or eliminates barriers to public participation in the arts.
Activities may include performances, exhibitions, documentation, circulation and presentation projects, creation of new works, collaborative arts activities, artists’ residencies, exploration and presentation of traditional, new or diverse art forms, and artistic or organizational development projects.
Funding Information
Grants typically range from $5,000 to $20,000, with a maximum grant amount of $25,000.
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; or
- Located in areas outside greater Vancouver or the capital region.
Examples of Eligible Activities
- Developing and presenting a group art exhibition, artist’s talks, and community art workshops, focused on a theme, and coordinated and curated by a team of local artists.
- A collaborative exploration of the culture of a specified community through dance, music, visual art and craft, or storytelling, led by members of that community.
- Research, co-creation, and performances of a community-led theatre project that includes aspects of mentorship and skills training from professionals.
- Indigenous artists, youth and Elders promoting Indigenous learning, mentorship and apprenticeship through the creation and presentation of new art works.
- An artist development series for emerging artists to support skills development and foster peer connection with mentorship from established artists.
- A series of multi-disciplinary arts gatherings including artist talks, readings from writers, live music, slam poetry, non-commercial film screenings and digital art, within a defined time period.
Examples of Ineligible Activities
- A professional arts organization offering a community-engaged arts project.
- A community art club holding an art sale, where there is no engagement with professionals, and there is no set payment of fair compensation to artists.
- A community performing arts organization offering a performance where there is no engagement with professionals, and there is no set payment of fair compensation to artists.
- Ongoing multi-day festivals and projects embedded within ongoing multi-day festivals, and other activities eligible within the Project Assistance: Community Arts Festivals or Professional Arts Festivals programs.
- Support for an organization’s entire season of performances or artistic programming.
- Literacy programs or projects focused on curriculum delivery.
- Projects or activities that do not involve or benefit artists, arts and cultural practitioners, Elders, or Knowledge Keepers.
- Projects or activities that do not have a clearly defined arts and culture focus.
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible, organizations must either be:
- A Community 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.; and
- 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.; and
- Operations and activities that reflect this dedicated purpose or mandate.
- A Community 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:
- NOTE: For the purposes of eligibility for this grant program, Community Arts Organizations are non-profit:
- Community arts councils;
- Community driven, generally non-professional, volunteer-managed arts and culture organizations; or
- Community-based arts and cultural centres, whose primary purpose is community centered engagement and access to the arts.
- Community Arts Organizations offer a range of programming focused on enriching a specified community through a variety of arts disciplines and experiences, using a grassroots approach to providing wider service to the community beyond their membership. Although generally community-led, community arts organizations may also engage and collaborate with professional artists, arts and cultural practitioners, arts administrators, Elders or Knowledge Keepers.
- 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.; and
- 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.
- An eligible organization must also:
- Provide public arts and culture programming and engagement (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 application submission deadline;
- Engage community-based board leadership and, if applicable, skilled artistic or administrative leadership (paid or volunteer);
- 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.
- Follow 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;
- Not currently receive Operating Assistance from the BC Arts Council;
- Have completed and submitted any overdue final reports on previous BC Arts Council grants by the application submission deadline for this program; and
- Provide programs that benefit the community at-large and not solely the interests of its nonprofit society members.
For more information, visit British Columbia Arts Council.