Deadline: 3-Oct-22
The Toronto Arts Council’s Visual Artists Program is now open to provide support to visual artists who have a professional independent art practice for the creation/production of new work or the completion of works in progress. Funds are intended to cover direct costs of creation/production, and materials.
Visual arts includes drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, printmaking, performance art, installation and fine crafts and more. The Visual Artists Program does not include film or video makers they apply to the Media Artists program.
Funding information
There are two levels of grants in this program:
- $ 5.000 – For emerging artists in the early stages of their professional career who have produced a small body of work and achieved some local recognition and / or have limited public exhibition experience. Applicants should have between 2 and 7 years of independent arts practice.
- $ 10,000 – Applicants should have at least 7 years of independent arts practice or a reasonable body of work, and have achieved national and or international recognition.
This Program does not Fund
- Projects that have been completed prior to the announcement of results. Toronto Arts Council does not fund retroactively.
- Project funding solely for the purpose of travel or exhibition of work, including the cost of framing.
- Capital purchases, such as tools, equipment, etc.
- Commissioned, instructional or promotional projects.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must be professional artists and meet the following criteria:
- Applicants must be Canadian Citizens, or Permanent Residents (Landed Immigrants), or have an application pending for Permanent Resident status, or be a Protected Person (approved refugee claimant) and, if requested, be able to provide documentation to verify this.
- Applicants must be residents of the City of Toronto for at least one year prior to the application deadline. Temporary absences of up to 12 months may be considered, subject to written explanation and special permission; please contact the Grant Program Manager. Neither a Post Office Box address nor a studio address can be used to meet the residency requirement.
- Applicants must have completed basic training (not necessarily in a formal educational institution).
- Applicants must have spent a minimum of one year working on and developing an independent art practice after completing full-time studies.
- Undergraduate students are not eligible.
- Professional artists pursuing graduate studies may not apply for work related to their program of study. A letter from the graduate program director specifying that the project is not related to the graduate student’s program of studies must be submitted with the application.
- TAC recognizes that due to systemic barriers within the broader arts community (eg limited mainstream presentation opportunities for artists from equity-seeking communities) that some flexibility may be required in interpreting eligibility criteria to take into account equivalent professional experience and contexts. Potential applicants from equity-seeking communities are encouraged to discuss their eligibility with the program manager in advance of submitting an application.
- Applicants must retain full copyright, financial and creative control.
- Applicants to TAC’s 2021 Visual Artists Program may not apply to TAC’s 2021 Media Artists Program.
- Collaborative proposals are eligible. Co-applicants are subject to the same eligibility criteria as primary applicants. If the application is successful, the grant check will be payable to the principal applicant, as listed in the application. Similarly, a T4A slip will be issued to the principal applicant.
For more information, visit https://torontoartscouncil.org/grant-programs/tac-grants/visual-and-media-arts/visual-artists