Deadline: 07-Oct-2025
The Ontario Arts Council is seeking applications for its Touring and Circulation Grant Program to support Ontario artists, arts groups and arts organizations for audiences across Ontario, Canada and internationally.
This program backs touring and circulation efforts undertaken by Ontario artists, collectives, and organizations, enabling them to present work across diverse locations within Ontario, across Canada, and internationally. It covers touring presentations and exhibitions in any artistic practice funded by the OAC and can include audience-building activities, networking, and engagements for market development.
Tours must occur outside the applicant’s home city, town, or First Nation, though school tours within Ontario may include local engagements. At least one confirmed public presentation or exhibition at the invitation of a presenter is required, and projects must plan for a minimum of three distinct engagements with separate presenters. Self-presented events are eligible only if they are part of a tour meeting those criteria and serving a strong audience or market development purpose.
The OAC places a high priority on environmentally sustainable touring approaches. Applicants are encouraged to consider strategies such as slow tours with longer stays, clustered stops in close proximity, or hybrid formats combining virtual and in-person elements. There are two distinct categories within the program. The first, known as the Tour category, is open to individuals, ad hoc groups, collectives, and organizations. The second, called Large-Scale Tour, is reserved for organizations undertaking more complex projects involving greater numbers of engagements, personnel, or production requirements.
The program emphasizes tours in which most engagements take place at the invitation of a presenter. Within Ontario, the priority is to broaden access to artistic work for communities that are often underserved, while national and international tours are expected to heighten the visibility and recognition of Ontario artists outside the province. A strong emphasis is also placed on environmentally sustainable approaches to touring, encouraging practices such as clustered stops, longer stays, or hybrid formats that combine virtual and in-person engagement.
Category 1 – Tour offers grants up to $30,000. Category 2 – Large-Scale Tour supports organizations with greater logistical demands, with funding ranging from $30,00 up to $60,000. Large-scale designation may relate to the number of engagements, traveling personnel, volume of works, or production complexity. Because of limited funding and high demand, awarded amounts may fall below requested totals.
Applicants must be based in Ontario and may include professional artists, arts professionals, collectives, ad hoc groups, and organizations. In addition, certain institutions such as municipalities, school boards, colleges, universities, and First Nations schools may qualify. Individual applicants must be professional artists or arts professionals who are at least eighteen years of age, Canadian citizens or permanent residents (or with pending status), and residents of Ontario for at least twelve consecutive months before applying. Specific rules exist regarding temporary or recurring absences from Ontario, ensuring applicants maintain genuine residency ties.
Ad hoc groups and collectives must consist of at least two eligible members, with at least half of the membership residing in Ontario. Incorporated not-for-profit organizations must be provincially or federally incorporated, have their head office in Ontario, and be governed by a volunteer or advisory board. For-profit organizations are only eligible if they are Canadian-owned, Ontario-based book or magazine publishers recognized under OAC’s publishing programs. Colleges and universities must be Ontario-based, officially registered with the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, and present or produce the work of professional Ontario artists. Municipalities, school boards, and First Nations institutions must similarly be Ontario-based, demonstrate professional engagement with artists, and employ staff responsible for arts programming. At any point, the OAC may request supporting documentation to confirm eligibility, and failure to provide such information can result in withdrawal of the application or repayment of granted funds.
Applicants are not eligible if they have overdue or unresolved final reports from previous grants. Reports that are past due, submitted but requiring revision, or submitted but unable to be approved due to substantial issues all result in automatic ineligibility. OAC’s online system, Nova, enforces these restrictions. If an individual is responsible for a grant received by an ad hoc group or collective with unresolved reporting, they too will be blocked from applying. Likewise, collectives that include members with outstanding reports are ineligible. Beyond these restrictions, applicants may only submit one application per program deadline and cannot hold more than one project grant for the same activity. Multiple applications for the same activity at the same time are also prohibited, although re-application is permitted if the initial proposal is unsuccessful. The only exception to this rule lies in third-party recommender programs, which may provide multiple grants for the same activity under their own guidelines. The deadline for the application is 7 October 2025.
For more information, visit Ontario Arts Council.
