Grants to New Media and Audio Artists: Research and Production Grants
Deadlines
1 March or 1 October
If either of these dates falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. Your completed application and all support material must be postmarked on or before the deadline date.
The Canada Council will not accept applications postmarked after the deadline, incomplete applications, or those submitted by fax or email.
Program Description
These grants assist Canadian artists working with new media or audio technologies as means of artistic expression. Grants cover artist’s subsistence costs as well as the direct costs of research, creative development and production of artworks created with new media or audio technologies.
To ensure the vitality and continued excellence of new media and audio art, Canada Council for the Arts grants help support professional artists engaged in creating independent artworks; that is, where the artist maintains complete control over the work.
The program has two components, Research Grants and Production Grants.
This Canada Council program is accessible to Aboriginal artists and artists from diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.
Grants awarded through this program support independent Canadian artists making a creative use of technology or audio for the purpose of research or production of works in new media or audio.
Type of Work Supported
Priority is given to projects that involve innovation and artistic expression. Innovation may consist of a renewal of formal elements in terms of style, technique or process. It can also be based on the originality of the subject or content of the project, or on the uniqueness of the artist’s perspective or process of expression. Only the most innovative proposals are supported.
Priority is also given to projects that demonstrate the development of an individual style or expressive process, as well as a commitment to questioning and expanding the discipline.
Eligible projects may be in the form of works integrating technology or robotics, audio artworks, installations, performances, immersive environments, web art, VJing, sound sculptures or soundscapes, radiophonic or electronic art and interactive works.
Only independent projects are eligible for this program.
Applicant Eligibility
General Eligibility Criteria of the Canada Council for the Arts
All applicants must be Canadian citizens or have permanent resident status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, at the deadline date of the competition to which they are applying.
However, applicants need not be living in Canada when they apply.
All applicants must meet the Canada Council’s definition of a professional artist, defined as someone who:
- has specialized training in their field (not necessarily in academic institutions)
- is recognized as a professional artist by her or his peers (artists working in the same artistic tradition)
- is committed to devoting more time to the artistic activity, if financially feasible, and
- has a history of presentation in a professional context.
Eligibility Criteria for This Program
Emerging, mid-career and established artists are eligible for the Production Grants component (see eligibility criteria below).
Mid-career and established artists are eligible for the Research Grants component. Emerging artists are not eligible for this component.
- An emerging artist in new media or audio is one who:
- meets the general eligibility criteria of the Canada Council for the Arts enumerated above
- has received basic training in media arts
- has practiced his or her art for three full years or less
- has completed at least one independent new media or audio artwork that has been presented in a professional context
- has included with the application a copy of at least one independent artwork in new media or audio that he or she created and that has been presented in a professional context, or audiovisual documentation of that artwork.
- A mid-career artist in new media or audio is one who:
- meets the general eligibility criteria of the Canada Council for the Arts enumerated above
- has received basic training in media arts
- has practiced his or her art for four to seven full years
- has created at least two independent artworks in new media or audio and presented them in a professional context.
- A mid-career or established artist in another artistic discipline (considered as a mid-career artist for purposes of this program) is one who:
- meets the general eligibility criteria of the Canada Council for the Arts enumerated above
- meets the Canada Council for the Arts definition of mid-career or established artist for their discipline
- has at least five full years of recognized artistic practice to his or her credit
- has, during that period, presented his or her work nationally or internationally in a professional context (as defined by the Canada Council for the Arts section for that discipline)
- has basic training in media arts or demonstrates in the application that he or she has solid support by independent media arts professionals such as recognized programmers or technicians.
- An established artist in new media or audio is one who:
- meets the general eligibility criteria of the Canada Council for the Arts enumerated above
- has basic training in media arts
- has been practising for at least seven full years
- has created a significant body of independent artworks in new media or audio and presented it in a professional context.
- Co-applicants:
Groups of up to three artists working collaboratively on a project may apply. All co-applicants must meet the general eligibility criteria of the Canada Council for the Arts as well as the eligibility criteria for this program.
To be eligible, co-applicants must be in the same artist category (emerging, mid-career or established) as the lead applicant.
The applicant whose name appears first on the application form will be considered the lead applicant and responsible for the project.
Each co-applicant must share the creative responsibility for the project. Those hired as members of the team (programmers, sound engineers, consultants, specialists, etc.) cannot be considered as co-applicants.
If a grant is awarded, payments will be made to the lead applicant. However, each co-applicant is subject to the conditions enumerated in the program guidelines and the general grant conditions of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Restrictions Governing the Eligibility of Students and Artworks Produced During a Program of Study
- Undergraduate students:
Undergraduate students at a school, college or university are not eligible to apply.
- Graduate students:
Graduate students are eligible to apply only if they meet the general eligibility criteria of the Canada Council for the Arts and the eligibility criteria for this program.
As well, the proposed project cannot be related to the applicant’s program of studies. A letter from the applicant’s program director is required to verify this information and must be included with the application.
- Artworks created in the course of a study program:
Artworks created during basic training in media arts are not considered to be independent and do not count in determining an applicant’s eligibility.
Artworks produced after basic training in media arts but during another program of studies will be considered when determining eligibility if the grant application is accompanied by a letter from the director of the applicant’s program verifying that the artwork had no relation to the program of studies in question.
Note to All Applicants Regarding Eligibility
The heading “Types of Ineligible Activities and Projects,” in the “Project Eligibility” section, lists other types of artworks and projects that are not considered as independent artworks in new media or audio; these will not be counted when determining eligibility.
Other Restrictions
- Final reports for previous Canada Council grants:
Applicants must submit their final reports for any previous Canada Council grants before they can apply for a new grant. If the Council has not received and approved all required final reports before the competition deadline, the application will not be considered. This also applies to travel grants.
- Number of applications that can be submitted to the Canada Council for the Arts in the same fiscal year:
Applicants may apply to the Canada Council for only one grant to professional artists and one travel grant per fiscal year (from 1 April to 31 March). Applicants may receive a maximum of two creation grants for professional artists within any 48-month period. In this program, only the Research Grants component is considered as a creation grant for professional artists.
Only established professional artists who work in more than one artistic discipline and meet the eligibility criteria for established artists in each of the other disciplines may apply to two Canada Council professional artist grants programs per fiscal year (from 1 April to 31 March).
However, they must accept or refuse the first grant offered by the Council within two weeks of notification. If they accept this grant, any other application made during the same fiscal year will be withdrawn.
- Number of applications that may be submitted to this program:
Applicants may not apply to both components at the same time.
As well as the above restrictions, applicants may not submit the same project more than twice to the Research Grants component. The same applies to Production Grants.
Applicants may apply to the Research Grants component of this program before they have completed a project previously supported by a Production Grant. However, the final report for the previous grant cannot be overdue at the deadline date.
A project or part of a project that is already supported by another Canada Council program may not be eligible for this program, in particular if the activities eligible for funding are the same.
Project Eligibility
Research Grants
Projects eligible for funding under the Research Grants component include the following:
- research and development of ideas and concepts
- research and development of new projects
- experimentation with tools and technologies for the purpose of creating artworks in new media or audio
- professional development related to artistic practice in new media or audio, such as attendance at workshops, residencies, symposiums, conferences or other specialized training not leading to a degree
- working with software programmers, engineers, technicians or other consultants or specialists to develop knowledge and skills related to artistic practice in new media or audio
- travel related to the program of work, and
- research and development of links with potential host organizations for a future residency.
Production Grants
Applicants may apply under this category to produce an artwork that combines experimentation, exploration and research with the phases of production; or to produce an artwork for which the creative development phase is complete.
Activities eligible for funding under the Production Grants component include all of the activities mentioned above under Research Grants, as well as the following activity:
- production of one or more new artworks in new media or audio.
Grant Amount
Applicants may apply for any amount in the range indicated, but must round their total budget request to the nearest thousand.
Research Grants Component
- Mid-career or established applicants:
from $3,000 to $20,000
Production Grants Component
- Emerging applicants: up to $20,000
- Mid-career or established applicants:
- in new media: up to $60,000
- in audio: up to $35,000
Application Form
Grants to New Media and Audio Artists: Research and Production Grants (pdf, 109 KB)
This form can only be printed and cannot be filled out on-line.
New Media and Audio Artists: Budget Pages (Excel format)
OR
To apply for a grant online go to GO! Grants Online
Further Information
Marie-France Thérien, Program Officer
Media Arts Section
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8
Telephone: 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 5253
TTY: 1-866-585-5559
Fax: 613-566-4409
July 2009