Assistance to Visual Artists: Long-Term Grants

The Canada Council for the Arts is committed to equity and inclusion, and welcomes applications from diverse Aboriginal, cultural and regional communities, including people with disabilities.

Deadline

1 September

If this date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

Please refer to the Program Guidelines for detailed information.

Program Description

Long-Term Grants provide support over a two-year period to Canadian, professional artists who have made a significant contribution to contemporary visual arts.

Programs of work must be designed to advance the long-term artistic and career development of artists at a key moment in their career. A key moment is defined as a time when there is a shift or progress in an artist’s practice or level of career activities.

To receive a grant from this program, artists must include at least two of the following types of activities in their program of work: research/creation, production of new work, production for public presentation and career development.

This program is open to Aboriginal artists and artists of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.

Eligibility

General Eligibility Criteria

To apply to this program, you must be a Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. You do not need to be living in Canada when you apply.

You must also meet the Canada Council’s definition of a professional artist, which is someone who:

• has specialized training in the artistic field (not necessarily in academic institutions)
• is recognized as a professional by his or her peers (artists working in the same artistic tradition), and
• is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity, if possible financially.

To meet the definition of a professional visual artist, you must also have:

• produced an independent body of work
• had at least three public presentations of your work in a professional context over a three-year period, and
• maintained an independent professional practice for at least three years.

Specific Eligibility Criteria

In addition to meeting the general eligibility criteria above, you must:

• show evidence of outstanding artistic achievement, with at least three exhibitions of international, national, or provincial or territorial importance in the visual arts
• have at least one exhibition, public presentation, publication or other professional engagement confirmed for the grant period (if you are applying for support of production for public presentation or career development activities)
• have received critical recognition through three published reviews or catalogue texts, and

•  have received at least one research/creation and (or) one production or similar grant from the Canada Council for the Arts or other arts funding agency or foundation (you must indicate this in your curriculum vitae or resumé).

Grant Amount

The grant amount is $40,000 each year for two years in a row, for a total of $80,000.

These grants cannot be used for expenses that occurred before this program’s deadline.

Further Information

Michel Gaboury
Program Officer
Visual 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. 5265

TTY: 1-866-585-5559

Fax: 613-566-4332

July 2011

Application Guidelines and Form

	Assistance to Visual Artists: Long-Term Grants (pdf, 229 KB)
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