Government Funders and Foundations

The Canada Council for the Arts

www.canadacouncil.ca
1-800 263-5588 (toll-free within Canada)

History

The Canada Council was founded in 1957 by an act of Parliament following the recommendations on our nation's cultural life by the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences, known popularly as the Massey Commission. Located in Ottawa, the Canada Council for the Arts is a "national arm's-length agency which fosters the development of the arts in Canada through grants, services and awards to professional Canadian artists and arts organisations." Council typically awards artists and non-profit arts organisations more than 6,000 grants, with a total value of more than $130 million.

Mandate

The Canada Council for the Arts offers grants, residencies, mentorship programs, and other funding and prizes to artists and arts organisations of all disciplines and at different stages in their careers. Some grants are broken down into different components featuring specific aims and objectives (such as funding for performance tours, travel, research, creation, or for simply buckling down and writing your first novel or play). The same grants are frequently offered to artists at different levels of professional work—artists who are emerging, mid-career and established—and granting varied levels of funding, depending on the project or professional accomplishments.

Applying

Each grant offered through the Council has an information summary page on their website which lists the following information: a grant description, eligibility requirements and deadlines, as well as information on how to apply and the names of program officers to contact with your questions.

Most applications can be found online, and require extensive preparation well before the deadline. Be sure to contact Canada Council Section officers in your discipline or area, who are available to field your questions and provide information about the application process, eligibility details and requirements.

Note: ASK lists a selection of Canada Council grants, specifically those for emerging and mid-career artists. To see a complete list of Canada Council grant and award programs, please go to their website directly.

Handy links:

CALQ: Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec

www.calq.gouv.qc.ca
Montreal office: 1 800 608-3350
Quebec City office: 1 800 897-1707

History

Founded in 1992, the mandate of CALQ is "to support artistic and literary creation, production and dissemination." Details about the history of CALQ, its budget, and information about how it operates can be found on their helpful FAQ page.

Mandate

CALQ typically awards 500+ grants to Québec arts organisations and 1,200+ grants and awards to professional artists. To see a list of past grant recipients, you can consult CALQ's Website. You will also find much information about their budget for grants, and the process of how their grants are chosen and awarded.

CALQ offers grants and residencies in all disciplines, and they are generally arranged into three main categories: Type A Grants (for senior artists with at least 10 years of practice), Type B Grants (for artists with two to 10 years of practice), and Career Grants (not described here, but awarded to artists to major artists after at least 20 years of outstanding achievement).

Applying

Applications can be found online in French or English. Applications can be submitted in English. CALQ also has tips and instructions on how to apply in both languages. To contact CALQ staff for more grant information in your discipline, go to this CALQ personnel contact page.

CAM: Le Conseil des Arts de Montréal

www.artsmontreal.org
(514) 280-3580

History

Founded in 1956, le Conseil des Arts de Montréal (CAM) was Canada's first Arts Council. Details about the history of CALQ, its mandate, budget, and information about how it operates can be found here

Mandate

CAM funds work in all disciplines, as well as multidisciplinary projects. There are also touring grants. With a budget in excess of $10 million, CAM typically provides 290+ grants and awards. Recent CAM initiatives included a partnership with Forum jeunesse de l'île de Montréal and Fonds de développement de la métropole, which provides extra funding and encouragement to organisations that assist young and emerging artists. Here is a listing of recent grant recipients.

Applying

CAM program officers are there to answer your questions. For a complete listing of their personnel representing different disciplines.

Note: Most information on CAM's site is in both English and French. This includes useful guidelines, eligibility criteria, and descriptions of funding programs as well as deadlines for next year's grants. However, application forms on CAM's website are in French. If you need to discuss submitting an application form in English to one of CAM's programs, please contact a program officer in your discipline.

Canadian Heritage

www.pch.gc.ca/pc-ch/financ/index_e.cfm
Montreal Office (Toll-free): 1-877-222-2397
Quebec City Office: (418) 648-5054

History

Canada's Department of Canadian Heritage is a new ministry with an old history. The origins of this department date back to the 19th century, when the offices of the Secretary of State of Canada, Registrar General of Canada and Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs were created in 1868. By 1996, and after a number of major shifts in parliamentary portfolios over many decades, the offices of Secretary of State of Canada, as well as Communications, Multiculturalism and Citizenship were restructured to form Canadian Heritage.

Canadian Heritage also administers Official Languages Support Programs, which promote Canada's unique French and English cultural and linguistic identity. These programs aim to fulfill the legacy of the late Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau's landmark Official Languages Act (1969, 1988). These acts were established to promote French and English in Canadian society and to encourage the development of Francophone and Anglophone communities in minority situations.

Mandate

The Department of Canadian Heritage is responsible for national policies and programs that "promote Canadian content, foster cultural participation, active citizenship and participation in Canada's civic life, and strengthen connections among Canadians." Canadian Heritage provides core funding for a number of major national cultural institutions, which include large Crown Corporations such as the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada and the National Gallery of Canada, to name a few. All of these play an important role in promoting Canadian culture, and offer their own unique funding programs for artists.

Canadian Heritage supports innovative projects in the arts, heritage, and official languages, among other areas of community development. The official languages mandate gives Canadian heritage a prominent role in supporting Quebec's English-language community.

Applying

The Arts Services Kit lists a number of Canadian heritage funding opportunities that will be particularly useful for artists like you. You will find that we have included links directly to the Canadian Heritage website so you can find more information for yourself or your non-profit arts organization.

However, if you need more information or would like to look at their entire online Guide to Canadian Heritage Financial Support Programs.

The Banff Centre

www.banffcentre.ca
arts_info@banffcentre.ca
1.800.565-989

History

Set on a campus in a beautiful and inspiring mountain location, the Banff Centre, Alberta, is a prestigious and world-renowned arts, cultural, and educational institution and conference facility. For almost 75 years, the Banff Centre's creative and cultural vision has enabled both emerging and established individuals "to interact within a multidisciplinary and multicultural environment, allowing them to push boundaries, to experiment, to share knowledge, to create and showcase new work, and to develop new ideas and solutions for the present and the future."

Mandate

Throughout the year, the Banff Centre offers a diverse array of programs for established, mid-career, and up-and-coming artists in all disciplines. These include residencies, workshops, training programs, masterclasses, and mentoring with some of the finest dancers, musicians, visual artists, and writers in both Canada and internationally.

Applying

Applications can be found on-line. Each program has an online description with details about the program, eligibility criteria, application guidelines, and submission dates. Application deadlines vary, as some of the programs and residencies offered by the Banff Centre run throughout the year. Be sure to contact the Banff Centre and read through their comprehensive and user-friendly website to find submission deadlines for the programs that interest you.

The Arts Services Kit provides a brief overview of the types of programs that the Banff Centre offers in each discipline, but ASK is by no means exhaustive. For more general information on the Banff Centre, its history, and to search the different programs that are offered, consult the Banff website, or call the Arts Program telephone number (toll-free): 1.800.565.9989