Grants to Professional Independent Critics and Curators
Deadline
1 February 2007
Program Description
These grants support Canadian professional independent critics and curators. The program is for those who develop their practice independently from art organizations or institutions. Research, creative production and professional development activities are eligible¾in theory, criticism, analysis and curating in contemporary visual arts (including fine craft and photography) and media arts.
The program recognizes three categories of critics and curators (emerging, mid-career and established) and offers two components: Creation/Production Grants and Curatorial Residencies.
Creation/Production Grants
This component allows applicants to devote most of their time to independent research and professional development activities, and/or the production of an independent exhibition project or publication. These grants contribute to subsistence, material, travel and production costs. They may also allow applicants to participate in professional workshops or independent programs of study in non-academic institutions.
Curatorial Residencies
This component provides support for curatorial residencies within Canadian art museums, artist-run centres or public galleries. Grants provide a contribution toward the applicant’s salary during the period of the residency. Grant holders may participate in research, exhibitions, community initiatives, structured interactions, professional development activities and activities related to permanent collections. Residents who wish to do research must describe the specific outcome or impact of the research for the host organization.
Artist-run centres, art museums or public galleries are not eligible to apply to this program but can request project costs from the Canada Council for the Arts Project Assistance to Visual Arts and Fine Craft Organizations program. Applicants that are already receiving operating funding from the Canada Council are not eligible, however.
Eligibility
General Criteria
To apply to the Grants to Professional Independent Critics and Curators program, you must be a Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. You must also meet the Canada Council’s definitions of an arts professional and its definition of a professional independent critic or curator.
An arts professional is someone who:
- has specialized training in the field (not necessarily in academic institutions)
- is recognized as such by his or her peers, and
- is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity, if financially feasible.
A professional independent critic or curator has:
- produced an independent body of work
- made at least three public presentations of his or her work over a three-year period, and
- written at least three critical texts or reviews that have been published in a professional context.
All Canada Council for the Arts programs are accessible to Aboriginal artists and arts organizations, and to artists and arts organizations of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.
Specific Criteria
Grants are available to three categories of applicants: emerging, mid-career and established.
- You may apply to the emerging category if you are at an early stage in your career and have created a modest independent body of work. You must have made a locally recognized contribution to your discipline through public presentation of your work. This category requires you to have at least three years of professional arts practice after basic training in your field.
- You meet the requirements of the mid-career category if you have created an independent body of work and have made a nationally recognized contribution to your discipline through public presentation of your work outside your local community. For this category, you must have at least eight years of professional arts practice after basic training in your field.
- You may apply to the established category if you are at an advanced stage in your career and have created an extensive independent body of work. For this category, you must have made a nationally and/or internationally recognized contribution to your discipline through public presentation of your work and have at least 15 years of professional arts practice after basic training in your field.
Note that meeting the eligibility criteria allows you to apply to the program. It does not, however, guarantee that you will receive a grant.
Other Restrictions
Students are not eligible to apply to this program.
The Visual Arts Section of the Canada Council cannot consider university research projects. If you wish to pursue studies at the doctoral or post-doctoral level, or to undertake scholarly research, you may be eligible for support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
You may apply to only one component of the Grants to Professional Independent Critics and Curators program per deadline.
If you have already received a grant at the established level, you may not apply to the mid-career category. If you have already received a grant at the mid-career level, you may not apply for an emerging grant.
You may apply for only one Canada Council Grant to Professional Artists program (or to one deadline of that program) in any fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). You can receive a maximum of two Grants to Professional Artists from the Canada Council in any 48-month period.
The Canada Council will also accept one request for a Travel Grant from you per fiscal year. Travel Grants allow professional independent critics and curators to travel in response to an invitation to present their work and ideas publicly, to carry out research, and to engage in professional development activities. For further information, refer to the Travel Grants to Professional Visual Artists including Artists in Photography, Fine Craft, Architecture, and Independent Critics and Curators program.
Please note: If you are an established professional artist who works in more than one discipline (Visual Arts and Music, for example) and you meet the eligibility criteria as an established artist in both disciplines, you may apply to two different Grants to Professional Artists programs per fiscal year. (Each disciplinary section sets its own criteria for determining who is considered to be an established artist.) You must, however, accept or refuse the first grant offered by the Canada Council within two weeks of the date of the grant notification. If you accept the first grant offered, your other application will be withdrawn from any remaining competition in that fiscal year.
Grant Amount
Amount Available
Creation/Production Grants
You are expected to base the amount of the grant request on your needs, the period of time you require to carry out the program of work, and the maximum grant amounts offered, which are indicated below. You must round your total budget request to the nearest thousand.
Emerging Category
- Creation costs, to a maximum of $8,000
- Production costs, to a maximum of $7,000
- Total grant amount, from $3,000 to $15,000
Mid-career Category
- Creation costs, to a maximum of $15,000
- Production costs, to a maximum of $10,000
- Total grant amount, from $3,000 to $25,000
Established Category
- Creation costs, to a maximum of $20,000
- Production costs, to a maximum of $14,000
- Total grant amount from $3,000 to $34,000
Curatorial Residencies
An amount of up to $15,000 is available for all three categories, to support short- or long-term curatorial residencies within Canada.
Application Form
Or
Further Information
Pao Quang Yeh
Visual Arts Section Officer
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. 5094
TTY (TDD) machine, for hearing-impaired callers: 613-565-5194
Fax: 613-566-4332
November 2006