Guide for Anglophone artists and arts organizations in Quebec
Interdepartmental Partnership with the Official Language Communities (IPOLC)
This guide is for Anglophone artists and arts organizations in Quebec. A separate guide is available for Francophone artists and arts organizations from outside Quebec. The purpose of this guide is to:
- remind the objectives of the IPOLC partnership, and
- explain the mechanisms of registration and assessment under IPOLC at the Canada Council for the Arts.
What is IPOLC?
In 2002, after consultation with Anglophone artists and arts organizations represented through the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA) signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH). The agreement was renewed in 2005 for another three-year period, from 2005-2006 to 2007-2008. (A similar agreement was signed in 2001 and renewed in 2005 with Francophone artists and arts organizations outside of Quebec.) Since its creation in 2004, the English-Language Arts Network (ELAN) represents the Quebec arts community.
In this document, the terms « artists » refer to Anglophone artists in Quebec and « arts organizations » to Anglophone artistic organizations in Quebec.
What are the objectives of the IPOLC at the Canada Council for the Arts?
The objectives of IPOLC are the following:
- to facilitate the access of official language minority communities to federal programs that can contribute to their development
- to better inform and advise Anglophone artists and organizations in Quebec about Council programs. This objective aims to reach artists and organizations in all the regions of Quebec, through events, information tools, sessions specifically aimed at artists and organizations, and grant application workshops, in conjunction with arts service organizations
- to assist the professional development of individual Anglophone artists in Quebec and encourage the development of the Anglophone arts community in Quebec. IPOLC funds will serve to increase the grant amounts and the number of grants awarded to Anglophone artists in minority situations in Quebec
- to further professionalize and consolidate the development of arts organizations. This objective aims to help arts organizations to achieve a level of stability and excellence. IPOLC funding will increase the number of projects supported and the amounts allotted to organizations, and
- to disseminate the work of Quebec Anglophone artists and organizations from and to the Quebec regions, in Canada and abroad, on several levels:
- to foster and encourage touring, residencies, readings, festivals, performance and exhibitions in all regions of Quebec, other regions of Canada and abroad;
- to better support the marketing of the works of Quebec Anglophone artists and arts organizations in Quebec, in Canada and abroad; and
- in all these areas, IPOLC funds will serve to increase the number of projects supported and, where appropriate, the amounts allotted to projects.
Who is eligible to receive IPOLC funding?
Professional Anglophone artists and arts organizations which have a Quebec address (as indicated on the application form) and choose English as the language they prefer to communicate in with the Canada Council are eligible for IPOLC funds.
What is IPOLC’s budget?
For the fiscal years 2005-2006 to 2007-2008, the Department of Canadian Heritage’s commitment is $400,000 per year and the Canada Council has committed $600,000 per year. The total investment of the new agreement adds up to $3 million over three years.
How do I receive funds from IPOLC?
There is no separate application process or program for IPOLC. Artists and arts organizations will receive IPOLC support through the Canada Council’s regular programs, under existing deadlines, and be assessed under Council’s regular peer assessment process.
It is not necessary to fill out a specific application form or provide supplementary documentation for IPOLC. All eligible applications will automatically be considered under IPOLC.
What types of grants are eligible?
Considering the IPOLC guidelines and since this is a program of limited duration, only grants to individuals including travel grants, and project grants to arts organizations are eligible. Operating support is not eligible under IPOLC.
How will IPOLC projects be assessed?
IPOLC projects will be evaluated according to the regular assessment criteria of Council’s programs, taking into account, where appropriate, the specific context in which minority Anglophone artists and organizations operate in Quebec.
Following recommendation by peer assessment committees, successful projects will receive support based on funds first allotted by the Council and then, by the IPOLC. The Council agrees that new funds allotted by IPOLC are not intended to replace the current funding made by the Council to minority Anglophone artists and organizations in Quebec, but are meant to be a supplement to the funds already awarded.
How will IPOLC funds be allocated?
IPOLC funds will allow the Canada Council to:
- increase a grant up to the maximum eligible for the program (e.g. $20,000 for grants to individual artists), and up to the amount requested by the applicant, and
- increase the number of grants to Anglophone artists and artistic organizations in Quebec, according to the recommendations of peer assessment committees.
Therefore, artists and arts organizations are encouraged to request grants covering their needs, considering the maximum eligible in each program.
In the attribution of IPOLC funds, grants will be paid under regular program guidelines and timelines. Successful artists and arts organizations will receive a separate letter indicating that their project was supported through IPOLC funds.
How will the impact of IPOLC be assessed?
Each year, a report will be tabled on projects supported under IPOLC. The report will provide an opportunity to annually assess this initiative, integrating the Council, Canadian Heritage and ELAN, so as to modify as necessary the objectives and targeted initiatives. Artists and arts organizations are encouraged to provide their comments on this initiative either to the Canada Council or ELAN, by mail or email.
How can I learn more about IPOLC?
ELAN can provide further information on IPOLC. ELAN can be reached:
IPOLC officers have been identified in each section to provide relevant information about Council’s programs and provide follow-up with artists and artistic organizations. They can be reached:
- by mail, at 350 Albert St., P.O. Box 1047, Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5V8
- by email at info@canadacouncil.ca
- by TTY machine for the hearing-impaired,
at 613-565-5194
- by telephone, at 1-800-263-5588 or 613-566-4414, at the following extensions:
|
Sections |
Officers |
Telephone extensions |
|
Arts Services Unit |
Heather McAfee |
4033 |
|
Dance |
Jerry Longboat |
5501 |
|
General Information |
Information Officer |
5060 |
|
Inter-Arts |
Claude Schryer |
4204 |
|
Media Arts |
Ian Reid |
5203 |
|
Music |
René Lavoie |
5073 |
|
Outreach |
Sandra Bender |
5272 |
|
Theatre |
Sheila James |
4148 |
|
Visual Arts |
Jim Logan |
5266 |
|
Writing and Publishing |
Mona Kiame |
4016 |
You are invited to consult the Department of Canadian Heritage website at http://www.pch.gc.ca/offlangoff/ to learn more about IPOLC. You can also consult the Interdepartmental Consultation Directorate at Canadian Heritage at 819-994-3577.
November 2006