Developmental Support to Aboriginal Theatre Organizations

Deadline

Completed applications and all support material must be postmarked no later than 15 September. If this date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

The Canada Council will not accept applications postmarked after the deadline, incomplete applications, or those submitted by fax or email.

Program Description

This program provides developmental support to Aboriginal theatre organizations. Aboriginal peoples include Status, Non-Status, Métis and Inuit people.

Developmental support means contributions towards the costs of producing theatre works and contributions towards the costs associated with the professional development of Aboriginal theatre artists and organizations.

This program has two components: one for established organizations and the other for emerging organizations.

Established: Companies, groups or collectives that have been in existence for five years or more of sustained activity and are currently not receiving multi-year operating grant support from the Canada Council for the Arts. Companies receiving multi-year operating grant support are deemed to have achieved a level of stability that takes them beyond the "developmental stage." They are not eligible to apply to this program but will receive a consolidation to their operating grant.

Emerging: Companies, groups or collectives that have been in existence for less than five years of sustained activity and demonstrate a commitment to professional artistic practice according to the Canada Council for the Arts' definition:

specialized training in the field (not necessarily in academic institutions);

recognition as such by peers (artists working in the same artistic tradition);

a history of public presentation or publication;

commitment to devoting more time to artistic activity, if financially feasible.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the requirements of an established or emerging organization as detailed above. Artists/members must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.

Eligible Costs

For established companies, eligible costs include:

the costs associated with outreach activities that lead to an increased appreciation of theatre by Aboriginal audiences, activities targeted to youth audiences, and in-province tours of reserves and urban communities;

the costs of professional development activities leading to improved operating stability (e.g. hiring trainers/consultants to conduct workshops or training sessions for staff, board members, artists and technicians);

the costs of activities that are not covered by their current operating grant.

Companies receiving operating grant support cannot apply for any production expenses.

For emerging companies, eligible costs include:

the costs for professional staff development projects and specialized administrative or artistic training;

the costs of professional development activities leading to improved operating stability
(e.g. hiring trainers/consultants to conduct workshops or training sessions for staff, board members, artists, technicians etc.);

production costs for new works (companies that are currently receiving Canada Council Theatre Production Project Grants cannot ask for support for the same project);

salaries for artistic and administrative directors;

rent;

marketing/publicity expenses;

travel costs that are not covered by other Canada Council programs;

bookkeeping and/or accounting expenses;

any other reasonable expense.

The Theatre Section will maintain its financial support for the work of Aboriginal theatre artists in their chosen areas of expression. Applicants are encouraged to apply also to the section's regular programs of support to professional theatre organizations.

Grant Amount

Recommended levels of assistance will be from $5,000 to $25,000, and grant amounts will be determined by a peer assessment committee. Retroactive funding is not available.

How to Apply

Applicants to both the established and emerging components are required to submit:

a completed application form, available from the Theatre Section;

a written explanation (two pages maximum) of how the project would improve the organization's operations in both the short term and long term;

a letter signed by the Artistic Director, Administrator or General Manager;

for organizations that do not have a board of directors, a profile of the members of the group or collective involved in the project;

if the organization has been in existence for more than a year, a one-page self-assessment of its goals and recent accomplishments;

a budget detailing the expenditures that would be covered by the grant.

Established organizations must also include the following:

a brief summary of the organization's history, including significant achievements and a list of new works that have been developed and/or produced;

a copy of the organization's most recent financial statements.

Originals should not be submitted. The Canada Council is not responsible for the loss or damage, whatever the cause, of support material.

All organizations that have received grants through this program must submit either a final report or a progress report before they are eligible to reapply.

Assessment of Applications

Assessment Criteria

Requests are evaluated against the following criteria:

contribution of the project to the artistic and/or professional development of the applicant organization or individuals within the theatrical community;

impact of the project on the local community and/or national Aboriginal theatrical community;

contribution to the definition, growth, interpretation and appreciation of Aboriginal theatre;

feasibility of the project according to the administrative experience of the core members of the organization.

Requests from established organizations and emerging organizations are assessed separately. For established companies, priority will be given to outreach activities that lead to an increased appreciation of theatre by Aboriginal audiences, activities targeted to youth audiences, and in-province tours of reserves and urban communities. For emerging companies, priority will be given to professional staff development projects and specialized administrative or artistic training that furthers the development of the company.

Assessment Process

Applications will be reviewed by a peer assessment committee selected from the Aboriginal community. This committee will be composed of professional theatre artists who are chosen to provide balanced representation of different areas of expertise, regional diversity, gender and both official languages. The Theatre Section recognizes and respects the diverse and unique cultures that make up the Aboriginal community, and the assessment process will reflect that reality.

When an application is received by the Canada Council, it is registered and sent to the Theatre Section. Applications are copied and sent to the peer assessment committee at least one week before it meets. When the committee convenes to discuss the merits of the applications received, the discussions are usually chaired by an officer of the Canada Council or by the head of the section.

The same criteria are used to evaluate each application and the consensus of the committee members is recorded and put on file (i.e. the members agree on what has been said about the application before the comments are recorded on the file). This consensus is the recommendation of the committee.

Committee members award a sum of money to each successful applicant, and this sum cannot exceed the amount requested. All committee decisions concerning funding priorities and grant amounts are final.

Application Form

Developmental Support to Aboriginal Theatre Organizations (pdf, 68 KB)
This form can only be printed and cannot be filled out on-line.

Notification of Results

Applicants will be notified of the results, in writing, two to three months after the competition closing date. Results are not released over the telephone.

Further Information

For more information, contact Bruce Sinclair, Aboriginal Program Officer in the Theatre Section.

Telephone: 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or (613) 566-4414, ext. 5022

TTY (TDD) machine, for hearing-impaired callers: (613) 565-5194

Fax: (613) 566-4410

July 2002

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