British Columbia Arts Council - Scholarship Awards

MANDATE:

The British Columbia Arts Council supports the arts and cultural community by providing financial assistance, policy research, advocacy, and public education.

MISSION AND CORE VALUES

The mission of the Council is to engage all British Columbians in a healthy arts and cultural community that is recognized for its excellence. In pursuing this mission, the Council is guided by six core values:

The value of a vibrant arts and cultural community in the creation of a healthy society.
The value of artistic excellence in all art forms.
The value of inclusiveness and the fullest possible reflection of the province’s Aboriginal and cultural diversity.
The value of encouraging artistic practice from traditional to experimental and established to emerging.
The value of administrative and adjudication processes which are transparent and that adhere to the principles of accountability, independence, recognition of merit, and equality of opportunity.
The value of defining clear goals, developed in consultation with the arts and culture community, to guide long and short-term operations.

PROGRAM

This program develops professional British Columbia artists by assisting with the post-secondary education of outstanding students of the arts.

ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE

All artists and practitioners strive for excellence in their work. The assessment of artistic excellence is central to the evaluation of requests for funding. The fact that everyone experiences artistic work in his/her own way makes the assessment of artistic quality difficult to discuss.

The Council’s approach is to consider three dimensions of artistic work:

Idea – the intention or artistic impetus behind the work;
Practice – the effectiveness of how the work is put into practice and the impact it has on those experiencing it; and
Development – the contribution the work makes to the development of the artist, the art form and the arts more widely.

All applicants to the British Columbia Arts Council are encouraged to submit concise, realistic requests, responding fully to the assessment criteria.

An essential element of any application is insightful, critical self-reflection. The Council believes that artists and arts organizations are well placed to assess the quality of the work they produce. Members of advisory committees and juries want to hear the applicant’s own assessment of the problems faced and the creative solutions under consideration.

GUIDELINES

There are two levels of scholarship awards: junior and senior. The criteria for the two levels are below, following the general eligibility criteria.

The Council pays awards under this program to recognized post-secondary schools on behalf of the student. The applicant should check with the BC Arts Council to confirm that the proposed institution is recognized by the Council.

Support in any given year does not guarantee similar support the following year. Each application is considered on its merits, not on previous success.
Eligibility Criteria

Under normal circumstances, to be eligible, an applicant must be:

at least 15 years of age at the time of application, subject to waiver by the scholarship review committee if the applicant submits a written explanation of special circumstances;
a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant, able to provide a Canadian social insurance number;
permanently resident in British Columbia, as demonstrated by the province in which the applicant filed an income tax return for the most recent calendar year;

Recognized disciplines eligible for grants are:

arts administration
community arts practice
conservation studies
museological and curatorial
creative writing
dance (performance, choreography)
media arts
theatre (acting, directing, technical, design, and musical theatre)
music (performance, composition, voice)
visual arts and crafts
film and video

Exclusions

Disciplines not recognized for eligibility under this program include:

language study
journalism
fashion design
interior design
teacher training
architecture
fine arts education programs (teacher training)
music or dance pedagogy
music, dance or art therapy
history of art, general art appreciation, and work of an essentially academic nature
make-up artistry

Under normal circumstances, scholarship awards are not available for programs of private tuition; travel expenses; or past studies or other retroactive use.

Specific Eligibility Criteria

Junior Awards

Junior Awards of up to $2,000 are available for course work and study programs up to and including the second year of a university or community college program.

Preference is given to students attending fine arts schools and academies in Canada.

Senior Awards

These awards of up to $3,500 are for a post-graduate program, or for course work or programs following completion of the second year of university undergraduate or professional diploma programs. The applicant must be majoring in the applicable arts program.

Under normal circumstances, assistance is available for full-time study at recognized post-secondary institutions or academies in any province or country. Senior awards are available for a maximum of six years.

Application Requirements

Applicants should contact the Coordinator, Scholarship Awards Program at the BC Arts Council to discuss program guidelines and eligibility criteria prior to submitting an application.

Applications require detailed submissions, should be submitted on a current application form, and must include:

a signed, completed Scholarship Awards application form (including Schedules A & B);
a portfolio of recently completed work (a self addressed stamped envelope must be included for the return of portfolio materials);
three assessments of the applicant’s artistic merit (see information pamphlet for details);
a letter of acceptance from the proposed institution of study;
excerpt from a calendar or syllabus from the proposed institution of study to a maximum of 5 pages (if studying outside of British Columbia);
a final transcript of grades from the applicant’s most recently completed period of study (when available); and
an artistic statement for applicants to the Senior Awards. All applicants for Senior Awards must supply a one-page, double-spaced artistic statement, which should be attached to Schedule A. This statement explains the nature of the applicant's artistic work and may describe the artist’s creative process, philosophy, vision, and passion.
Adjudication Process

Applications are adjudicated by committees of professional artists selected for their expertise in specific disciplines.

Applications are evaluated on the basis of the:

quality of presentation of the application, including all supporting documentation;
calibre of work, demonstrated ability, and achievements in comparison to other applicants at the same level of study in the same discipline;
nature and length of the proposed program of study; and
applicant’s goals.

Maximum Assistance Levels for the Project Assistance Program

The maximum junior award is $2,000 for full-time studies of two semesters. The maximum senior award is $3,500 for full-time studies of two semesters. For the deadline of April 30, 2007, the two upcoming semesters of study must fall between the subsequent autumn and summer of the following year.

Confidentiality of Information

The collection, use, and disclosure of personal information are subject to the privacy provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Your personal information will be shared in confidence with members of the adjudication jury. The names and locations of successful award recipients will be published, along with the amount of the award, in the Annual Report of the BC Arts Council. Social Insurance Numbers are provided to Canada Customs and Revenue Agency through the issuance of T4As.

Application Deadline

For scholarships for the following study season, applications must be delivered or postmarked by:

April 30, 2008

Note: if the deadline falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline will fall on the next business day.

Application forms are available upon request in February.

If the applicant cannot provide a required document by the application deadline, the applicant must include in the application a letter explaining the reason for the omission.

Applicants failing to meet the April 30th deadline will be ineligible for assistance. Incomplete applications will not be adjudicated.

Please read the Scholarship Awards Information Pamphlet for more information regarding the application process.