Grants to Art Museums and Public Galleries - Acquisition Assistance
Deadline
Anytime
Program Description
The Visual Arts Section's Acquisition Assistance program provides financial support to Canadian art museums and public art galleries. Grants from this program are available on a matching funds basis to purchase original works of contemporary Canadian visual art, including architecture (maquettes and drawings), fine craft and photography.
Works purchased with financial assistance from this program must be by living Canadian artists. Such works may be purchased either directly from the artists or from Canadian dealers where the works are on consignment from the artists. Works purchased from private or public collections, or auction houses are not eligible for funding.
Funding is not available for acquisitions made before the grant has been approved.
All Canada Council for the Arts programs are accessible to Aboriginal arts organizations and arts organizations of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.
Eligibility
Canadian public art galleries and art museums with professional curatorial staff who have, for a minimum of five years, demonstrated a commitment to the displaying and maintaining of a contemporary Canadian art collection may apply for Acquisition Assistance, only once, any time between 1 April and 31 March. Ethnology museums, as well as museums of natural history and culture are not eligible.
Grant Amount
Grants cover the purchase price of works. Sales taxes, shipping, framing, crating expenses or costs incurred by the institution's acquisition committee are not eligible.
The value of the grant varies according to the amount requested, but must be matched by the applicant. The maximum available per institution per year is $30,000.
Assessment of Applications
Requests for Acquisition Assistance grants are assessed by the Visual Arts Section on a first come first served basis. Institutions wishing to receive financial assistance are therefore encouraged to contact the Visual Arts Section as soon as their share of the acquisition costs has been secured, indicating the amount raised. Upon receipt of the appropriate documentation, including proof of purchase, the institution will be reimbursed for half the actual cost of the purchased works up to the amount approved.
Applications will be assessed according to:
- the works' relevance to the institution's mandate and permanent collection
- the institution's commitment to curatorial collecting and exhibiting of contemporary Canadian art
- the institution's commitment to maintaining a collection of contemporary art according to reasonable museological standards
- the institution's commitment to exhibiting the newly purchased works within three years of their acquisition, and
- the institution's assurance that artists will receive full payment or, in the case of purchase through a dealer, a minimum of 50 percent of the acquisition costs.
Applicants are notified of a decision, by letter, approximately four months after receipt of the application. Results are not released over the telephone or email.
Application Form
Grants to Art Museums and Public Galleries: Acquisition Assistance (pdf, 212 KB)
This form can only be printed and cannot be filled out on-line.
Further Information
This program summary provides an outline of the Acquisition Assistance program. For further details or to obtain an application form, contact José Niaison, Visual Arts Section Officer.
Telephone: 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 5269
TTY (TDD) machine, for hearing-impaired callers: 613-565-5194
Fax: 613-566-4332
Visual Arts Section
Canada Council for the Arts
P.O. Box 1047, 350 Albert Street
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8
February 2007