This program awards project assistance grants to Canadian, non-profit organizations and collectives with a primary mandate in the contemporary visual arts. Grants provide a contribution toward projects that bring together professional artists and the broader community for the purpose of giving the visual arts a stronger presence in everyday life. Artists and community collaboration is an arts process that actively involves the work of professional artists and non-arts community members in creative and collaborative relationships.

Eligibility

Eligible Applicants

This program is not open to individual artists. Applicants must be one of the following types:

• Incorporated, non-profit Canadian arts organizations with a primary mandate in the visual arts. Included are fine craft organizations, museums, public art galleries, exhibition centres, artist-run centres, university art departments, art colleges, fine craft colleges, service organizations and professional associations.
• Professional artists’ collectives or curatorial collectives (for the definition of an eligible collective, see the following Frequently Asked Questions section). Note that collectives must submit their application in the name of their collective or project, and must be able to receive a grant payable to that name.

This Canada Council for the Arts program is accessible to Aboriginal arts organizations and arts organizations of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.

Eligible Projects

Grants contribute to the direct costs of the collaborative production of artworks or similar activities whereby members of the non-arts community are given direct access to artists’ working processes. All projects supported by the Visual Arts Section of the Canada Council must pay professional fees to participating artists, including exhibition rights, public presentation rights and reproduction rights for the use of works. These fees must be the same as, or higher than, the national standard.

Ineligible Projects

The following types of projects are not eligible for funding from this program:

• capital projects (such as the renovation of a building)
• collaborative projects involving only professional artists
• fundraising events
• programs that are part of a grade school, college or university program, and
• activities that appear in any other current grant request to the Canada Council.

Other Restrictions

• Artists who participate in projects, including artists from outside Canada, must meet the Canada Council’s definition of a professional artist (see the attached Frequently Asked Questions section).
• Applicants that have not submitted all final reports and/or financial accounting from previous Canada Council grants are not eligible to apply.
• If an applicant has submitted a grant request to this program already, and the request was unsuccessful, the same request may be resubmitted to only one further competition of this program.
• The Canada Council will accept up to two separate requests from an applicant per competition.

Grant Amount

Grants awarded through this program will be a maximum of 75 percent of the total cost of a project. Successful applicants may receive less than the amount that they request. Note that recent grants for project assistance have rarely been greater than $15,000. Retroactive funding is not available. Grant funds may be used only for project expenses that occur after the competition deadline.

Application form and guidelines

Artists and Community Collaboration Program for Visual Arts (Acrobat Adobe format that can be printed only)

OR

To apply for a grant online go to GO! Grants Online

Further Information

François Dion
Visual Arts Section
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. 5268
TTY: 1-866-585-5559 | Fax: 613-566-4332

The award recipients were selected by a jury of arts professionals from across Canada:

• Louise Déry, Director/Curator, Galerie de l’UQAM, Montréal
• Ken Lum, Artist, Vancouver
• Lisa Steele and Kim Tomczak, Artists, Educators, Founders of Vtape, Toronto
• Jon Tupper, Director, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

It will all be in support of the Mayor’s Gala for the Arts, a fundraiser for the city’s theatre, art gallery and symphony on Jan. 22.

Prior to the event at the Kamloops Convention Centre, Milobar will host a reception for sponsors that will feature the Milobar martini.

“Nope, I don’t know what it will be,” Milobar said after a press conference announcing the event’s date and the arts-related element that will be recognized by the award.

So when the Governor General Award-nominated writer mentored Kaitlin Fontana through the University of B.C.’s Booming Ground creative writing program, Lau sent Fontana feedback in old-fashioned letters.

But two years later, when Lau read Fontana’s short memoir “The Flight Album” in the Canadian magazine The Walrus, about interning for a magazine in New York, Lau had to log on to her friend’s email and instantly tell Fontana how impressed she was.

“She wrote this absolutely stunning piece… that I would have probably sacrificed a baby toe to have written myself,” Lau said.

Other winners include textile artist Ruth Scheuing for craft and design; Blue Water Cafe executive chef Frank Pabst for culinary arts; Cease Wyss (Indigenous Plant Diva) for Film and New Media; photo-conceptual artist Christos Dikeakos for visual arts, sculptor George Norris (whose sculpture The Crab can be seen outside the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre/Museum of Vancouver) for public art; Carmen Rosen, founder of Still Moon Arts Society and the Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival for community arts; Co.Erasga founder and artistic director Alvin Erasga Tolentino for dance; and percussionist Sal Ferreras for music.

Singer-songwriter Cuba, who is based in B.C., earned the trophy for best new artist for his self-titled third album. He was also a nominee in the category of best male pop vocal album.

Last spring, the same record saw Cuba nominated for his third Juno Award for best world music album.

Cuba also shared in Victoria native Furtado’s Latin Grammy accolades, having co-written more than half the songs on her Spanish-language album Mi Plan, which picked up the award for best female pop vocal album.

Nominated for illustration of children’s literature are Kristi Bridgeman of Victoria, who brought to life the P.K. Page story Uirapuru: Based on a Brazilian Legend and Vancouverite Julie Flett, who wrote and illustrated Owls See Clearly at Night: A Michif Alphabet.

It doesn’t have to mean even working at it from a young age in an attempt to create perfection. An artist can be born at any age, any time, anywhere. And that’s what Sharon Bamber has found out about herself.

From a career ranging from landscape architecture, sport management, zoology and finally pastel painter, Bamber has taken the road less travelled in finding her love of painting.

Forty-three years old, Bamber’s only been truly painting for four years now, which is roughly the same amount of time she’s lived in B.C. However, in just a few short years, Bamber has already won several national awards and an international award for her work.

The award is worth $100,000 but a unique provision calls on the winner to give $25,000 of that total to a deserving protege. Collier selected Vancouver up-and-comer Anita Rochon as that lucky recipient.

“In choosing Kim Collier as the winner of the 2010 Siminovitch Prize,” says jury chair Maureen Labonté, “the jury wanted to recognize Kim’s leadership and spirit of innovation in the theatre world. As a director, she encourages artistic risk and excellence, is a believer in the power of community and is an impressive mentor for emerging artists.”

See also:Vancouver’s Kim Collier wins Siminovitch prize (CBC)
See also: Winning top theatre award in Canada monumental feat for Vancouver Director

The bearded balladeer’s breakout CD Nice, Nice, Very Nice nabbed the awards for independent album of the year, roots solo recording of the year and songwriter of the year. Mangan follows up this hat trick with a mostly sold-out cross-Canada tour later this month.

Always a class act, Mangan texted his acceptance speech from New York City: “Wouldn’t you know it? I’ve been to the WCMAs the last four years, been nominated and almost won, and the year I win I’m not there. It’s as ironic as a black fly in your chardonnay!”

See also: WCMAs honour Robert Kerr and Bill Henderson chats
See also: BreakOut West 2010 Big Success

It’s a great market for independent artists who have achieved excellence, and with the help of Title Sponsor Astral Radio, show producers Shelly Vida and Mark Greenhalgh hope to find those extraordinary BC bands.  “One of the most exciting things for me personally is to interface with the artists themselves… this is what it’s all about.

Each year we see new names and hear new music, that is hugely satisfying. It really is magic.

The recipients of the $2,500 awards are Haida jeweller and carver Alvin Adkinds of Vancouver, Haida weaver Lisa Hagerman of Massett, Tahltan visual artist and educator Peter Morin of Victoria, Nuu-chah-nulth carver Tim Paul of Port Alberni and Kwakwaka’wakw carver Richard Sumner of Victoria.

The Breakout West 2010 Festival and Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMA) blast into the Okanagan’s biggest burgh this weekend. Big-name acts from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Yukon showcase at nine city venues, plus there’s the big gala going down on Sunday night at the Kelowna Community Theatre celebrating winners in categories ranging from country recording of the year to talent buyer of the year.

“This is year eight for the Breakout West travelling festival and awards,” says Rick Fenton, executive director of the Western Canadian Music Awards.

“It started as the Prairie Music Awards, then the Yukon, Northwest Territories and B.C. were invited in, and it meant more of everything — artists, industry associations and so on.”

The eighth annual George Ryga Award will be announced at Centre Stage Theatre in Summerland on Nov. 6, the last day of George Ryga Week.

From 1962 until his death in 1987 at the age of 55, Ryga lived on Caldwell Street in Summerland. After his death, his home has been used for the George Ryga House and Centre, but the award has been presented in Vernon or Kelowna.

Peter Hay, who was Ryga’s publisher at Talonbooks, said holding this year’s award ceremony in Summerland is an important change.

“It’s a repatriation in may ways of George into Summerland,” he said. “Summerland is ambivalent about his legacy.”

Throughout his life, Ryga wrote plays and novels with social justice themes, often about the plight of those who have been marginalized or forgotten.

“George Ryga was very burdened by the responsibility of the artist to speak out,” Hay said.

As part of the award, Kleine received $10,000 from the City of Castlegar, which has purchased his sculpture for permanent display. He also received a $3,000 cash prize and certificate.

SculptureWalk organizer Pat Field said the awards gala, held Saturday night at Element, was “an overwhelming success.”