Grants to Professional Musicians - Individuals
The Canada Council for the Arts is committed to equity and inclusion, and welcomes applications from diverse Aboriginal, cultural and regional communities, including people with disabilities.
Deadlines
1 November (Short-Term Grant)
1 March (Long-Term or Short-Term Grant)
If either of these dates falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
Please refer to the Program Guidelines for detailed information.
Program Description
This program offers opportunities to individual professional Canadian musicians to pursue their artistic and creative development. Professional musicians include instrumentalists, singers, composers, arrangers, singers/songwriters, performers, conductors and opera stage directors. The program has two components:
- Long-Term Grants are available for a seven to twelve month period.
- Short-Term Grants are available for a maximum period of six months.
For this program, applicants cannot apply to two consecutive deadlines.
General Fields of Music
Professional musicians whose practices are in the following general fields of music are eligible:
Grants cover subsistence, project and transportation costs related to a program of work lasting from a few weeks to a year. Whether artists are applying for a long-term or a short-term grant, this funding will allow them to dedicate a concentrated period of time to work on their projects. Therefore, artists are encouraged to submit realistic timelines and budgets in their proposals.
La Cité Internationale des Arts (www.citedesartsparis.net)
A studio-apartment at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris is also available (to applicants to the Long-Term Grants component only) at a moderate cost. It may be used for a period of three months to one year, from 1 September to 31 August. Musicians interested in renting the studio-apartment may indicate this in Part B of their application form.
Applicant Eligibility
To apply to the Canada Council, you must be a Canadian citizen or have Permanent Resident status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. You do not need to be living in Canada when you apply.
You must also meet the Canada Council’s definition of a professional artist, which is an artist who:
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has specialized training in the field (not necessarily in academic institutions)
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is recognized as a professional by his or her peers (professional artists working in the same artistic tradition)
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is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity, if possible financially
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has a history of ongoing public presentation in a professional context.
To apply to this program, you must also meet the eligibility requirements of one of the following categories of applicants:
- Emerging artists are those who have completed their basic training (university graduation or equivalent in specialized or self-training). They must have had an active professional career for at least two years, in addition to performances while in academic settings or as part of specialized training programs
- Mid-career artists are no longer full-time students and will have completed their formal studies at least five years before applying to this program. They must have had an active professional career for at least five years, or
- Established artists are those who have made a nationally or internationally recognized contribution to music over a number of years and are still active in their profession.
Grant Amount
Long-term grants
Up to $24,000 is available for long-term projects (between seven and twelve months).
Short-term grants
Up to $12,000 is available for short-term projects (a maximum of six months).
Further Information
Classical and electroacoustic fields of music:
André Jutras, Program Officer
1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 5071
All other fields of music:
Lucas Schuller, Program Officer
1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 4294
TTY: 1-866-585-5559
January 2012