Funding available for visual artists and youth projects this fall

Guelph Arts Council has two funding opportunities available this fall, for youth arts projects and for visual artists pursuing artistic and professional development opportunities.

Guelph Arts Council Jane Graham Memorial Award

Jane Graham was a much-loved and respected visual artist living and working in the Guelph area for many years prior to her untimely death early in 2005.

Donations to Guelph Arts Council in her memory made possible the creation of Guelph Arts Council Jane Graham Memorial Fund at The Guelph Community Foundation. With funds generated annually and granted to Guelph Arts Council from The Guelph Community Foundation, Guelph Arts Council annually offers an award for a visual artist(s) to pursue professional development opportunities that will contribute to individual personal artistic growth.

The award has supported many visual artists in their growth, including ceramicists, a blacksmith, figurative and abstract painters, photographers, graphic designers, sculptors, installation and multidisciplinary artists, a filmmaker, bead artist, and illustrators. These individuals received monetary awards of up to $500 to assist in the pursuit of workshops, residencies, attendance at conferences and film festivals where their work was presented, and other opportunities contributing to their personal artistic growth.

This year, $500 or more is available for awarding to one or more applicants, at the jury’s discretion. The deadline to apply for this award is Monday, October 15, 2018 at 5:00 pm for paper applications and 11:59 pm for online applications.

Guelph Arts Council Youth Opportunities Award

Between now and November 15, youth are particularly encouraged to apply for up to $500 through the Guelph Arts Council Youth Opportunities Award.

The first award from this fund went to John F. Ross Student Aalyieh Afshar in 2009 for mounting a youth art show. Most recently, the award went to two groups; Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School, for a collaboration between manufacturing and visual arts students to create a found-metal sculpture, and to the Artsy Activists group. Inspired in part by the 2016 award recipient Jessica Jang, Artsy Activists is a discussion, art, and action-based collective for youth, aged 14 to 19, including but not limited to LGBTQ2S+, female-identified, Indigenous, immigrant, and youth of colour.

Guelph Arts Council’s Youth Fund was initially established as a result of the financial success of Youth in Performance presentations that Guelph Arts Council sponsored between 1980 and 1990. Additions to the fund were made over the years, and awards were extended to graduating Guelph high school students in recognition of talent, excellence and creativity in the visual or performing arts.

In 2005, the awards program was discontinued and Guelph Arts Council began to assess how best to support youth in the arts. At the same time, in order to get the best return on investment, the capital of the fund was turned over to The Guelph Community Fund to manage.

Commencing in 2009, through funds generated from Guelph Arts Council Youth Opportunities Fund at The Guelph Community Foundation, Guelph Arts Council offers an award(s) that will initiate, enhance or expand opportunities for children and youth to experience or become engaged in the arts.

The deadline for this award is Thursday, November 15, 2018, at 5pm for paper applications, and 11:59 p.m. for those submitted online.

Please note that our office hours are 10am-4pm, Tuesday to Friday. We are located at 10C Shared Space, which is open 9-5 Monday through Friday, and applicants can drop paper applications off at the 10C front desk, or slide under our office door during 10C hours. We welcome and encourage online applications. For details, application forms, and lists of past recipients, see https://guelpharts.ca/resources-overview/gac-awards-bursaries

Apply now, or contact [email protected] to discuss your idea.

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