Arts Impact Grants

Arts Impact Grants is sponsored by BC Arts Council. Arts Impact Grants are responsive and flexible funding for arts and culture organizations and collectives in British Columbia.

Grant Programs | BC Arts Council Any Applicant Collectives Individuals Organizations Any Field of Practice Community Arts Dance Deaf Deaf, Disability and Mad Arts Disability Festivals Indigenous Cultural Centres Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Any Program Individual Arts Grants Project Assistance Operating Assistance Individual Arts Awards If you are interested, a calendar showing the annual grant program cycles is now available by clicking on Funding (see top bar).

All grant programs offered through the BC Arts Council are listed below, with the ones currently open listed first. The search bar at the top of this page can be used to filter the programs by applicant type, field of practice or program type. You can also sort the list by program title or deadline.

Programs that are not open at this time are listed at the bottom of this page for information only. As they are opened, they will move up the list. CLICK on the Title of the program listed below for detailed information.

Community Arts Dance Deaf Disability Festivals Indigenous Cultural Centres Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Collectives Individuals Organizations Application Assistance provides a contribution towards costs for artists and arts and culture practitioners who are Deaf or have a disability, to register for the online grant system, and create and submit applications, project updates, and final reports for BC Arts Council grant programs.

Community Arts Dance Deaf Disability Festivals Indigenous Cultural Centres Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Collectives Individuals Organizations Access Support provides an additional contribution towards costs for specific accessibility services and supplies, rental equipment, and other supports required to carry out a project funded by the BC Arts Council (referred to as the “associated grant”).

Community Arts Dance Deaf Deaf, Disability and Mad Arts Disability Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Supports professional artists and arts & culture professionals to undertake specific learning activities to advance their practice or career.

Arts Circulation and Touring - Individuals Community Arts Dance Deaf, Disability and Mad Arts Indigenous Cultural Centres Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Arts Circulation and Touring supports eligible arts and culture organizations, collectives and individuals with circulation and touring activities both within British Columbia and outside of the province.

Grants received in this program are intended to enhance professional and artistic opportunities and exposure of B. C. artists, collectives, and arts organizations regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Assistance through this program is available to arts and culture organizations, collectives and to individual art practitioners through three categories.

Arts Circulation and Touring - Organizations and Collectives Community Arts Dance Deaf, Disability and Mad Arts Indigenous Cultural Centres Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Collectives Organizations Arts Circulation and Touring supports eligible arts and culture organizations, collectives and individuals with circulation and touring activities both within British Columbia and outside of the province.

Grants received in this program are intended to enhance professional and artistic opportunities and exposure of B. C. artists, collectives, and arts organizations regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Assistance through this program is available to arts and culture organizations, collectives and to individual art practitioners through three categories. Community Arts Dance Deaf Deaf, Disability and Mad Arts Disability Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Supports BC residents with full-time arts training costs after they finish secondary school.

Recently Passed Deadlines Operating Assistance: Literary Arts Supports a sustained artistic and editorial program by organizations that includes any form of artistic expression or social, cultural or intellectual commentary or inquiry through regular publication in print or electronic form.

Operating Assistance: Professional Arts Training Organizations Dance Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Supports organizations that provide comprehensive programs of specialized training for professional artists and cultural workers or for those who are committed to pursuing professional careers in the arts.

Operating Assistance: Arts & Cultural Service Organizations Community Arts Dance Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Supports BC service organizations that provide a range of services to an established membership base comprised of allied arts organizations in BC.

Operating Assistance: Book Publishers Supports book publishers committed to developing and promoting Canadian writers through publishing works of literary, artistic or cultural importance for the general public.

Operating Assistance: Community Arts Organizations Supports organizations that provide public access to a range of artistic and cultural activities, develop and encourage leadership for arts and culture at the community level, and encourage support for arts and culture from local and regional governments.

Operating Assistance: Public Museums and Indigenous Cultural Centres Indigenous Cultural Centres Museums Supports the public program activities of public museums and Indigenous cultural centres that sustain an annual artistic and curatorial program that includes creation, development, presentation, collections, and dissemination activities.

Operating Assistance: Professional Arts Festivals Dance Festivals Literary Media Arts Museums Music Theatre Visual Arts Supports festivals organizations that produce a major recurring public festival, have a clear theme or vision, present professional artists and possess stable artistic and administrative management.

Operating Assistance: Visual Arts and Media Arts Organizations Supports the public program activities of visual arts organizations that sustain an annual artistic and curatorial program that includes creation, development, presentation, collections, and dissemination activities.

Operating Assistance: Performing Arts Organizations Performing Arts Organizations provides funding to assist the general operations of established non-profit arts and culture organizations working in professional dance, music, theatre, comedy, circus, or multidisciplinary performing arts.

The program is intended for organizations that sustain an annual artistic program encompassing creation, development, production, and public presentation.

Community Arts Dance Deaf Disability Festivals Indigenous Cultural Centres Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Collectives Organizations The Accelerate Program is a two-year initiative to improve access and reduce barriers to funding for equity deserving and regional arts and culture organizations and collectives.

Community Arts Dance Deaf Disability Festivals Indigenous Cultural Centres Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Collectives Organizations Arts Impact Grants are responsive and flexible funding for arts and culture organizations and collectives.

The intention of the program is to allow applicants to prioritize a specific project or group of related activities that will provide the most meaningful impact to their organization, artistic practice, or to their community.

Arts-Based Community Development & Leon and Thea Koerner Award Community Arts Dance Deaf Disability Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts The Arts-Based Community Development (A-BCD) program supports eligible organizations to either: Engage professional artists in the development and delivery of projects that provide arts-based community development impacts and benefits to a specified community through the creation and presentation of new artworks or provide training or mentoring for artists or community workers to understand and learn about how to create and safely implement or facilitate arts-based community development projects.

Project Assistance: Professional Arts Training Organizations Community Arts Dance Deaf Disability Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Supports arts and culture organizations in the development and delivery of training activities through a specific project or component within the organization’s overall activities.

Grants are not available through this program to support an arts training organization’s general operating activities.

Project Assistance: Professional Performing Arts Organizations Dance Deaf Disability Music Theatre Collectives Organizations Supports the development, creation, production, realization, dissemination, or live performance of classical, experimental, original, traditional, and contemporary performing art forms from all world cultures.

Performing Arts includes dance, music, theatre, multidisciplinary, or other performing arts practices such as circus arts and comedy.

Project Assistance: Literary Arts Collectives Organizations Supports eligible literary arts organizations or collectives to develop, enrich, and promote Canadian literature and writers through publishing, presentation, and dissemination of literary works and the development of new or unique public programming and community engagement initiatives.

Individual Arts Grants: Professional Performing Artists Dance Deaf Disability Music Theatre Supports initiatives in the development, creation, production, realization, dissemination, or live performance of classical, experimental, original, traditional, and contemporary performing art forms from all world cultures.

Performing arts includes dance, music, theatre, multidisciplinary, or other performing arts practices such as circus arts and comedy. Individual Arts Grants: Media Artists Supports independent media artists with the creation of specific projects. Projects and works must be independent of commercial industries for film, video, and gaming.

Early Career Development - Individuals Community Arts Dance Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Early Career Development supports immersive and highly impactful opportunities, with measurable learning outcomes, for Emerging and Early Career Practitioners to: Develop their artistic or administrative practice. Participate in knowledge transfer, skill sharing, and reciprocal learning in the sector.

Expand their career experience, professional networks, and exposure. Build capacity in their identified community(ies) (for example, geographic, cultural, area of practice).

Early Career Development - Organizations Community Arts Dance Deaf, Disability and Mad Arts Indigenous Cultural Centres Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Early Career Development supports immersive and highly impactful opportunities, with measurable learning outcomes, for Emerging and Early Career Practitioners to: Develop their artistic or administrative practice.

Participate in knowledge transfer, skill sharing, and reciprocal learning in the sector. Expand their career experience, professional networks, and exposure. Build capacity in their identified community(ies) (for example, geographic, cultural, area of practice).

Individual Arts Grants: Creative Writers Supports professional writers with specific creative writing projects. Project Assistance: Community Arts Organizations Supports community arts councils and cultural organizations with either a specific project or to assist the production activities of the organization.

Project Assistance: Media Arts Organizations Collectives Organizations Supports eligible organizations and arts or curatorial collectives in the development, expansion, enhancement, or creation of new or unique independent media arts works, programming and community engagement initiatives. Projects and works must be independent of commercial industries for film, video, and gaming.

Project Assistance: Museums and Indigenous Cultural Centres Indigenous Cultural Centres Museums Collectives Organizations Supports eligible museums, Indigenous cultural centres and arts or curatorial collectives with the development and creation of artistic or cultural history programming and community engagement initiatives.

Examples of eligible projects include exhibition development, documentation and dissemination projects, artists’ residencies, exploration of new museological and curatorial practices, community engagement projects, public programs, and collections management projects.

Project Assistance: Professional Arts Festivals Dance Festivals Literary Media Arts Museums Music Theatre Visual Arts Collectives Organizations Supports eligible organizations and arts or curatorial collectives in the development, enrichment, and creation of new or unique public programming through a specific project, component, or programming initiative within an existing festival.

Project Assistance: Visual Arts Organizations Collectives Organizations Supports organizations and arts or curatorial collectives in the development, expansion, enhancement, or creation of new or unique public programming and community engagement initiatives in contemporary and traditional visual arts and craft.

Arts Infrastructure Program Community Arts Dance Deaf Disability Festivals Indigenous Cultural Centres Literary Media Arts Museums Music Publishing Theatre Visual Arts Enables eligible organizations to develop and enhance spaces that support the work of B. C. ’s arts and cultural practitioners.

Individual Arts Grants: Visual Artists Supports professional visual artists, contemporary and traditional craft artists, and independent critics and curators with the creation of specific projects. Grants are available to support the creation of new works. Applications may be made by individuals or on behalf of a collaboration of two or more artists sharing creative control of a project.

Independent curators and critics may apply to further their practice independently from art organizations or institutions. Applications may investigate visual and media arts and/or museum practice. Project Assistance: Community Arts Festivals Supports community-based arts and cultural organizations in British Columbia in the production of a local community arts festival.