Currently 8 active visual and media arts grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in Canada. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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Calgary Arts Development (CADA) is seeking an artist or artist team to join The City of Calgary's Walden Fire Station and Library project team to create permanent public artwork(s) for a combined fire station and library planned for the community of Walden. One artist/artist team will be selected with a total project budget of CAD 275,000 (exclusive of all applicable taxes); the opportunity is open to local and national professional artists/artist teams working in various media. ELIGIBILITY: local and national mid-career to late-career professional public artists and artist teams with a minimum of five years' previous experience creating artwork in the public realm; they must have at least three outdoor permanent public art installations, each with a lifespan of over 10 years and a minimum project budget of CAD 150,000 (see the Canada Council for the Arts definition of a professional artist). Walden does not currently have an active community association, so the project requires experience in artist-led community engagement and a strong understanding of alternative outreach. Artists must be available to meet the project timelines from September 2026 to the end of concept and design by July 2027; fabrication and installation take place in Phase 2, starting in the second half of 2027 and continuing into 2028. REWARD: total project budget CAD 275,000 (artist fee CAD 68,750 + GST); CADA is open to adapting the budget breakdown to the artist's approach, following CARFAC's recommendation of a minimum 20% to the artist's fee, though the total budget will not be increased. TIMELINE: applications open 16 June 2026 (9am MT); pre-recorded information session posted early July; application deadline 28 July 2026 (no applications accepted after 1pm MT); shortlisted interviews mid-September; results late September 2026. Eligibility questions: walden@calgaryartsdevelopment.com.
Annual artist-in-residence award funded by Dr. Michele Larose, hosted by the Osler Library of the History of Medicine at McGill University, supporting visual artists who use McGill collections to create works addressing contemporary and/or historical subjects in medicine and the health sciences. Possible projects include painting, photography, performance, sculpture, and digital, video or installation art. Most work is anticipated to be inspired by Osler Library collections; sources may also include other McGill Libraries, the Maude Abbott Medical Museum, and McGill faculties and hospitals. NO STUDIO SPACE provided; the library offers research support, research space, and exhibition space. RESIDENCY DUTIES: work on the project; give a public presentation; exhibit or perform the work; submit a report suitable for the Osler Library Newsletter; complete the work by 30 April 2027. The artist retains ownership of the work but must credit Dr. Larose and the Osler Library. Applicants are encouraged to propose a project engaging one of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Strategic Research Plan themes: Infection (as a threat); Cancer (as a complex global challenge); The Brain; or Personalized/ing medicine. ELIGIBILITY: degree in Studio Arts or a related field and/or a history of exhibiting work in professional venues; open to non-Canadians, but preference typically given to Montreal-based or easily-traveling artists. APPLY by emailing ONE PDF (filename: lastname.LaroseOsler2026.pdf) to awards.oslerlibrary@mcgill.ca containing a 1-page project description, proposed timeline, CV, one letter of recommendation (addressed to Head Librarian Dr. Mary Hague-Yearl), and work samples (typically 5-15 images). Reference letters may also be sent separately by the referee before the deadline. Results announced in August or September. Deadline: 31 July 2026.
The Black Arts Centre is calling for proposals from artists for exhibitions and public programming. Exhibition proposals are considered for Spring 2027 and beyond, while programming proposals are considered for projects taking place from September 2026 onward. The submission portal is open from 1 June to 8 August 2026. Proposals are reviewed by the Black Arts Centre team and a revolving committee of external community members, evaluated using an internal rubric; applicants begin to hear back in September. SUPPORT: successful proposals receive financial, budgeting, and curatorial support from the Black Arts Centre, including project execution, production, logistics, and marketing. ELIGIBILITY AND PRIORITY: applicants do not need to identify as Black to submit, but priority is given to Black artists, curators, and art organizers, and to artists and projects that align with the gallery's mandate (BIPOC, Disabled, Queer, Immigrant/Refugee/Newcomer perspectives). Submission does not guarantee approval for this cycle, but all proposals are kept on file for future consideration, and updated or alternate proposals are accepted. Questions and PDF proposals/portfolios: info@theblackartscentre.ca. Deadline 8 August 2026.
The Societe des arts technologiques (SAT) and LAB7 (the research-creation lab of 7 Fingers / Les 7 Doigts) offer research-creation residencies at the intersection of performing arts and technology, on the theme of human movement. Each selected project receives a CAD 10,000 grant, roughly two weeks (about 10 days) of studio workspace at the 7 Fingers Creation Centre in Montreal, and personalised coaching from the SAT and LAB7 teams. Open to non-profit organisations, collectives and independent artists working between performing arts and technological arts; the call is effectively open internationally, with no nationality restriction stated. No application fee. Results are announced in early October 2026. Application deadline: 31 August 2026, 17:00. Apply via the official open-call page.
Artists, architects, designers, fabricators, and multidisciplinary creatives are invited to submit proposals for a series of site-specific installations at Yonge + St. Clair as part of DesignTO Festival 2027. For more than seven years the Yonge + St. Clair BIA has partnered with DesignTO to transform publicly accessible spaces throughout the neighbourhood into an exhibition of art, design, and placemaking. For the 2027 Festival, SEVEN installation opportunities are available across lobbies, galleries, and window spaces: 2 St. Clair Ave W (Lobby), 2 St. Clair Ave E (Lower Level Window), 30 St. Clair Ave W (Lobby), 40 St. Clair Ave W (Lobby), 55 St. Clair Ave W (Lobby), 95 St. Clair Ave W (Gallery), and 1521 Yonge St (Window). One installation will be commissioned per location. THEME: 'Intersections' - proposals may explore convergence, transformation, movement, identity, exchange, and the evolving relationship between people and place. Artists may submit proposals for multiple locations, but each proposal must be tailored to its site and submitted separately; only one proposal per artist or team may be selected. WHO SHOULD APPLY: emerging and established artists, designers, architects, fabricators, and multidisciplinary creative practitioners working in any medium; preference given to artists based in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. BUDGET: selected projects receive $5,000 to $7,500 CAD inclusive of artist fees, materials, fabrication, transportation, installation, and de-installation. Artists are responsible for the fabrication, transportation, installation, and de-installation of their work. KEY DATES: submission deadline 13 September 2026 at 5:00pm ET; selected artists notified late September 2026; final project information due October 2026; installation period 14 to 21 January 2027; DesignTO Festival exhibition 22 to 31 January 2027; de-installation 1 to 2 February 2027. HOW TO APPLY: submit a single PDF (artist information and biography, project description and executive summary, visual materials, detailed line-item budget, and current resume) via email or Dropbox link to info@yongestclair.ca with the subject line 'DesignTO Festival 2027 - Installation Name - Artist Name'. Free to apply.
Funds the circulation and touring of artists, exhibitions and artistic works by artists, groups and organisations from Canada, nationally and internationally. Media arts, digital arts and new media, inter-arts, and music and sound art are all explicitly named as supported practices, so experimental sound and creative technology work is in scope. This component sits inside Arts Across Canada and Abroad, the merged programme introduced in 2025 that replaced the separate Arts Across Canada and Arts Abroad programmes; the old Digital Now programme is discontinued. IMPORTANT AND UNDERUSED: non-Canadian organisations are eligible via the Foreign arts festival, biennale or book fair profile, defined as an incorporated organisation headquartered outside Canada running an international media arts festival, an international literary or storytelling festival, an international book fair, or a major international visual arts biennial, triennial or quinquennial. That support is restricted to presenting Canadian media, literary or visual artists and their work, and it is not advertised on the programme page. For digital and media arts, requests must be for work independent of the commercial film, television and video game industries, and only the creator or director may apply, not producers or production companies. Deadlines run three times a year. The sister component Representation and Promotion has continuous rolling intake and the same foreign-festival eligibility.
Funds activities that build connections between artists and diverse audiences and contribute to public appreciation and enjoyment of the arts in Canada. This is the closest Canada Council fit for running a public programme, a single festival edition, a talks series or audience-facing exhibition programming, as distinct from creating the artwork itself. It is open to arts festivals, presenters and event organisers under the Presenting organization profile, alongside Artistic organizations, Artistic groups and Arts supporting groups, and the profile explicitly includes visual arts festivals, biennials, triennials and quinquennials. Digital arts and new media, media arts, inter-arts, and music and sound art are named among funded practices, so experimental sound art and creative technology programming qualify. IMPORTANT: unlike the Circulation and Touring component, international organisations are NOT eligible for Public Outreach. The Council will not fund projects whose primary focus is educational, therapeutic, recreational or social service delivery, nor fundraising activities or prize and award ceremonies. Deadlines fall twice a year. The related Composite Activities component offers up to 3 years of support for bundled multi-project programmes and may suit a recurring festival arc better.
Project funding from the Toronto Arts Council for professional media artists to create or complete independent film, video, audio, digital, VR/AR and multimedia works, with grants up to $15,000. ELIGIBILITY: Canadian citizens, permanent residents or Protected Persons who have lived in Toronto for at least one year, are professional media artists retaining full creative control, and are not students.