Currently 6 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.
Subscribe: RSS feed · Calendar (.ics)
BC Arts Council's Individual Arts Grants stream for independent media artists working in moving image (film, video, narrative, experimental, expanded cinema, installation), audio/sound art (sound sculptures, installations, sound walks, gallery presentations) or new media and digital arts (interactive installations, immersive environments, web-based art, ICT). ELIGIBILITY: independent individual media artists (not groups or organisations); projects must be independent of commercial industries. As a provincial arts council, BC Arts Council typically requires applicants to be residents of British Columbia - confirm current residency requirements on the linked page before applying. NOTE: registration must be completed by 17 June 2026 at 23:59 PT, ahead of the 24 June application deadline. Applications via the SmartSimple Grant Management System. Contact: Paneet Singh, Program Advisor (Paneet.Singh@gov.bc.ca).
ABOUT: The Barbara Spohr Memorial Award for Photography is an annual prize created by the friends and family of late artist Barbara Spohr to support one mid-career Canadian photo-based artist undertaking a fully funded self-directed residency in Banff Centre's Crich Studio, a Leighton Artist Studio featuring a private black and white analogue darkroom. ELIGIBILITY: Open to Canadian citizens or permanent residents who are mid-career photo-based artists, defined as having a strong body of work with a minimum of ten exhibitions in a professional context (artist-run centres, public art galleries, recognised photo festivals), 8 to 15 years of professional arts experience, and demonstrated commitment to professional practice. The award is best suited to artists working in black and white analogue processes, engaged in digital photo techniques, or exploring alternative photographic processes such as cyanotype. Applicants should demonstrate darkroom proficiency and safety awareness. DISCIPLINES: Photography (analogue, digital, alternative processes such as cyanotype). FUNDED: 100 percent scholarship covers tuition, single bedroom on the Banff Centre campus, and meal plan; a travel bursary is included with regional maximums and the recipient books their own travel; a 1,000 CAD material-support cheque is issued directly to the awardee. The studio is wheelchair accessible (note darkroom facilities are not). APPLY: Apply online via Banff Centre SlideRoom with resume, artistic summary and statement, project proposal, technical questionnaire, and portfolio. CAD 65 application fee, reduced to CAD 35 for Indigenous applicants. TIMELINE: Deadline 17 June 2026 for the residency running 18 January to 12 February 2027. NOTE: Self-directed residency, designed for participation over the entire program period (no variable dates). There is an optional public talk opportunity at CARFAC-based rates.
The City of Ottawa Public Art Program invites professional artists or artist teams to submit qualifications to be Vanier's Artist-in-Residence, a community-led initiative designed to foster meaningful engagement and dialogue with the Vanier community, with the insights gained informing the creation of a final legacy artwork. The community is looking for a reliable, collaborative, and adaptable artist or team; the role will benefit from candidates with diverse community engagement experience, current or past ties to Vanier, and the ability to communicate fully in both official languages. After the residency, the artist or team will be asked to provide a proposal for a legacy artwork, with an additional budget and timeline to plan and implement it. This two-stage competition is held under the Public Art Policy as a Request for Qualifications. BUDGET: CAD 40,000 plus HST for the Artist-in-Residence (March to September 2027), inclusive of all residency costs such as consultations, research, program activities, materials, deliverables, and the artist's time, travel, and meeting attendance; plus CAD 40,000 to 70,000 for the legacy public art installation (Summer 2028), covering design, fabrication, insurance, storage, transport, installation, engineering, permits, and anchoring, as well as the artist's time and travel. ELIGIBILITY: an equal-opportunity project open to local, national, and international professional artists and artist teams with experience creating permanent public art and working with multidisciplinary teams; City of Ottawa employees are not eligible. Applications from First Nations, Inuit, and Metis artists are welcomed and encouraged. VISION: the selected artist participates in existing Vanier programming and establishes new opportunities for community interaction and collaboration, conducts historical research into the neighbourhood, and proposes a permanent legacy artwork celebrating Vanier's history and diversity. Application deadline: 26 June 2026, 11:59 pm Eastern Daylight Time, via the online form.
One-month intensive on-site residency at the Digital Arts Resource Centre in Ottawa, presented with support from The Hnatyshyn Foundation, for mid-career Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Metis) artists developing their practice, experimenting with a new medium, or continuing a project. Residents get access to DARC's Microcinema, Soundstage, Digital Edit Suite and Recording Studio, audio-visual equipment, and up to 16 hours of advisor time. Proposals are welcome across film, video, animation, web-based art, sound art, AR/VR, interactive and time-based digital projects, and media-art installations, in a collaborative environment encouraging hands-on technological play. A public artist talk follows the residency (by 19 December 2026). ELIGIBILITY: mid-career Indigenous artists (a consistent body of work, publicly presented in a professional setting); must be a DARC Extended Access member (free membership granted on applying); must reside in the Ottawa-Gatineau area within commutable distance of DARC for the on-site residency. Priority is given to Indigenous artists who also identify as IBPOC and/or 2SLGBTQIA+. Working languages English and French. Info session 10 June 2026; application deadline 30 June 2026; selection by an Indigenous recommender jury.
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.
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.