Currently 6 active cross-disciplinary and social impact 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)
Open Door is Toronto Arts Council's strategic grant for new or significantly expanded initiatives by Toronto arts organizations and artist collectives, open to any discipline including media and digital arts. ELIGIBILITY: located in the City of Toronto; incorporated non-profit arts organization or an artist collective operating on a not-for-profit basis (individuals are not funded); a viable administrative and financial plan; one Open Door grant per applicant every two years. Applicants are encouraged to contact the program manager before applying. TIMING: activities may not start until 3 months after the deadline, and projects must finish within two years of the notification letter. DEADLINE: 26 November 2026, 11:59 pm, via TAC Grants Online.
Partnership Engage Grants fund short-term, partnered research between a postsecondary researcher and a single non-academic partner organization (public, private or not-for-profit, Canadian or international, at arm's length), addressing a need identified by the partner. SSHRC welcomes research-creation, which makes this a fit for digital culture projects pairing an academic artist-researcher with a gallery, festival, media arts centre, NGO or tech organization. VALUE: CAD 10,000 to 50,000 over 1 year. ELIGIBILITY: applicants must be affiliated with an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution (postdocs qualify if affiliated; students do not); co-applicants may come from postsecondary institutions, not-for-profits, foundations, think tanks or governments; postsecondary institutions and scholarly associations cannot be the partner. DEADLINES: quarterly; next is 15 December 2026, 8:00 pm Eastern. The 2027 competitions launch in December 2026. Webinars 18 November (English) and 19 November 2026 (French), 14:00 ET.
Two artist residencies with Co-Designing a Smartwear Revolution, a University of Alberta research network of 100+ researchers in textile science, AI and robotics building smart garments with sensors and actuators. The in-person resident gets lab and studio access in Edmonton; the virtual resident works remotely. No nationality, age or geography limits; collectives and students welcome; applicants need experience in visual art, fashion or performance, with priority for lived or professional experience of disability, aging, caregiving or assistive technology. Work is shown at the SUPPORT 2028 festival. Expression of interest by 15 December 2026 via the Google Form or adwg@ualberta.ca; notification 15 January 2027.
Open call for new or existing artworks, performances and fashion collections on support, disability, smart textiles, technology, access and embodiment for the SUPPORT 2028 festival at University of Alberta venues including FAB Gallery, the Sound Studies Institute gallery and the Timms Centre. About five visual artists, three fashion designers and two performance groups will be selected. Expression of interest by 15 December 2026, full proposal by 15 February 2027, results 15 March 2027. Payment requires registering as a University of Alberta supplier (allow at least two months).
CALQ and UQAR invite Quebec professional artists in digital arts or dance to create work in partnership with UQAR research teams studying climate change and the oceans. Applicants need a CALQ "Artist or writer" profile. Apply through the CALQ portal by 16 December 2026, 23:59.
The Awesome Foundation is a network of volunteer giving circles: in each chapter about ten trustees pool their own money to give a USD 1,000 no-strings micro-grant, usually monthly, to a project that adds "awesome" to their area: art, public interventions, community tech, events, science and civic ideas. One application on the main site can be sent to the chapter for your location. ACTIVE CHAPTERS (made grants in 2026, checked 9 Nov 2026): US: Ann Arbor, Austin, Baltimore, Cass Clay, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Gainesville, Georgetown MA, Gloucester MA, Hamilton-Wenham MA, Ipswich MA, Los Angeles, Newburgh NY, Newburyport MA, New York City, Oahu, Orlando, Peekskill NY, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland OR, Poughkeepsie NY, Rhode Island, Rockport MA, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Cruz, South Bend, St. Paul, State College PA, Washington DC, Westminster MD (Durham, Miami and Seattle each made one grant early in 2026). Canada: Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, Newmarket, Ottawa, Toronto. Australia: Adelaide, Fleurieu, Lake Mac, Lower Hunter, Newcastle, Sydney. UK: Glasgow. Netherlands: Utrecht (one grant in early 2026; Leiden and Rotterdam have been quiet since 2025 and 2024). Asia: Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Tashkent, Yerevan. ELIGIBILITY: set per chapter, generally individuals or groups doing the project in that chapter's area. APPLY: free, short online form. DEADLINE: rolling. Worldwide themed chapters are listed separately (Disability, Conservation and Climate, On the Water).