Support for projects for independent curators
Grant program
2010-2011

General information

Through this program, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec is seeking to financially support independent curators in the realms of the visual arts, arts and crafts and architecture.

The visual arts include research and creation practices in painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, illustration, the textile arts, photography, installations, comic strips, performance and any other similar form of expression.

The arts and crafts include research and creation practices related to form and function, materials, the expressive value of objects, the use of traditional and non-traditional techniques and their interpretation in innovative production.

Architecture includes practices, discourse and works that are aimed, first and foremost, at the renewal of artistic language through the realization of activities, the dissemination of creative approaches linked to changes in means of expression in the realms of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and urban design.

This program comprises two sections, indicated below.

Section 1 – Operational support

Section 2 – Support for projects for independent curators
a) projects to develop the discipline
b) publication projects
c) exploration projects

Note: Only section 2 (a, b and c) of this program is intended for organizations and independent curators. Section 1 (operational support) is intended solely for organizations and is not examined in this brochure. Organizations must submit their applications in French in conjunction with the Programme de subventions en arts visuels, métiers d'art et architecture.


Submission of the application
An applicant wishing to register for this program must fill out the appropriate application form and be sure to submit all of the documents demanded, including a copy of the model contract with the artists and curators.

Application forms are available upon request from the Conseil. They may also be downloaded from the page of the program to which they pertain on the Conseil's Website. [under the heading Application form in the upper left-hand corner of this page]

A single copy of the registration file must be submitted (21.6 cm x 27.9 cm or 8½" x 11"). To facilitate photocopying, do not staple, bind or print the documents on both sides of the page.

The Conseil is not responsible for the loss of items submitted with the application or damage sustained by such items during shipping. Applicants are urged to avoid sending the originals of items or supporting documents, with the exception of financial statements.

Only visual material, sound recordings and publications are returned to applicants within 90 days of the announcement of the results.

Subject to provisions in the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information, the Conseil respects the confidentiality of the documents and information in its possession and of those sent to it.


Place of registration
Applications must be submitted to the Conseil office in Québec City or Montréal.

Response time
If the application is complete, the Conseil will inform the applicant of its decision following the evaluation of the application within roughly five months of the registration date.

In the case of exploration projects, the Conseil informs the applicant of its decision within roughly five months of the registration deadlines (March 15 and September 15, 2009).

Applicants who submit an application that is deemed to be ineligible will receive a letter explaining why it is unacceptable.


Evaluation of grant applications
Grant applications are initially analysed by the Conseil's program managers in light of eligibility criteria and the program's general objectives.

Applications that are deemed to be eligible are submitted to the advisory committee that is set up pursuant to the Conseil's Policy governing juries, committees and assessors. The members are individuals recognized for their competence in the field concerned who possess a sound knowledge of the organizations and their impact on the artistic milieu.

Eligible applications for exploration projects are submitted to the advisory committees which convene following the March 15 and September 15, 2009 registration deadlines.

The advisory committee evaluates on their merit applications according to program evaluation criteria and takes into account the Conseil's guidelines. At the conclusion of its deliberations, the committee makes recommendations to the Conseil.

The advisory committee's recommendations and the analyses conducted by the specific discipline sector are then submitted to the Board of Directors, which makes a decision. The Board of Directors may accept the recommendations or make any other decision that it deems appropriate, especially in respect of the policy directions adopted. The Board of Director's decision in this respect is final.

The Conseil's Policy governing juries, committees and assessors is available at its offices and on its Website.

The Peer evaluation information guide, which is available from the Conseil and on its Website, describes the application evaluation process. 


Conditions governing the awarding of a grant
Conditions governing the awarding of a grant are described in a letter of agreement that must be signed by the independent curator.

The Conseil's grant must complement other sources of revenue. When the applicants know the amount of the grants that they are obtaining from the Conseil and other public agencies, they must, if need be, draw up a revised, balanced budget for submission to the Conseil.

An independent curator who receives a one-time grant in respect of a project must submit within four months of the completion of the project an activity report and a financial report concerning the use of the grant. The reports must be submitted on the grant application form that the organization initially completed and must contain all of the factual data.

The grant awarded may be applied to part or all of the activities described by the applicant in the application. If the applicant is unable to carry out part or all of the activities covered by the grant, the grant recipient must immediately inform the Conseil accordingly. The Conseil may, consequently, adjust the amount of the grant and the applicant may be required to repay part or all of the grant.

Independent curators receiving a grant must abide by the Québec legislation that applies to them, including, among others, the Act respecting the professional status and conditions of engagement of performing, recording and film artists (R.S.Q., c. S 32.1) and the Act respecting the professional status of artists in the visual arts, arts and crafts and literature, and their contracts with promoters, in particular by concluding a written contract with the artist concerning the six items mentioned in section 31 of the Act (R.S.Q., c. S-32.01). The Conseil may, at any time, demand copies of contracts signed by the organization or the curator and the artists.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Conseil reserves the right to verify the supporting documents and the information submitted by the independent curator receiving the grant to ensure compliance with the conditions governing the attribution of the grant.

The applicant obtaining the grant must comply with standards governing the use of the Conseil's logo, as described in a document available from the Conseil or on its Website. 

Failure to comply with the conditions governing the awarding of a grant and the specific conditions pertaining thereto and non-compliance with the legislation in force may compromise the independent curator's subsequent eligibility for Conseil programs.


Glossary

Coproduction
A coproduction refers to a partnership between two or more production and/or dissemination organizations. The organizations work together to create an artistic activity or event in respect of which they have pooled their talent and contributed to and shared the cost of organization with a view to public presentation.

International event
An international event is one that hosts significant numbers of Québec, Canadian and foreign artists and specialists in a specific field whose activities can give rise to exchanges and reciprocal agreements. The event must take place in Québec. It may be annual, biennial or triennial.

The event must be supported by an extensive promotional plan that makes provision, in particular, for participation by domestic and international media that may disseminate the event or publicize it at home and abroad.

Partnership
A partnership is any form of cooperation between legal and natural persons aimed at carrying out a project through the pooling of physical, human or financial resources.

Professional artist
For the purposes of this program, the term "artist" also refers to writers, storytellers and craftspeople. An artist is defined as follows:

• they declare themselves to be professional artists;
• they practise an art on their own account or offer their services for remuneration, as creators or performers, especially in the fields under the responsibility of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec;
• they have gained the recognition of their peers;
• they disseminate or publicly interpret their works in places and/or contexts recognized by their peers.

Professional organization in the visual arts, the arts and crafts or architecture
A professional organization in the visual arts, the arts and crafts or architecture is one whose main mission is to support, promote and disseminate the work of professional artists in these realms through activities and services offered regularly to artists and the public. Depending on the organization's specific mandate, the activities can include exhibitions, access to specialized resources and production equipment, the reception of artists in residence, lectures, workshops, performances, the presentation of media arts works, publications, training, documentation, and so on. The activities that are an integral part of the organization's mission demand precise artistic guidelines and adequate resources and artistic skills. The organization must assume responsibility for artistic choices and financial risks and must, among other things, oversee all facets of the presentation to the public of artistic works.

A service organization is one that satisfies specialized needs in an artistic field. It offers artists and organizations support for professional artistic practice through initiatives focusing on supervision, management, promotion, recognition, documentation or distribution.

Professionals in the visual arts, the arts and crafts or architecture
Professionals in the visual arts, the arts and crafts or architecture include independent curators, art critics and cultural workers with the appropriate experience. Curators must have demonstrated their skills in research and the organization of at least one dissemination and promotion initiative in a professional context. Critics must have published texts in magazines, newspapers, exhibition catalogues or activity programs. Cultural workers must have occupied a position as a coordinator, a manager or an artistic director in a professional organization, e.g. an artists' centre, a professional association, and so on.

Province-wide event
A province-wide event is one that attracts significant numbers of Québec artists and specialists in a given field. Depending on the nature of the event, programming must include the creation of works or the presentation of previously unreleased works, take into account new trends in the targeted discipline and include activities that foster exchanges. The event must take place in Québec. It may be annual, biennial or triennial.

Participation in the event by Québec artists and specialists must be predominant.

The event must be supported by a promotional plan that makes provision for province-wide activities and participation by the domestic media that may disseminate the event or publicize it at the provincial level.

Support for projects for independent curators

Through this section, the Conseil intends to make available to the professional arts community resources that foster the development of the discipline, the impact that artists have in Québec and elsewhere, the advancement of knowledge and the broadening of public awareness.

This support is intended for organizations and independent curators recognized in the realm of the visual arts, the arts and crafts and architecture. The applicant and partner organizations must clearly demonstrate that the project is a specific one that is being undertaken in addition to their regular activities.

This section of the program comprises two types of support:

Section 2a – projects to develop the discipline

Section 2b – Publication projects

Section 2c - Exploration projects

Objectives of project support
By granting funds for non-recurring projects, the Conseil is seeking to:

• encourage the emergence of projects or initiatives that are essential to the discipline's development;
• foster partnership projects aimed at the comparison of artistic practices and viewpoints through the organization of original initiatives devoted to reflection and exchanges;
• support awareness, promotion and dissemination initiatives that advance knowledge of practices in the visual arts, the arts and crafts and architecture. Such activities broaden public appreciation of these disciplines;
• encourage new forms of cooperation from an artistic standpoint, in particular by means of coproduction and reciprocity agreements;
• emphasize the presence of artists and the circulation of their works in Québec and elsewhere.

Maximum amount of the grant
A maximum of $40 000 per fiscal year may be awarded to support projects, irrespective of the section. The total amount of assistance requested at the time of registration in respect of sections 2a and 2b may not exceed the maximum amount granted per fiscal year.

If the actual cost of carrying out the project exceeds the scale respecting the maximum amount of the grant, the Conseil may demand the repayment of the surplus amount.


Eligible applicants

Professional organizations
A professional organization must be a legally constituted non-profit corporation whose head office is located in Québec that presents professional artistic activities and the majority of whose members or administrators are Canadian citizens normally resident in Québec or landed immigrants as contemplated by section 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act normally resident in Québec. 

Independent curators
An independent curator must have demonstrated his skills in research and the organization of at least one dissemination and promotion initiative in a professional context.

He must be a Canadian citizen normally resident in Québec or a landed immigrant as contemplated in section 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act normally resident in Québec and who has resided there for the past twelve (12) months.

Section 2a
Projects to develop the discipline

Specific eligibility criteria
This support is intended for independent curators and professional organizations engaged in partnership projects. The Conseil defines a partnership as any form of cooperation between legal and natural persons aimed at carrying out a project through the pooling of physical, human or financial resources.

The partners must submit a letter of interest or a letter of commitment. The payment of the grant is subject to the confirmation of the partners' contribution.

Eligible projects include descriptive events such as exhibitions, symposia, colloquia, performance programs, lectures, public experimentation workshops, thematic meetings, "art and community" projects, audience development projects, or any other similar activity, whether or not it involves travel inside or outside Québec. Projects devoted to the promotion and dissemination of artistic works must focus solely on living artists.


Ineligibility
Projects already carried out at the time of submission of the application are ineligible.


Evaluation criteria
Project grant applications are subject to an evaluation of merit that focuses primarily on the artistic quality, impact and management of the project. The evaluation centres on the following criteria:

Artistic quality of the project (60%)

• clarity and originality of the project;
• choice of the artists, curators and other professionals associated with the activity;
• relevance of the partners and reception structures, as the case may be.

Impact of the project (20%)

• conceptual rigour of the project;
• spin-off for the artists and partners;
• quality of the communications plan;
• quality of initiatives pertaining to mediation with audiences, as the case may be.

Management of the project (20%)

• realism of the budget estimates;
• ability of the applicant to successfully carry out the project;
• effort devoted to the payment of exhibition rights, fees and royalties;
• diversity of sources of revenue and size of the partners' contribution.

Exceptionally, when the type of project warrants doing so and the applicant makes such a request by checking off the appropriate box on the form, the Conseil will attach greater importance to the criteria concerning the project's impact. In this instance, the project's artistic quality will account for 50% of the weighting, its impact for 30% and its management for 20%.


Eligible expenses

• the payment of fees and royalties (exhibition, reproduction, publication, communications, public relations, and so on);
• the cost of promotional and advertising material directly related to the project;
• the travel and living expenses of artists and other participants;
• the cost of transporting art works;
• the cost of producing works;
• exhibition expenses;
• the cost of renting space and equipment related to the realization of the activity;
• certain travel costs and professional or contractual fees such as those of consultants, technicians or any other specialists contributing expertise to the project.

Applicants must justify their eligible expenses.


Maximum amount of the grant
A maximum of $30 000 may be granted per registration period for this type of project. The grant may not represent more than 75% of the total cost of the project.

If the actual cost of carrying out the project exceeds the scale respecting the maximum amount of the grant, the Conseil may demand the repayment of the surplus amount.

Section 2b
Publication projects

Specific eligibility criteria
This support is intended for independent curators and professional organizations. In the case of organizations that are already receiving operating support from the Conseil, only partnership projects are eligible for this section. The Conseil defines a partnership as any form of cooperation between legal and natural persons aimed at carrying out a project through the pooling of physical, human or financial resources.

Projects eligible for this section focus on the publication of printed or electronic works intended to document and disseminate the work of an artist, an artists' group or an event. These works can take the form of exhibition catalogues, monographs or colloquium proceedings.

The projects must include promotion strategies, a distribution plan, the applicants' technical production specifications and budget, and excerpts from the authors' previously published texts.


Ineligibility
Projects already carried out at the time of submission of the application and publishers, author's editions and organizations supported by the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles, the ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine and the ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport are ineligible.


Evaluation criteria
Project grant applications are subject to an evaluation of merit that focuses primarily on the artistic quality, impact and management of the project. The evaluation centres on the following criteria:

Artistic quality of the project (60%)

• clarity and originality of the project;
• choice of the artists, curators, authors and other professionals associated with the project;
• relevance of the partners.

Impact of the project (20%)

• spin-off for the artists and impact on the advancement of knowledge in the realm of the visual arts, arts and crafts and architecture;
• quality of the promotion strategies and the distribution plan;
• spin-off for the applicant;
• awareness-raising efforts and audience development.

Management of the project (20%)

• realism of the budget estimates;
• ability of the applicant to successfully carry out the project;
• effort devoted to the payment of reprography rights, fees and royalties;
• diversity and extent of sources of revenue.

Eligible expenses

• the payment of fees and royalties (reproduction, publication, and so on);
• the cost of promotional, advertising and distribution material directly related to the project;
• graphic design fees and the cost of the printed or electronic production of publications;
• certain professional or contractual fees such as those of consultants or other specialists who contribute specific expertise to the project.

Maximum amount of the grant
A maximum of $20 000 may be granted per publication project per registration period. The grant may not represent more than 75% of the total cost of the project.

If the actual cost of carrying out the project exceeds the scale respecting the maximum amount of the grant, the Conseil may demand the repayment of the surplus amount.

Section 2c
Exploration projects

Specific eligibility criteria
This support is intended for independent curators and professional organizations. In the case of organizations that are already receiving operating support from the Conseil, only partnership projects are eligible for this section. The Conseil defines a partnership as any form of cooperation between legal and natural persons aimed at carrying out a project through the pooling of physical, human or financial resources.

The partners must submit a letter of interest or a letter of commitment. The payment of the grant is subject to the confirmation of the partners' contribution.

Eligible exploration projects include exploratory missions aimed at preparing artistic events, the search for partners and new networks, the development of exchanges, or projects involving the circulation of works and marketing. Exploration projects may be carried out inside our outside Québec.

In the case of independent curators, the presence at the presentation of their programming or exhibition may be taken into account from the standpoint of ensuring the marketing of Québec works and artists.


Ineligibility
Projects already carried out at the time of submission of the application and organizations supported by the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles, the ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine and the ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport are ineligible.


Evaluation criteria

Quality of the project (60%)

• relevance of the exploration project
• relevance of the organizations, the sites visited and the individuals to be contacted
• competence of the participants

Impact of the project (30%)

• foreseeable impact of the activity

Management of the project (10%)

• realism of the budget estimates

Eligible expenses
Eligible expenses include the participants' travel and living expenses. The maximum amount of the grant for an exploration project depends on the destination:

• Québec (except Îles-de-la-Madeleine), Ontario and the Maritimes (except Newfoundland): $750;
• Nord du Québec (except Nunavik), Îles-de-la-Madeleine, other provinces of Canada (including Newfoundland) and New England (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine): $1 000;
• Nunavik, United States (except New England), Europe and Mexico: $2 000;
• Africa, Asia, Oceania, Central America and South America: $2 500.

Up to $200 in communications expenses are eligible.

Applicants must justify their eligible expenses.


Maximum amount of the grant
A maximum of $5 000 may be granted per fiscal year in this section.

If the actual cost of carrying out the project exceeds the scale respecting the maximum amount of the grant, the Conseil may demand the repayment of the surplus amount.