Impact residency for circus arts

Who is eligible to apply?

Professional artist collectives and non-profit arts organizations working in circus arts.

What are the program objectives?

This program aims to:

• encourage research and exploration of original creations
• promote auteur circus creations and the emergence of new aesthetics in circus arts
• offer an opportunity to begin developing a creation and documenting it to use to seek private and public funding partners
• provide an opportunity to do research and creation without the constraints of presentation
• provide a space for professionals in the discipline to come together and share skills
• position Montréal as a creative city at the forefront of circus arts development

What type of assistance is provided?

The selected collective or organization will receive:

• a $15,000 grant from the Conseil des arts de Montréal that could go toward the rental or purchase of materials and equipment, project documentation, administration fees, one-time liability insurance and other related expenses.
• 40 hours of studio access at the Maison du Conseil, free of charge
• a five-day residency in a performance space with technical support provided by Les 7 doigts de la main
• a five-day residency in a performance space with technical support provided by Cirque Éloize
• a five-day residency in a performance space with technical support provided by TOHU
• 20 to 40 hours of tailored support (production, financing, marketing and networking expertise and advice) over a two-year period offered by En Piste, the national circus arts alliance.
• a one-year membership at En piste, subject to meeting the requirements of the membership policy.

What is the duration of the support?

This is a one-time, non-recurring grant.

What types of projects are eligible?

Research, creation and/or production.

What are the general eligibility conditions?

Artists’ collectives

• be a group of artists (at least two)
• be represented by a person responsible for the application; the representative must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada
• two thirds of its members must be artists with Canadian citizenship or permanent residence; the proportion of members of the collective residing outside Canada may not exceed one third
• the majority of the collective’s members (50% +1) must reside on the Island of Montréal, including the person responsible for the application

Professional requirements

• all members must meet the Conseil’s definition of professional artist

Arts organizations

• be a non-profit organization or artists’ cooperative that pays no dividends
• be headquartered on the Island of Montréal
• have a board of directors composed mainly of Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada
• have a main mandate to create, produce or disseminate artistic works

Professional requirements

• possess a level of recognized and demonstrable competence
• be managed by qualified individuals
• have stable artistic leadership
• present activities whose artistic quality is recognized by peers in the same arts practice
• be staffed by professional artists and/or cultural workers

Are there any special eligibility conditions?

• have read the technical data sheets for each of the three locations to ensure the technical feasibility of the project
• be available and well prepared on the planned residency dates
• hold valid civil liability insurance for the full duration of the residency
• ensure that at least one representative actively participates in the minimum 20 hours of professional support offered by En piste
• participate in a status meeting with project partners
• if applicable and if successful applicants wish: present a performance or an excerpt of the work created during the residency to residency partners and intended collaborators

Note: Applicants may submit a project that already completed its research phase, but this is not an eligibility requirement.

What types of projects are eligible?

Research and exploration projects for the creation of a performance.

When must the project be carried out?

The residency will be carried out in five steps:

• at the studios of the Conseil des arts de Montréal between January 2022 and September 2022
• at the dance studio of les 7 doigts de la main between January and August 2022
• at the dance room of Cirque Éloize between January and August 2022
• in a space provided by TOHU between July and August 2022
• two years of tailored support provided by En Piste, the national circus arts alliance, between January 2022 and December 2024

How many applications will be approved?

One application will be accepted.

Who is ineligible to apply?

Ineligible applicants

• individual artists
• collectives and organizations that do not meet the general and specific eligibility requirements
• artists’ collectives that are incorporated as for-profit or non-profit organizations
• alliances, associations, service organizations or artists’ agents
• organizations dedicated to teaching, education or professional training
• specialty and multidisciplinary presenters
• public or para-public organizations representing governments or municipal corporations
• organizations registered as partnerships

Ineligible projects

• works that have already been created or that are ready to be created, produced and presented on stage
• creation of a circus number
• projects completed before the Conseil’s decision is received (eight to nine weeks after the submission deadline)
• projects that are primarily promotional

Applications

• incomplete applications
• applications received after the deadline

Ineligible applications will not be considered by the evaluation committee.

Can specific populations receive additional financial support to submit their application or complete their project (accessibility costs)?

Yes. Accessibility costs refer to costs that certain individuals, particularly those who are D/deaf and/or living with a disability, must pay to take advantage, in the same way as others do, of the services and programs offered by an institution for research, to create, produce or disseminate their art. Reimbursement of part of these costs by the Conseil des arts de Montréal may offset the financial disadvantage.

The Support Fund for Accessibility Costs is a financial assistance measure that complements the Conseil’s other programs. The deadline to apply for support for accessibility costs is the same as that for the program being applied to.

Artists, collectives or organizations that have obtained financial assistance from the Conseil to carry out a project can also file an application for accessibility cost support up to three months after the decisions related to the successful project have been sent out, provided the project is not completed before the deadline to send out decisions for accessibility cost support applications.

Support is divided into three components:

• Component 1 – Financial support to submit a grant application or to apply for one of the Conseil’s initiatives
• Component 2 – Financial support for accessibility costs for a project funded by the Conseil
• Component 3 – Financial support for presenter organizations for accessibility costs to welcome audiences for a project funded by the Conseil

For more details, please see this additional information on the Support Fund.

Can I submit more than one application in the same year?

No.

Who should submit the application?

• for collectives: the person designated by the collective
• for organizations: a duly authorized representative

Can I file my application in English?

Yes, it’s possible to submit your request in English, but the questions on the form are in French.

What information and documents must I include in my application?

For everyone:

• list of participants (artists, designers and other key collaborators)
• short curriculum vitaes of artists (maximum of two pages per artist)
• technical data sheet and/or equipment list, if applicable

For organizations only:

• Letters patent and general regulations of the organization for first-time applicants or if changes have been made since the last application
• most recent financial statements

How are applications evaluated?

Applications are evaluated in two steps:

• preselection of two applications by the Circus and Street Arts Sector Committee of the Conseil des arts de Montréal based on the project’s artistic evaluation
• evaluation of the technical feasibility of the two shortlisted applications by an ad hoc committee composed of one representative from each of the following: the Circus and Street Arts Sector Evaluation Committee, les 7 doigts de la main, Cirque Éloize and TOHU

What are the evaluation criteria?

The evaluation committee will take into account the program objectives and the following criteria:

Artistic quality: 40%

• artistic quality of the residency project
• quality of past projects of members of the collective or organization
• originality of the technical approach

Contribution to the development of the discipline: 40%

• exploration of new disciplines and circus writing
• innovativeness, creativity and boldness of the proposal
• contribution of the project to the development of the discipline

Project management and administration: 10%

• realistic budget forecasts and financial balance
• efforts made to compensate artists

Technical feasibility: 10%

• project feasibility according to the technical sheets of the three residency organizations and soundness of the proposal

How will I be informed of the decision?

The representative for the collective will receive an email invitation to view the results on the ORORA platform. No decisions will be communicated by phone.

Can I appeal the decision?

The Conseil’s decisions are final and not subject to appeal. However, Conseil staff are available to answer any questions regarding decisions.

Applicants agree not to communicate with members of the evaluation committee or the Conseil’s Board of Directors about the management or evaluation of their application, or about decisions related to their application.

How will the grant be paid?

The $15,000 grant will be paid in two instalments:

• $12,000 at the start of the residency
• $3,000 upon submission of the final report

Commitments

Accepting payment of the grant constitutes, for the collective or organization, an undertaking to complete the activities covered by the grant and to comply with the accompanying conditions, which will be communicated upon acceptance of the application.

The collective or organization agrees to:

• carry out the proposed project as planned
• notify the Conseil as soon as possible if unable to carry out the project in the fiscal year for which the grant was awarded. The grant recipient may be obliged to reimburse some or all of the amount awarded, as applicable.
• if requested, submit activity reports and financial statements at the required times
• if applicable, include in its report photographs, videos or any other relevant, royalty-free visuals that the Conseil may use for promotional or archival purposes