Research-creation Residency for Culturally Diverse Artists in Theatre and Non-Traditionnal Artistic Practices

Who is eligible to apply?

Culturally diverse artists’ collectives and culturally diverse organizations incorporated within the past seven years.

What are the program objectives?

This residency is designed to help start or continue a project in the studios of the

Maison du Conseil des arts de Montréal and the Théâtre Aux Écuries. Its purpose is to address the needs and challenges of culturally diverse artists in Montréal by providing them with creative conditions they need to create high-quality work.

Through this program, the Conseil des arts de Montréal and the Théâtre Aux Écuries aim to:

• provide conditions conducive to the creative process
• help improve the artistic quality of the works
• foster intercultural exchange and diverse arts practices
• help culturally diverse artists expand their professional network
• identify talented artists
• provide a professional context in which to network
• give culturally diverse collectives and organizations greater visibility within the Montréal arts scene

What type of assistance is provided?

The selected artists’ collective or organization will benefit from:

• artists’ fees
• access to high-quality studios
• professional artistic and/or management mentoring
• networking opportunities
• the opportunity to create promotional audiovisual material to help find partners (funding, coproduction, dissemination)

The selected collective or organization will receive:

• access to Conseil studios (60 hours)
• a 12-day residence in the studios of the Théâtre Aux Écuries (with technical support)
• a $10,000 research and creation grant
• a maximum allowance of $1,000 for up to 40 hours of guidance ($25/hour) from an artistic advisor. The organization or collective will select an experienced artistic advisor (author, playwright, director, choreographer, etc.)
• an allowance of $1,000 to record the project (professional audiovisual equipment)

Services offered

• access to an office space with an Internet connection at the Théâtre Aux Écuries between December 15, 2022 and June 1st, 2023
• artistic support and mentoring (including discussions with the artistic directors of companies in residence at the Théâtre Aux Écuries) and access to the organization’s activities (labs, performances, work sessions, etc.)

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 criteria?

Artists’ collectives

Status and conditions

• be represented by a person responsible for the application
• be a group of artists, regardless of the number (minimum of two);
• 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 in Montréal, including the person responsible for the application
• all members must meet the Conseil’s definition of professional artist

Arts organizations

Status and conditions

• 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 presented activities of a recognized artistic quality
• be staffed by professional artists and/or cultural workers

Are there any special eligibility criteria?

The applicant must be a culturally diverse artists’ collective or a culturally diverse arts organization incorporated within the past seven (7) years.

When must the project be carried out?

• the research and creation residency will take place between December 1st, 2022 and June 1st, 2023, in the studios of the Conseil des arts de Montréal in the Gaston-Miron Building
• the 12-day residency in the studios of the Théâtre Aux Écuries will take place:
• in Espace-1, from December 15 to 23, 2022
• in Espace-2, from January 4 to 10, 2023

How many applications will be accepted?

Only one application will be selected.

Who is ineligible to apply?

Ineligible applicants

• organizations and collectives that do not meet the general and specific conditions for eligibility
• artists’ alliances and professional associations
• organizations dedicated to teaching, education or professional training
• public or para-public organizations representing governments or municipal corporations
• libraries
• for-profit organizations or businesses registered as a general partnership
• artists’ collectives that are incorporated as for-profit or not-for-profit organizations

Projects

• projects already completed
• applications from service agencies or artists’ agents

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.

Who should submit the application?

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

What information and documents must I include in my application?

• artist CVs (maximum two pages per participant)
• a list of Internet links of visual documentation of previous works
• the project budget
• financial statements and letters patent (for first-time applicants)

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

Artists’ collectives and organizations may only submit one application per year.

How are applications evaluated?

Applications are evaluated by a jury of peers from the Conseil des arts de Montréal and the Théâtre Aux Écuries.

All projects will be evaluated on merit; the projects’ comparative value will be taken into consideration.

What are the evaluation criteria?

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

Artistic merit: 70%

• the project’s artistic merit and quality;
• quality of previous works by the members of the collective or organization
• innovative nature and originality of the artistic approach
• choice of artistic advisor (expertise, relevance) and the proposed support

Contribution to the discipline and audience development: 20%

• contribution to the variety of artistic practices on the Montréal arts scene
• contribution of the project to the development of the discipline

Project management: 10%

• feasibility and practicality of the proposed project
• effort to remunerate artists, creators and cultural workers

What is the response time?

It will take five to seven weeks from the deadline for the Conseil des arts de Montréal to process the application and reach a decision.

How will I be informed of the decision?

The representative for the collective or organization 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?

Payment of the $10,000 research-creation grant

The grant will be paid in two instalments:

• $9,000 at the start of project
• $1,000 at the end of project, conditional upon submission of a final report

Payment of the $1,000 allowance for the artistic advisor

This allowance will be paid to the organization or the representative of the collective responsible for paying the advisor. The Conseil will pay this amount in one instalment upon presentation of an invoice, after the last meeting with the advisor.

Payment of the $1,000 (max.) allowance for audiovisual equipment

This allowance will be paid in a single instalment, upon submission of an invoice.

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 undertakes 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 the report photographs, videos or any other relevant, royalty-free visuals that the Conseil may use for promotional or archival purposes