In-school Residency for Children’s Authors and Illustrators

Who is eligible to apply?

This program is intended for Montréal authors and/or illustrators.

What are the program objectives?

These residencies aim to:

• allow a children’s author and/or illustrator who has published at least one children’s book to continue developing a personal creative project
• carry out a cultural mediation project to support this creative endeavour through interactions with youth
• get teaching staff and schools acquainted with the author’s and/or illustrator’s creative process
• enable children’s authors and/or illustrators to connect with their readership

More details about the program

The residencies will take place over a three-month period, from February to April 2023. Selected applicants must be available 10 hours per week—five hours dedicated exclusively to the mediation project at the schools and five hours to a personal creation project.

The 2023 residencies will take place in the following schools:

• École Cœur-Immaculé-de-Marie (CSSDM)
• École Saint-Grégoire-le-Grand (CSSDM) 
• École Martin-Bélanger (CSSMB)
• École Philippe-Morin (CSSMB)
• École Gabrielle-Roy (CSSPI)

Professional children’s authors and/or illustrators must submit a cultural mediation project to be implemented in one of the five schools. Applicants will be selected based on the connection between their creative work and the cultural mediation project, and based on the quality of the cultural mediation project they propose.

This program is administered by Communication-Jeunesse.

What type of assistance is provided?

The grant offered is $10,000—$5,000 from the Conseil des arts de Montréal and $5,000 from the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur.

What are the general eligibility criteria?

To apply, applicants must meet the following conditions:

• be a professional author and/or illustrator and have published at least one children’s book with recognized and established publishers
• reside on the Island of Montréal
• have not obtained an in-school residency from this program in the last three years
• authors and/or illustrators employed by the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal, Centre de services scolaire de Pointe-de-l’Île, Centre de services scolaire de Marguerite-Bourgeoy, English Montreal School Board, Lester B. Pearson School Board or the Conseil des arts de Montréal or Communication-Jeunesse cannot apply

When must the project be carried out?

The project will run from February to April 2023.

How many applications will be accepted?

Five applications will be accepted.

How can I submit an application?

For more information or to submit an application, visit the Communication-Jeunesse website.

How are applications evaluated?

The Conseil des arts de Montréal, in consultation with the MEES, Communication-Jeunesse and each of the participating schools, will evaluate the applications submitted.

What are the evaluation criteria?

The main evaluation criteria are as follows:

• previous published works
• the quality of the planned cultural mediation project, its rollout, objectives and links to the personal creative work of the author and/or illustrator
• the contribution of the project to the school and students
• the ability of the author and/or illustrator to complete their project

What is the response time?

Five to six weeks from the application deadline (October 14, 2022). Selected artists will be notified the week of November 14, 2022.

How will the artist grant be paid?

The $10,000 grant to the author and/or illustrator will be paid as follows: $5,000 from the Conseil des arts de Montréal at the start of the residency and $5,000 from the MEES through its A Montréal School for All (AMSFA) program at the end of the residency.

Commitments

Accepting payment of the grant constitutes, for the author and/or illustrator, an undertaking to complete the activities covered by the grant and to comply with the accompanying conditions.

The author and/or illustrator 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. Depending on the situation, a full or partial refund may be requested
• 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
• The children’s author and/or illustrator who carried out the residency must write a report on their experience. The report must cover the school mediation project (process and results), the involvement of school staff members and the residency’s contribution to the creative process of the author and/or illustrator. The report must be submitted in the second week of May 2023.