Jean A. Chalmers Fund for the Crafts
Each year, an amount is available to the Canada Council for the Arts to support special initiatives in the Canadian crafts community. Awarded through the Jean A. Chalmers Fund for the Crafts, this sum represents the income from an endowment of $500,000 made to the Canada Council by the late Mrs. Chalmers in 1985. This fund helps non-profit organizations undertake projects that contribute to the advancement of the crafts in Canada. It also helps Canadian visual arts organizations undertake projects that contribute to the advancement and understanding of the fine crafts in Canada. Individual fine crafts professionals can apply for support from the Research and Policy Development Assistance component of the program.
Eligible Applicants:
- Incorporated, non-profit Canadian visual arts and fine craft organizations, art museums, public art galleries, exhibition centres, artist-run centres, university art departments, art colleges, fine crafts colleges, service organizations and professional associations with a commitment to the professional fine crafts communities in Canada may apply for assistance to any of the three components of the program, but only one component in each competition.
- Individual fine crafts professionals (for example, artists, curators, critics and writers) may apply to the Research and Policy Development Assistance component only. They must be professional artists or arts professionals, and Canadian citizens or permanent residents, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
- This Canada Council for the Arts program is accessible to Aboriginal artists or arts organizations and artists or arts organizations of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.
Eligible Projects:The Chalmers Fund provides partial funding for one-time projects through three program components:
- Research and Policy Development Assistance
- Special Project Assistance
- Pre-publication Assistance.
Priority consideration will be given to projects designed to foster a climate of analysis, evaluation and dialogue. There are no minimum or maximum amounts that may be requested or received through this program. Generally, grants will vary between $5,000 and $7,000, according to the requests received and the peer assessment committee’s evaluations. Applicants may not be awarded the full amount requested.
Saidye Bronfman Award
This is Canada’s foremost distinction for excellence in the fine crafts. The $25,000 prize is awarded annually to an exceptional craftsperson. In addition, works by the recipient are acquired by the Canadian Museum of Civilization for its permanent collection. As of March 2007 the Saidye Bronfman Award will become an eighth Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, reserved exclusively for fine craft artists.
Winifred Shantz Award
The Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo assists those in the field of contemporary ceramics by awarding $10,000 annually to a potter or clay sculptor for innovative professional development.
Community Museum Operating Grant/Pay Equity Program
This ministry provides annual operating grants to approximately 200 community museums. These museums contribute to their communities’ economic well-being as employers and tourist attractions, attracting over 2,300,000 visitors per year. This support strengthens their role in their communities as custodians and interpreters of the province’s irreplaceable heritage collections. Museums that receive this support are required to meet the criteria established in Regulation 877, “Grants for Museums” under the Ontario Heritage Act and this ministry’s Standards for Community Museums in Ontario.
