OAC EXHIBITION ASSISTANCE 

SAVAC is a recommender for all artists of colour at any stage of their career. Follow the guidelines below to apply! For more detailed information on the Exhibition Assistance grant visit the OAC website.

Preparing Effective Support Material for Visual Arts and Craft Grant Applications — This video will take you through what you need in preparation for applying to the Exhibition Assistance grant.

Grant Amounts 

• minimum $500, maximum $2,000
• You may apply for only one exhibition per application.
• You may receive up to $2,000 in Exhibition Assistance grants, for applications submitted during the program year.
• Due to the number of applications received and the limited funds available, grants awarded may be smaller than the amount requested.
• If your application includes ineligible expenses, OAC may reduce the recommended amount to cover only eligible expenses or withdraw the application.

Eligible applications

• Ontario-based professional visual artists, craft artists, media artists and artist collectives who have a confirmed, upcoming public exhibition. Applicants must be Ontario residents with a permanent physical address in Ontario.

Collectives 

• For this program, eligible collectives are defined as unincorporated groups of two or more artists who create collaboratively and exhibit together.
• Collectives may apply in the name of the collective, or may choose an individual to represent it as the applicant.
• Only one individual can apply on behalf of the collective at any time. An amount awarded in the name of the individual counts towards their $2,000 limit for the program year.
• If the collective applies, OAC issues the grant cheque in the name of the collective. Grant cheques cannot be re-issued in the name of an individual.
• For a group exhibition, where artists present their own individual work, each artist must apply individually for their own expenses.

Read the Guide to OAC Project Programs for more eligibility information.

Ineligible applicants

• undergraduate or graduate students enrolled full-time at an educational institution
• incorporated not-for-profit or for-profit organizations
• curators

This program funds

Grants assist with the artists’ costs related to the presentation of artwork in a confirmed, public exhibition.

Eligible expenses:

• presentation costs, including framing, display structures, mounting and installation hardware and supplies and construction of structural elements specific to an installation, photo printing for exhibition
• audio-visual presentation equipment
• technical and installation expenses and fees, including the cost of preparing or documenting artwork to present in a virtual/online exhibition
• crating and transportation of works of art
• exhibition venue rent or booth fee
• exhibition promotional expenses
• insurance

Only costs that are the artists’ responsibility, and not covered by the gallery or presenter, are eligible. See further details in the expenses section of the application.

Eligible exhibitions:

• exhibitions in Ontario, in other Canadian provinces and in international locations
• exhibitions in public art galleries, artist-run centres and commercial art galleries
• solo and group shows
• do-it-yourself (DIY) or self-presented public exhibitions
• exhibitions in alternative public locations such as community centres, restaurants or rented spaces
• art fairs, collective studio tours and exhibits at trade fairs

Note: Virtual/online exhibitions are eligible if presented by a gallery/museum or other professional exhibition platform. Self-presented virtual exhibitions are not eligible.

This program does not fund

Ineligible expenses:

• art materials, studio costs and other expenses related to the creation of artwork
• artist’s fees for exhibition and installation
• artist’s travel (travel costs are only eligible for performance art and site-specific installation)
• artist’s accommodation
• catalogues and documentation of artwork
• hospitality

Ineligible exhibitions:

• exhibitions in venues that are not open to the public
• theatrical-style screenings of film or video
• exhibitions presented for credit in a secondary or post-secondary program
• self-presented virtual/online exhibitions, including online exhibitions and e-commerce sections on an artist’s own website
• presentations in online shops

Activity timing

The exhibition for which you are requesting funding:

• must start on or after January 13, 2023
• must be completed no more than two years after you receive the grant notification

Final report requirements

If you receive a grant you must submit a final report upon completion of the project. Do not submit your final report before receiving your grant cheque. See Terms and Conditions — receipt of OAC project grant funds for more information on reporting obligations. Complete and submit the report form in Nova.

Important: You must notify OAC to request approval if your exhibition venue or dates change. You must do this before any changes take place.

Final reports for this program require grant recipients to provide:

• a description of what was achieved with the support of this grant
• final expenses, if different from original application expenses
• an exhibition announcement or other document used to promote the exhibition to the public (1 to 3 images or a link)
• If the OAC logo/funding acknowledgement was not included in the exhibition announcement, also describe how you recognized OAC support during or after the exhibition: social media mention, verbal acknowledgement during an artist’s talk, etc.

To apply

Complete and submit an application in Nova, OAC’s online grant application system. Before applying, you must create or update your profile in Nova.

Your application includes:

• basic information about the exhibition
• budget of eligible expenses
• your answers to application questions
• name of recommender you are applying to
• artistic examples – images or video documentation of your work:
• maximum of 8 images or 8 minutes of video
  • this video will help you: Preparing Effective Support Material for Visual Arts and Craft Grant Applications
• support documents:
  • résumé
  • letter/document confirming your exhibition (contract, letter of confirmation on letterhead, or email correspondence). This document be current (dated within two months prior to application) and must include:
    • exhibition start and end dates
    • name and contact information of exhibition organizer
    • location and address of exhibition venue

Complete instructions and requirements are in the application in Nova.

For help creating a profile or submitting an application in Nova, see the Nova User Guide.

Open Call: Fan Out! 

Deadline: July 25, 2023

Open Call: FAN OUT! Submission Form

Calling all racialized and diasporic artists! SAVAC (South Asian Visual Art Centre) wants to know about the artists, activists, and writers from the Global South and its diasporas whose works greatly influenced your own thinking and making. Who are the creative predecessors that made you feel seen and validated? Tell us about the subversive, political, and genre-bending artists whose practices are largely overlooked from art history canons, forgotten to time, or otherwise plucked from context. 

Fan Out! will be hosted as a series of free, public gatherings between September-November 2023, both in-person and over zoom. Selected artists will be invited to officially fan out about their chosen person by giving a 10-15 minute “passion presentation” and contributing to a fanzine. Much collective fan-girling among presenters and audiences is sure to follow. 

The submission form will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Racialized artists living anywhere are encouraged to apply. Each presenter will be paid a CARFAC fee of CAD $350. 

Questions? Email artistic director, Abedar Kamgari, at abedar@savac.net