The DTES Small Arts Grants program is intended to help take practicing artists to the next level in their professionalism. Grants may range from $500 - $1,000. The Community Advisory Committee that oversees the program is looking for a wide variety of artistic media, including music, theatre, writing, photography, pottery, textiles, carving, painting, animation, dance, mixed-media, performance, video, etc.

Here are the Granting Criteria:

1. You must be a practicing artist, and demonstrate a vital engagement with the DTES community. Preference will be given to those artists living and creating their art in the DTES. However, each application will be considered for its unique circumstances.

2. You must demonstrate a history of original art practice. Grants are not intended for ‘start-up’ purposes.

3. Grants are not intended for subsistence purposes. Artists cannot pay themselves a salary. However, they may hire others to help achieve the goals of their project (for example, web designers, actors, lighting techs, recording engineers, etc.).

4. Educational/instructional courses generally will not be supported, except in extraordinary circumstances.

5. Artwork must adhere to acceptable community standards. We will not promote material that could harm an individual or group.

6. Groups that apply should have a history of members having worked and completed projects together. Groups with a ‘drop-in’ component will generally not be supported, as grants are designed for goal-oriented projects with defined start and completion dates, and fixed members working toward those dates.

7. Groups where the contact person is seen as a facilitator/promoter, rather than as an artist taking her/his own artwork to the next level, will generally not be supported. Curatorship, however, is viewed as a valid medium.

8. Those who received a grant in Round One (completed on June 24, 2009), may apply for a grant in Round Two. However, priority will be given to those not yet awarded.

9. Artists may apply for one grant only in Round Two. Those applying for more than one grant will be disqualified. Artists who apply and also appear to be a beneficiary on another’s application (for example, being paid as a musician on a CD project), risk having one or both applications disqualified.

10. The deadline for submitting initial applications is 4:00 PM, Friday, September 18, 2009. Late applications will not be accepted. No exceptions.

Notes on the granting process:

This is the first of a two-step application process. If your initial application is chosen by the Community Advisory Committee, you will be contacted on September 25, 2009. You will be asked to complete a Second Step Proposal, which will include proof of original artwork, a project budget and timeline. The deadline to complete and submit this Second Step Proposal will be October 23, 2009. Successful proposals will be announced on October 30, 2009.

All successful applicants in Round Two are expected to present their work publicly by April 8, 2010.

Applications for Grants out Aug. 28/09

Applications for the second round of grants will be out on Aug. 28/09. Once again, they will be available at the Info Desk, Carnegie Center, and other locations in the DTES including the Strathcona Community Centre, RayCam Community Center, the Aboriginal Front Door, & Oppenheimer Park.

Grants will be for artists with an established art practice living in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.