November 9, 2018
The Ontario Arts Council has recently announced two new granting programs that Ontario artists may wish to explore, particularly in relation to Ontario Contact. Presenters are encouraged to share this information with their artist colleagues.
The first program is Market Development Projects, which is divided into Market Readiness, Market Platform, and Market Access streams. We recommend that you follow this link to learn more about the program and to discover who to talk to at the OAC for questions and clarification.
The Market Platform stream provides a possible opportunity for presenting an independent showcase during Ontario Contact. The stream supports the presentation of a showcase or hosting event for presenters as a way to build knowledge of your work and facilitate relationship-building.
For those artists who are successful in gaining a showcase spot at Ontario Contact or other similar showcase conferences, you will want to look at the Market Access stream to assist with your costs.
The first deadline for Market Development Projects is November 30th, 2018. There will be two additional deadlines in 2019 the dates have yet to be determined.
The second granting program is Market Development Travel Assistance. This program offers travel subsidies for artists travelling to events to promote their work and expand their market. Applications are open now and available through continuous intake until funds are spent (likely March 2019).
We realize that some of the deadlines may not line up perfectly with our current Ontario Contact timelines. We are working with the OAC to alleviate those challenges as possible. Currently our plan is to continue with opening applications in the middle of January 2019 and closing them mid-April. If we make any changes to this timeline, we will notify all artists who are on our email lists and announce on the Ontario Contact and IWanttoShowcase websites.