Newcomer and Refugee Artist Mentorship
$15,000
Grant
Description:
Newcomer and Refugee Artist Mentorship program provides support for newcomer and refugee artists to develop their artistic practice and to further their integration and inclusion to Toronto. We define a newcomer as: an immigrant or refugee who has lived in Canada for less than 7 years; a refugee is a person who was forced to leave their home country and is now located in Canada.
Comments on Funding:
The total grant amount is $15,000.
$7,500 is paid directly to the newcomer or refugee artist
$7,500 is paid directly to the mentor.
April 22, 2025
Eligibility:
Applicants must:
1. Be professional artists working in any artistic tradition (see definition above)
2. Be TAC recognizes that due to systemic barriers within the broader arts community (e.g. limited mainstream presentation opportunities for artists from equity-seeking communities) that some flexibility may be required in interpreting eligibility criteria to take into account equivalent professional experience and contexts. Potential applicants from equity-seeking communities are encouraged to discuss their eligibility with the Program Manager in advance of submitting an application.
3. Be residents of the City of Toronto
4. have arrived in Canada after January 1, 2018
5. be Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents or have an application pending for Permanent Resident status or be a Protected Person (approved refugee claimant) and, if requested, be able to provide documentation to verify this.
6. must have a SIN (Social Insurance Number)
7. Past recipients of this grant program cannot apply.
8. Undergraduate students cannot apply.
9. Professional artists pursuing graduate studies may not apply for work related to their program of study. A letter from the graduate program director specifying that the project is not related to the graduate student’s program of studies must be submitted with the application.
Application Steps:
Applicants must:
1. Speak to the Program Manager
Liza Mattamore, Program Manager, Strategic Initiatives liza[at]torontoartscouncil[dot]org 416-392-6802 x 231
2. register on TAC Grants Online (https://tac.smartsimple.ca/) and submit the application no later than 11:59 pm on the deadline date
Documentation Needed:
Applicants must submit:
1. Appendix for the questions included in Mentorship Details
2. Resumes/CVs required for both the applicant
3. Support Material is an important part of the application. Applicants are required to submit examples
from their recent artistic work that are relevant to the mentorship. At least one example should be from
the past 2 years. Support Material from mentors is optional, but highly encouraged.
a. Video/Audio: provide a link (website, Vimeo, YouTube) and password, if required. Video/Audio
files should be no longer than 3 minutes in length.
b. Photos: provide a link and password, if required, to a website where your photos have been
uploaded. You may also upload JPEG images of your work. 5 images are permitted PER
Support Material section, to a maximum of 15 images
c. Writing Sample: upload a PDF file, maximum 15 pages double-spaced.
4. The grant review panel will normally spend 5 minutes or less per application viewing support material.
Works, therefore, may not be seen in their entirety. File sizes may not exceed 200 MB.
5. Do not submit materials through Google Drive or Dropbox. If you submit Facebook or Instagram
profiles, make sure they are public accounts.
Other Things to Note:
About the author
Maurice