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Digital Arts Resource Centre is a media art OAC exhibition assistance recommender for artists residing across Ontario. The Ontario Arts Council’s Exhibition Assistance program supports Ontario-based artists and artist collectives working in visual arts, craft and media art practices in the presentation of their artwork in a confirmed public exhibition. This is a third-party recommender program. Using Nova, OAC’s online grant application system, artists apply to the galleries and organizations designated as recommenders for the program. These recommenders assess applications and submit grant recommendations to OAC.
Amber Yared
Program Administrator
Emily Ramsay
Director
* The following (listed below) is a direct reference to the Ontario Arts Council’s Exhibition Assistance website listing *
Recommenders may identify priorities for funding in addition to OAC’s priority groups.
The 2023-2024 program is open from September 2023 until December 2023.
DARC Application Deadline: December 1st, 2023 1 PM ET.
Each recommender either sets its own deadlines or assesses applications on an ongoing basis until their budget is spent. See the Recommenders for Exhibition Assistance web page for deadline information. Note that the list of participating recommenders is posted in September 2020 when the program opens, and is subject to updates and changes during the program year.
Notification:
Important:
Collectives
Read the Guide to OAC Project Programs for more eligibility information.
Grants assist with the artists’ costs related to the presentation of artwork in a confirmed, public exhibition.
Eligible expenses:
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:
Note: Virtual/online exhibitions are eligible if presented by a gallery/museum or other professional exhibition platform. Self-presented virtual exhibitions are not eligible.
Ineligible expenses:
Ineligible exhibitions:
The exhibition for which you are requesting funding:
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:
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.
Your application includes:
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.
Recommenders are organizations authorized by OAC to receive applications, review them and make grant recommendations. OAC allocates a budget to each of the participating recommenders. Recommenders submit their grant recommendations to OAC, which are then reviewed by OAC for applicant and program eligibility. OAC then sends you an email letting you know that your notification letter is available online in Nova.
See the Guide to Project Programs for more information about grant decisions, grant payments and what you need to do if you get a grant.
Artists who have a conflict of interest with a particular recommender may not apply to that recommender. An artist is in a conflict of interest if they are:
Recommenders cannot approve grants that will be paid back to them in any way.
Recommenders establish their own processes for assessing Exhibition Assistance applications and making grant recommendations. A jury, committee, curator or other staff may take on this role for the recommender. Recommenders base their funding recommendations on the quality of the artist’s work, OAC priority groups and other funding priorities they may establish.
Recommenders in zones 1 through 4 may recommend up to 40% of their Exhibition Assistance grant budget to artists exhibiting in their own program/gallery. Northern recommenders, in zones 5 and 6, may recommend up to 80%.
For the Exhibition Assistance program, recommenders include public art galleries, artist-run centres and other community organizations throughout Ontario.
You must apply to a recommender located in the zone where you live. To find your zone, see:
You may also be eligible to apply to a specialized recommender. These recommenders can accept applications from artists in any zone. The link below will direct you to a searchable database of the recommenders for this program:
67 Nicholas St, Ottawa, ON K1N 7B9