Project Assistance: Professional Arts Festivals

Description

Project Assistance: Professional Arts Festivals supports eligible organizations and arts or curatorial collectives in the development, enrichment, presentation, and creation of public programming within an existing, multi-day arts festival. 

An eligible professional arts festival is an event which:

  • Has a primary focus on curated arts and culture programming and presentations of artwork to the public (for example, performances, exhibitions, readings, screenings). Festival activities may also include artistic demonstrations, sharing cultural traditions, workshops, and discussion panels in addition to the presentation of artwork to the public.
  • Happens over a minimum of two consecutive days and is no longer than 30 consecutive days.
  • Is scheduled with a festival-style format (for example, a variety of related arts presentations from multiple artists).
  • Has happened in this same format at least once before and is promoted to the public as one cohesive event.

**Grants are not available through this program to support festivals being offered for the first time, or single-day festivals. These activities may be supported through discipline-specific Project Assistance grant programs.**

Community arts organizations, for example, community arts councils, are not eligible for this program. Community arts organizations that produce festivals should apply to the Project Assistance: Community Arts Festivals program.

Program Guidelines (PDF)

Application Checklist (PDF)

Application Preview (Word)

Review the Program Guidelines to learn about:

  • How to apply
  • Who can apply
  • Eligible projects and expenses
  • Exclusions
  • Grant amounts (requests up to $25,000)
  • What is needed for the application, including support material
  • How applications will be assessed

Processing of registration requests will pause at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, November 12, 2026, five business days before the grant closes on Thursday, November 19, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. If you register during this time, you will not be able to apply for this grant intake.

Applications are currently being accepted until November 19, 2026.

Resources

Application Assistance
This program provides funding for support services required to create and submit grant applications, project updates, and final reports for BC Arts Council grants.

Access Support
This program provides additional funding to support access costs associated with a project funded by a BC Arts Council grant.

Glossary

 

How to Apply

Applications are submitted through the Grant Management System.

New applicants must register and create a profile in the online system. Once the registration request is submitted, it may take up to four business days to process your request.

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