BC Arts Council: Media Artists Grants

Deadline: June 24, 2026

Program Summary:

Individual Arts Grants: Media Artists assists independent media artists with the creation of specific projects. Projects and works must be independent of commercial industries for film, video, and gaming.

BC Arts Council supports independent digital and media arts practices in the following areas:

• Moving images (film and video practices, including narrative, experimental, expanded cinema, and installation-based works);
• Audio/sound art (including sound sculptures and installations, sound walks, or other use of sound and listening as the foundation of artistic expression, generally for presentation in gallery spaces); or
• New media and digital arts (including interactive installation, immersive and interactive environments, web-based art, or other information and communications technologies used for artistic expression).

Grants are available to support the creation of new works. For film, this may include the production and/or post-production phase. The artist (for film projects, the director) holds complete creative control over the final work and throughout all production stages. Collaborative projects that involve two or more artists sharing creative control should be submitted by a single applicant that meets the eligibility for the program, as listed below. Collaborating artists are not required to meet all eligibility criteria but must include a resume, CV and/or biography.

What you can apply for:

Individual Arts Grants programs provide one-time grants for specific projects or activities led by an individual.

Examples of eligible projects:

Some examples include:

• A film director seeking production funds for an independent, small-budget short documentary film.
• A multimedia artist seeking funds to pay collaborating artists for a creation workshop for a sound-based work in their community.
• A new media artist seeking funds to pay for creative consultation, space rental, and fabrication costs associated with a new installation work.
• A film director seeking post-production funds for an independent narrative film to hire editors, colorists, as well as equipment and space rental.

Grant Amount:

Maximum request amount is $25,000.

You may request up to 100% of the eligible project expenses.

Your subsistence request may be up to $750/week to a maximum of $15,000.

Submit a realistic and balanced budget that shows how much money you need to complete the project. BC Arts Council intends to support successful applications at 100% of their request. However, in some cases, grants may be awarded for less than requested.

BC Arts Council grant programs are competitive. We are not able to support all eligible applications. We generally fund between 20% to 40% of eligible applications in a program intake. To see a list of previous grant recipients and the range of grants awarded, visit the BC Arts Council Grant Recipients webpage.

Eligible Applicants:

To be eligible, you must:

• Be an independent media artist, who has completed all basic training (not necessarily in academic institutions).
• Be recognized as professional by other practitioners working in a similar artistic practice.
• Be committed to working full-time at your practice when financially possible.
• Demonstrate you are an established independent media artist or arts and culture practitioner in your CV or resume, by having:
  • Completed appropriate and relevant training in your field of practice. Training may include post-secondary institutions, traditional knowledge transfer, a series of professional level workshops, or apprenticeship with a qualified practitioner.
  • A minimum two years of being paid to work in your field after completing basic training.
  • Created and completed at least one project that has been professionally presented as part of a public program for which a professional fee was received (CARFAC, IMAA, or equivalent). Eligible activities may include exhibition in a professionally curated exhibition for which you received professional fees as described above or having your work screened at a professional film festival at which a professional fee was received.

OR

• Have received at least one grant to assist with the creation of work through the First Peoples’ Cultural Council arts program.

Commercial activities, works resulting from commissions or pay-to-play activities do not contribute towards establishing eligibility.

Culturally specific practices where compensation is not traditional may still be eligible. Contact a Program Advisor to discuss prior to applying.

To be eligible, all applicants must also:

• Be a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada.
• Be a B.C. resident who ordinarily resides in B.C. and has lived in B.C. for at least 12 continuous months immediately prior to the application closing date.
  • For more information, review our Determining B.C. Residency page.
  • You must be prepared to provide documentation to support your residency status (if requested).
• Have final creative control over the proposed work (for example, director’s credit).
• Fairly compensate artists, arts and culture practitioners, technicians, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers. Compensation must align with project and community contexts and industry standards within the field of practice.
• Engage skilled artistic, curatorial, editorial, and administrative leadership for project or service delivery.
• Follow international intellectual property rights standards and cultural ownership protocols.
• Follow the Criminal Records Review Act which requires that people who work with or may have unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults must undergo a criminal record check by the Criminal Records Review Program.
• Be applying for either the first or second time with a project. If you have applied twice unsuccessfully for the same project, the new proposal must be substantively changed.
• Not have any overdue final reports on previous BC Arts Council grants.