BCAC: Project Assistance: Community Arts Festivals

Deadline: February 18, 2026

Project Assistance: Community Arts Festivals supports the artistic development of local, community-based arts festivals by providing funding for fees paid to B.C. or Canadian professional artists and technicians and Elders or Knowledge Keepers engaged in the festival. The festival must be an existing festival, with an arts focus, presented by local Indigenous or community arts organizations, and may feature a combination of local and touring artists.

An eligible community arts festival is an event that:

• Is an existing festival, in B.C. which is recurring and is promoted to the public as one cohesive arts festival.
• Is scheduled within a concentrated time and place, and
  • Has a minimum of two consecutive days of presentations of artworks to the public (ex: performances, exhibitions, readings, screenings).
  • Pays artists to present their work.
  • Is scheduled with a festival-style format (ex. a variety of related arts presentations from multiple artists).
  • Is no longer than 30 consecutive days.
  • Has happened in this same format and (minimum) length at least once before.
• Has a primary focus on, and majority of programming dedicated to, arts presentation and activities, and
  • Supports development of the arts at a community level, through live, in person activities delivered to residents by artists, performers, Elders or Knowledge Keepers.
  • Festival activities may also include artistic demonstrations, sharing cultural traditions, workshops, and discussion panels in addition to the presentation of artworks to the public.
  • Facilitates the exchange of local ideas, narratives, or issues that engage community participation through the arts.
  • Grows relationships between artists and the local community.
• May feature both local and touring artists.
• Is presented by an eligible community arts organization, Indigenous government, or Indigenous community organization.
• Is organized primarily by volunteers (but may also have a dedicated coordinator).
• Shows community involvement, including financial or in-kind support of local government, volunteers, business, or community and arts and culture organizations.
• Has appropriate planning related to healthy workplaces, including emergency preparedness.

Grant Amount: Maximum request amount is $6,000.

Who Can Apply:

Before you begin your application, make sure your organization is eligible and your proposed project is eligible. Ineligible applications will not be forwarded for assessment.

To be eligible, organizations must either be:

• A Community Arts Organization, registered and in good standing as a non-profit society or community service co-op in B.C. for at least one fiscal year prior to application.

OR

• An Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) community organization registered and in good standing as a non-profit society or community service co-op in B.C. for at least one fiscal year prior to application.

OR

• An Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) government in B.C. that offers regular arts and culture activities.