BC Arts Council: Up to C$25,000 for Media-Arts Programmes at BC Festivals — 19 November
The BC Arts Council is accepting applications to its 2026/27 Project Assistance: Professional Arts Festivals programme. Media arts is expressly listed among eligible fields, alongside visual arts, multidisciplinary practice and other forms. The funding is intended for public artistic programming within an existing professional festival in British Columbia, not for a private artist's stand-alone project or a new one-day event.
What can a media-art festival propose?
The programme supports development, presentation, enrichment or creation of public programming within a recurring multi-day festival. Eligible activities might include a curated media-art screening, an exhibition strand or multidisciplinary digital art presentation, provided the project and costs comply with the formal guidelines. The festival must have already operated at least once in the same format, run for two to 30 consecutive days, and present a variety of arts activities involving multiple artists.
Who can apply?
The scheme is intended for qualifying professional arts organisations and arts or curatorial collectives in British Columbia, as well as certain other permitted BC organisations described in the guidelines. It is not an unrestricted international grant or an individual artist cash prize. For example, eligible nonprofit arts organisations generally need to be registered and in good standing in BC for at least one fiscal year, with local leadership and an ongoing arts purpose. Eligible collectives must meet specific experience, citizenship or permanent-residency, and BC-residency requirements for core members. Check the full applicant-type rules before beginning.
Grant size and matching budget
The maximum request is C$25,000. Under the official 2026/27 guidelines, standard applicants may request up to 50% of total eligible project expenses; applicants in designated priority groups may be permitted up to 65%. The balance can include eligible cash and in-kind contributions. The grant is competitive and the Council does not guarantee support to every eligible applicant. Fees for participating artists should be budgeted in line with the guidelines.
Important deadlines
Applications close Thursday 19 November 2026 at 11:59pm Pacific Time. First-time applicants must submit a profile registration request by 12 November; the Council explains that registrations submitted later cannot be processed in time for this intake. Applications are submitted through the Council's online Grant Management System. Results are expected around March 2027, subject to the funder's timetable.
Official programme and responsible funder
The BC Arts Council is the provincial arts funding agency based in Victoria, British Columbia. Its official programme page links to the current 2026/27 guidelines, checklist and application portal. Read the programme guidelines before spending time on a proposal: first-time festivals, single-day festivals and ineligible organisation types are specifically excluded.
Source check: 28 October 2026. Aion Laboratory is not affiliated with this grant. This summary does not replace the BC Arts Council's application rules, eligibility definitions, financial conditions or online submission instructions.