Nouvelle Garde – organization component

Who is eligible to apply?

The internship program aims to address the challenges of professionally integrating young artists and cultural workers facing such obstacles as intense competition, fragmentation of sectors, work overload, irregular and precarious employment, lack of appropriate resources and lack of a network of contacts.

Based on the recommendations of Compétence Culture, the Conseil des arts de Montréal and the CJE Montréal Centre-Ville, the needs of young artists and cultural workers include access to information and resources, development of cross-disciplinary skills (such as employability and career management), support, coaching and follow-up, networking and bridge-building toward professional experience that aligns with their qualifications.

Nouvelle Garde is intended for formally trained young artists and cultural workers. An internship provides them with a first or second experience in a work setting. It offers employment training geared toward self-employment and overall employability. Nouvelle Garde stems from a collaboration between the Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM) and the Carrefour jeunesse-emploi Montréal Centre-Ville (CJE), in partnership with the RBC Foundation.

To mark its 5th edition, Nouvelle Garde is launching an all-new selection process for emerging artists/cultural workers. In keeping with the aspirations of trainees, the 2024 edition is geared towards the ambitions of recent graduates. 25 applications are be put forward on the new Nouvelle Garde website. Starting today, organizations will be able to discover the 25 profiles and propose work experiences that match the candidates’ wishes.

Please note that it will still be possible to apply jointly with an organization from August 15 via the CAM platform.

What are the program objectives?

The empowerment of the next generation of cultural workers is at the heart of this paid internship. Its aim is to help them maintain sustainable employment, especially in the host organizations.

Nouvelle Garde has the following objectives:

• help young artists and cultural workers acquire employment skills adapted to their activity sector and become familiar with the reality of this environment
• encourage quicker integration of young artists and cultural workers into the labour market
• improve the living conditions of young artists and cultural workers
• increase the professional network of young artists and cultural workers
• help young artists and cultural workers achieve professional status
• ensure succession within arts and culture organizations
• increase the number of jobs available to the next generation of cultural workers in arts and culture organizations
• facilitate knowledge transfer
• increase digital technology and information processing skills in workplaces
• address the labour shortage in arts management, communications and marketing, and market development

What type of assistance is provided?

The intern’s wages are paid to the employer by the CJE and disbursed as follows:

• $18.75/hr X 24 hr/wk X 20 wks = $9,000

The employer contributes the payroll tax portion of the total wage:

• $9,000 X 15.515%* = $1,396.35**
• TOTAL PAID TO INTERN = $10,396.35

*(QPP 5.4%, QPIP 0.767%, FSS 2.3%, EI 1.778%. CNT 0.07%, CSST 1.2%, Vacation 4% Total = 15.515%

** For information purposes only, payroll taxes may vary.

What internships are available?

A – Artistic and administrative internships

Employers are invited to submit an application to hire an artist or cultural worker as an intern.

Young artists and cultural workers are invited to submit their application detailing their professional goals for an internship in the arts and culture sector.

Employers and interns must complete their applications separately.

The evaluation committee will match one intern with one employer. The Nouvelle Garde program will provide for 20 internships.

Two types of internships are possible within this program:

Option 1 – Cultural administration internship for cultural workers

The intern may assist management in functions related to general or administrative management, communications, production, market and audience development, or be a project manager and develop new fields of activity under the supervision of a superior.

This type of internship promotes the transfer of skills and knowledge. The goal being to provide a strong employment experience, increasing employability and chances of access to full-time employment, or obtaining a contract as a self-employed worker.

Option 2 – Art internship for artists and creators

Employers hire young artists and creators, and involve them in artistic activities. They offer young artists the opportunity to practise their art in an established cultural organization and gain relevant work experience that will allow them to enhance their CV and their network of contacts.

This type of internship promotes the development of the intern’s artistic or technical potential. It is adaptable to different job types: lighting artist, musician, stage director, costume designer, scriptwriter, choreographer, art director, dancer, comedian, etc.

These internships help artists gain professional recognition. They improve their employability and aim to promote them and eventually give them more contract opportunities.

B – Employment training

The 20 interns selected will receive employment and self-employment training tailored to artists and cultural workers. Training will take place in groups and individually, on a rotating basis, and will help them learn essential employment skills. This training will also provide networking and mutual support opportunities and encourage attendance by creating a sense of belonging to the project.

What is the duration of the internship?

Internships are 480 hours (equivalent to 24 hours per week for five months).

How are supervisors, interns and internship settings paired?

The evaluation committee will match one intern with one employer.

What type of organizations are eligible?

The program is intended for artist-run centres working in visual arts, performing arts creation and production companies, specialized or multidisciplinary presenters, organizations responsible for festivals or disciplinary or multidisciplinary events, access centres dedicated to film or video creation and production, art galleries, museums, service organizations, publishers of cultural magazines, artists’ alliances, professional associations, etc.

What are the general eligibility criteria?

For participants:

• hold a post-secondary, college or university degree preferably in an artistic field
• be between 16 and 35 years old at the time of application (35 years old and under on the first day of the internship)
• have completed their studies and obtained their diploma between 2018 and 2023
• be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident at the time of application
• reside on the Island of Montréal
• not receive employment insurance benefits
• have had difficulty entering the labour market

Employers in the arts and culture sector (hereinafter referred to as employers):

For organizations:

Terms and conditions

• be a non-profit organization or artist cooperative that pays no dividends
• be headquartered on the Island of Montréal
• must have a board of directors composed primarily of Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada
• have a mandate to carry out creative, production and dissemination activities in the arts or have a mandate to bring together and represent artists and/or cultural workers in a discipline or multidisciplinary sector
• fit the definition of a professional arts organization

For a cultural company:

These may include companies operating in virtual reality, animation and video games, events, film production and distribution, film editing, art gallery, etc.

→      Terms and conditions

• be headquartered on the Island of Montréal
• have a board of directors composed mainly of Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada
• have a mandate to carry out creative, production and dissemination activities in the arts and culture sector

What is the time frame for the project?

The internships will take place from February 1 to June 30, 2024. Employability training will take place from January 15 to January 26, 2024.

How many internships are offered?

About 20 internships will be offered.

Who is ineligible to apply?

The following are not eligible for this program:

Applicants

• artists’ collectives
• public or para-public organizations representing governments or municipal corporations
• libraries
• organizations providing employment and representation services to artists
• organizations dedicated to teaching, education or professional training
• people already employed by the organization submitting the application

Projects

• applications for activities that are already completed or underway

Activity sectors

• organizations working exclusively in variety arts or comedy
• applicants working exclusively in cultural mediation

Applications

• incomplete applications
• applications received after the deadline

ineligible applications will not be considered by the evaluation committee.

Can specific populations receive additional financial support to submit their application or complete their project (accessibility costs)?

Yes. Accessibility costs refer to costs that certain individuals, particularly those who are D/deaf and/or living with a disability, must pay to take advantage, in the same way as others do, of the services and programs offered by an institution for research, to create, produce or disseminate their art. Reimbursement of part of these costs by the Conseil des arts de Montréal may offset the financial disadvantage.

The Support Fund for Accessibility Costs is a financial assistance measure that complements the Conseil’s other programs. The deadline to apply for support for accessibility costs is the same as that for the program being applied to.

Artists, collectives or organizations that have obtained financial assistance from the Conseil to carry out a project can also file an application for accessibility cost support up to three months after the decisions related to the successful project have been sent out, provided the project is not completed before the deadline to send out decisions for accessibility cost support applications.

Support is divided into three components:

• component 1 – Financial support to submit a grant application or to apply for one of the Conseil’s initiatives
• component 2 – Financial support for accessibility costs for a project funded by the Conseil
• component 3 – Financial support for presenter organizations for accessibility costs to welcome audiences for a project funded by the Conseil

For more details, please see this additional information on the Support Fund.

Who should submit the application?

The arts organization or cultural company must appoint a person responsible for the application.

What information and documents must I include in my application?

Employers will be required to fill in the program form and provide the following information via ORORA:

• internship supervisor(s): short bio
• internship objectives and description: a detailed description of internship tasks, objectives, activities and context
• expected results: foreseeable benefits for the intern and the organization
• internship schedule: detailed timeline for each month of the internship and schedule of activities
• budget: expenses associated with internships
• possibility of retaining the intern for longer and keeping them on staff

Only required documents will be submitted to the evaluation committee. Additional material will not be shared with the committee.

How are applications evaluated?

Employers

The person in charge of the program verifies the eligibility of arts organizations, cultural companies and participants. Applications are evaluated by a committee composed of one member of the Conseil des arts de Montréal’s evaluation committee, members of the CJE and an artist or cultural worker from the arts and culture community.

All applications are evaluated based on merit, and both the comparative value of the applications and the available funds are considered in the selection.

The selection committee’s recommendations are submitted to the board of directors of the Conseil des arts de Montréal. Decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

Interns

The selection committee will ensure that the general eligibility criteria (age, status, place of residence, etc.) are met.

What are the evaluation criteria?

Employers

The evaluation committee will consider the program objectives and the following criteria:

• quality of the work plan with regard to professional development and skills acquisition
• professional  qualifications of those involved in the project
• relevance of the internship plan (stages and timelines).
• employer’s ability to retain participants on staff
• arts organization’s or cultural company’s management capacity
• feasibility of the project

Interns

The committee will also consider the following:

• successful completion of a post-secondary degree in arts and culture
• interest in starting and pursuing a career in arts and culture
• ability to commit to a concrete internship environment
• availability to see the internship through

The committee will ensure a significant representation of young culturally diverse and Indigenous artists in the selected cohorts—approximately 50%.

What is the response time?

It will take five (5) weeks from the date of the application for the Conseil to process it and reach a decision. The list of successful candidates will be announced on November 9, 2022.

How will I be informed of the decision?

Prospective interns and representatives of the organization will be invited by email to view the results in the ORORA portal. Decisions will not be communicated by phone.

Can I appeal the decision?

The Conseil’s decisions are final and not subject to appeal. However, Conseil staff are available to answer any questions regarding decisions.

Applicants agree not to communicate with members of the evaluation committee or the Conseil’s board of directors about the management or evaluation of their application, or about decisions related to their application.

How will interns be paid?

Wages for the artist or cultural worker will be paid upon submission of a reimbursement request, sent at the start, midpoint and end of the internship. Depending on needs, an employer could receive a lump sum ($1,200) at the start of the internship to cover certain expenses incurred hosting the intern, which may vary depending on the component and the nature of the internship (increase in the number of weeks, equipment, workstation, etc.).

This amount cannot be applied to expenses included in the organization’s operating budget or covered by another grant program. This assistance is one-time and not retroactive.

Arts organizations and cultural companies hosting an intern agree to:

• provide a work environment (equipped workstation including computer equipment, required software, rehearsal spaces, workshops, etc., depending on the nature of the internship)
• make available a resource person capable of setting objectives, ensuring the smooth running of the internship and measuring achievements
• make various tools available to the intern, including reference material in the chosen field
• if possible, help increase the wage offered
• seriously consider the possibility of retaining the intern on staff after the internship or offering them a contract
• sign an agreement outlining the internship objectives, prepared by the employer, intern and project supervisor. In addition to setting clear objectives, this agreement will stipulate the type of tasks and mandates to be carried out to achieve its objectives.
• provide report(s) at every stage of the internship and produce a final report

The intern agrees to:

• participate in employment training and performance reviews
• make themselves available for the full duration of the internship and not pursue other employment (part-time or full-time)
• see the internship through the end of the project including the final performance review

If the employer interrupts or makes significant changes to the internship, they must reimburse the welcome stipend on a pro rata basis according to the number of hours already completed.

If, for serious reasons, the intern is unable to complete their internship, they may be replaced by another participant, who must meet the eligibility criteria described above.

Accepting payment of the grant constitutes, for the employer, an undertaking to complete the activities covered by the grant and to comply with the accompanying conditions, which will be communicated upon selection of the application.

The employer agrees to:

• carry out the project as planned
• notify the Conseil as soon as possible if unable to carry out the project in the fiscal year for which the grant was awarded. In such cases, they may be obliged to reimburse some or all of the amount awarded.
• if requested, submit activity reports and financial statements at the required times
• If applicable, include photographs, videos, or any other relevant, royalty-free visuals in their report, that the Conseil may use for promotional or archival purposes.