Tremplin Grant – Indigenous Arts

Please note that you can file an application at any time between September 12 and December 18, 2024. The 2025 form will be made available on January 9, 2025. 

This microgrant program provides assistance of up to $3,000, at any time, for projects requiring support and not covered by other sources of funding. 

Who is this program for?

This program is intended for professional and apiring indigenous artists, indigenous cultural workers, as well as indigenous collectives and indigenous non-profit organizations.

What are the program’s objectives?

In its equity policy, the Conseil des arts de Montréal has identified Indigenous creators as a priority group for special measures that recognize their significant contribution to Montréal’s cultural and artistic vitality. The Conseil recognizes Indigenous knowledge and protocols, and it is committed to respecting the principles of self-determination in developing programs for Indigenous artists, cultural workers, artists’ collectives and arts organizations through its Indigenous Arts Committee.   

To that end, this new microgrant program is designed to meet the specific needs of professional or emerging Indigenous creators, collectives and organizations for projects requiring assistance and not covered by other sources of funding.    

This program may cover costs related to: 

• acquisition and transfer of skills 
• translation of certain projects into Indigenous languages for presentation purposes 
• travel and living expenses 
• dissemination of works 
• specialized equipment rental or purchase of materials 
• publicity and promotion   
• any other expenses incurred in carrying out a small-scale activity 

What assistance is provided?

The amount of the grant can be up to $3,000. 

How long does the support last?

This is a one-time, non-recurring grant. 

Can the project be fully funded by the Conseil?

The grant can cover up to 100% of project costs or be part of a financing package that includes several sources of funding. 

What are the general eligibility requirements?

For an artist or cultural worker

• Be a professional or emerging artist, or be an Indigenous worker (i.e., First Nations, Inuit or Métis)
• Reside on the Island of Montréal or within a 50-km radius, including Kahnawà:ke and Kanehsatá:ke
• Hold Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status 
• Be recognized by his or her peers or the community as an artist with an ongoing commitment to his or her artistic practice and art form, whether traditional or contemporary (see glossary for details)

For an Indigenous organization or artists’ collective

Only Indigenous organizations and artists’ collectives based within 50 km of the Island of Montréal, including Kahnawà:ke and Kanehsatá:ke, qualify for this program. 

For an Indigenous artists’ collective

• Be composed mostly (50% +1) of Indigenous artists
• Be composed mostly (50% + 1) of Indigenous artists residing on the Island of Montréal or within a 50-km radius, including Kahnawà:ke and Kanehsatá:ke, including the filing representative
• Be a group of artists, with any number of members. (Individuals whose artistic functions have a direct impact on the group’s research-creation-production activities are considered members of the collective.) 
• Be represented by an application coordinator who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• Two thirds of member artists must have Canadian citizenship or permanent residency: the proportion of collective members residing outside Canada may not exceed one third

For an Indigenous organization

• Have its head office on the island of Montreal 
• Provide services or present professional artistic activities
• Have a board of directors composed mostly of Indigenous individuals (First Nations, Inuit or Métis) residing ordinarily in Québec 
• Have an employability policy that encourages the hiring of Indigenous people. Decision-making positions, including in senior management and artistic direction, must be held by Indigenous individuals 

What types of projects are eligible?

• Development of artistic practices
• Small-scale research and creation
• Small-scale production and presentation
• Artistic support and collaboration
• Translation into Indigenous languages for presentation purposes
• Acquisition and transfer of skills
• Travel and living expenses (accommodations and per diems)
• Dissemination of works
• Specialized equipment rental or purchase of materials
• Publicity and promotion
• Other expenses incurred in carrying out a small-scale activity

When must the project be carried out?

Artistic activities and projects must be carried out according to the schedule indicated in the application. To qualify, an application must be filed at least four weeks before the start of the project, and the project cannot be completed at the time a reply is received. 

How many applications will be accepted?

The number of applications accepted by the Conseil varies based on the available budget, the number of applications received, and its evaluation of the merit of the artistic activities described. 

Who is ineligible to apply?

Clients 

• Artists’ collectives that are incorporated as a for-profit or non-profit company, or as general or limited partnerships 

Projets 

• Projects completed before the Conseil has sent its response (allow six to eight weeks following the application deadline)
• Projects specifically related to film or Web film production
• Projects that are essentially promotional in nature, including video clips
• Projects whose main focus is cultural mediation
• National or international prospection projects
• Capital projects and/or specialized equipment acquisition projects
• Projects carried out as part of a study program leading to a diploma or degree

Areas of activity

• Indigenous artist, collective or organization working exclusively in variety arts and/or comedy 
• Collectives that wish to act as a presenter or producer of festivals and events 

Applications

• Incomplete applications  
• Expenses for which funding has already been provided by a program of the Conseil or any another organization 

Ineligible applications will not be evaluated 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.

Can I file more than one application a year?

Yes, several applications can be filed in a year (between January 1 and December 31), but they must cover different projects. 

Can I apply for different phases of a single project spanning more than one year?

Applicants who are eligible for creation-production activities can file a first application for the research-creation phase and then file a second application in another year for the production-presentation phase. 

Can I file an application by video and, if so, how do I proceed?

Yes, you can apply by video, answering the questions in ORORA. Please ensure your recording does not exceed seven minutes. 

Who should file the application?

• The artist or the cultural worker responsible for carrying out the project 
• The person responsible for the collective or organization (administrator, manager) 

Can I file my application in English?

Yes, you can file your application in English, but the question form is in French only. 

What information and documents should I include in my application?

For an artist, collective or organization

• A list of hyperlinks to excerpts or complete works (depending on the discipline), a portfolio or activities related to the application 
• If required, a personal appendix that contains all the supplemental documents you feel are relevant to your request in a single PDF file 

For organizations only

• The organization’s letters patent, if it is a first application or if there have been subsequent modifications  
• The organization’s statutes and by-laws, if it is a first application or if there have been subsequent modifications 
• The financial statements for the organization’s last fiscal year, signed by two board members 

Note that any information essential to understanding your application must be included in the official application documents, and not in an appendix. 

How are applications evaluated?

Applications are evaluated by a jury of Indigenous peers. All applications are evaluated based on merit, according to the project’s artistic value.

Four-step decision-making process

• Receipt and verification of the application’s eligibility by the Cultural Advisor – Indigenous Arts, under the authority of his or her manager
• Evaluation and recommendation by the Indigenous Peer Evaluation Committee
• Proposal of grant amounts by the Indigenous Arts Committee and recommendations to the Board of Directors
• Final decisions and awarding of grants by the members of the Board of Directors

How are applications evaluated?

Artistic quality – 70%

• Merit of the artistic process and practices
• Uniqueness and authenticity of the artistic process
• Quality of past realizations

Project feasibility – 30%

• Merit of planned activities related to the project
• Artist’s ability to complete the project
• Presentation of the main execution steps and realistic budget estimates

What is the response time?

The Board of Directors will process the application and reach a decision within six to eight weeks of its receipt.

How will I be informed of the decision?

The filing representative will receive an e-mail invitation to view the results on the ORORA platform. No decisions will be communicated by telephone.

Can I appeal the decision?

The Conseil’s decisions are final and not subject to appeal. However, the Conseil’s staff are at your disposal if you have any questions about its decisions. Fairness, ethics and proximity are an integral part of our values, and openness and empathy will always be priorities in our client relations. Because we are constantly seeking to improve our services, we are now providing you with a feedback form, which you can find here.

However, all organizations, collectives and artists wishing to share their concerns with us undertake at all times not to communicate with members of the evaluation committees or of the Conseil’s Board of Directors in regard to any management, evaluation or decision related to their application.

How will the grant be paid?

The grant will be paid in a single payment (100% of the amount payable) after the award letter has been sent out. 

Payment times may vary depending on the internal processing times of City of Montréal departments, which are beyond the control of the Conseil des arts de Montréal. 

Acceptance of the grant payment constitutes an undertaking by the collective or organization to carry out the activities covered by the grant and to comply with the associated terms and conditions, to be communicated upon approval of the application. 

The artist, cultural worker, collective or organization agrees to:  

• Carry out the proposed project as planned
• Notify the Conseil as soon as possible if it is unable to carry out the project for which it received a grant during the fiscal year in question. In such cases, It may be obliged to repay some or all of the amount awarded
• Submit an end-of-project report (form available on ORORA) within three (3) months of the end of the project. The report and budget can be downloaded from the ORORA portal. You will receive an e-mail informing you of their availability
• Include with the report photographs, videos or any other relevant, royalty-free project-related visual elements that the Conseil may find useful for promotional or archival purposes. These elements must be e-mailed to the following address: mylene.guay@montreal.ca 

In addition, organizations, collectives, artists and their filing representatives agree at all times not to communicate with members of the evaluation committees or members of the Conseil’s Board of Directors in regard to the management or evaluation of their application or any decisions related thereto. 

Conseil staff are available and alone empowered to answer questions about the application evaluation process and the decisions rendered.