Ontario Culture Days: Creatives in Residence
Request for Proposals 2022

Ontario Culture Days (ONCD) is seeking proposals from creators, artists, collectives and organizations from throughout Ontario to be featured as a part of our Creatives in Residence artistic series.

The 2022 Creatives in Residence series will be a key part of the upcoming Ontario Culture Days festival. Residencies will be launched in April 2022, and will feature online public / educational programs that will be shared on our Ontario Culture Days site throughout the spring/summer, and will culminate in a final project released during the Ontario Culture Days fall festival. Final projects can be digital, in-person, or self-guided activities.

ONCD will act as project producer to support the development of a program that aligns with the priorities of the festival, as well as the Resident’s own practice. Throughout the program, we aim to build audience awareness and engagement in a Resident’s work, as well as invite the public into their creative process.

What we’re looking for:
To achieve our mandate of maintaining a province-wide scope, we are looking for applications from all regions of Ontario. Successful proposals will exemplify our mandate of supporting participatory arts and culture experiences with low-barriers to access.

It is vital to the success of the program that initiatives are in-line with the existing focus of your practice or organization, and reflect in some way the interests of the local community. We encourage proposals that include collaboration between individuals, artists, and organizations. Applicants or collaborators do not need to be a registered non-profit or charity.

We are looking for programs that come from a variety of different disciplines, including, but not limited to: visual art, dance, theatre, music, history and heritage, architecture and design, culinary arts, craft, and storytelling. We are also seeking programming that reflects the many communities that make up the province of Ontario.

We strive to activate a lens of pluralism, equity, and inclusion. In particular, we encourage perspectives of Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour (IBPOC), Trans, Non-Binary, LGBTQ2S, as well as individuals across Ontario.

To see the 2020 Creative Residencies, click here.

ONCD will:

• Provide program fees, including artist fees, tech and/or program production costs, material expenses, accessibility costs, etc. Project costs typically fall in the range of $5,000 – $10,000
• Feature the Creatives in Residence in our annual marketing campaign, including custom print and digital materials, media calls and press releases, and support from ONCD’s PR consultant(s)
• Feature the Creatives in Residence in ONCD communications, including all social media platforms, newsletters, and our Ontario Culture Days website
• Program production and coordination from our programming team, including digital/tech support and project management
• Administrative support, as needed

Timing:

• Until April 2022: ONCD will work with residents to develop a program plan, outreach plan, related communications and digital content.
• April – September 2022: Education/public programs
• Culture Days festival: Delivery of main artistic program
• November: Festival documentation, reporting and wrap-up

Submission details:
Please provide a program proposal by January 31, 2021 or earlier to Outreach and Programs Manager, Meaghan Froh Metcalf at Meaghan.frohmetcalf@culturedays.ca

Proposals will be assessed as they come in. Include any relevant information in a 1-2 page summary. We recommend you include:

• Names of participating artists and potential partners
• Photos/video (links or embedded)
• Examples of related past programming
• Rough budget outline

If you have any additional accessibility concerns and need support to complete a proposal, please contact Meaghan via email at meaghan.frohmetcalf@culturedays.ca