British Columbia Arts Council Scholarship Program – Canada

Deadline: 30 April 2024

The Scholarship Program is supporting education and training of B.C.’s future generation of artists, arts administrators, and arts and cultural practitioners.

B.C. residents enrolled in full-time postsecondary art programs or high school half-day pre-professional dance programs are welcome to apply. Students should be committed to developing their independent artistic and creative practice towards a career in the arts and culture sector.

Scholarship Amounts

Scholarship payments of $3,000 are made for each term of full-time study during either Summer 2024, Fall 2024 or Spring 2025, up to a maximum of $6,000.

What they fund?

Accepted fields of practices or programs of study include, but are not limited to:

Arts administration and cultural management
Community-based arts practice
Craft-based artistic practices (beadwork, book arts, ceramics, fibre arts, glass, jewellery, metal arts, textile arts, woodworking)
D/deaf, Disability and Mad (DDM) arts
Dance (pre-professional or professional studies in performance or choreography)
Independent critical and curatorial practice
Indigenous Fine Arts (carving, drawing, jewellery, painting, textile arts, weaving, wearable art, including regalia)
Literary arts (children or youth literature, comic arts, fiction, graphic novels, nonfiction, poetry, playwriting, publishing)
Media arts (3-D animation, audio or sound art, film, new media, video)
Multi- or interdisciplinary arts practice
Museum studies (collections management, conservation, curatorial practices, museum education)
Music (composition, conducting, music production, performance for instruments or voice)
Socially-engaged art practice
Spoken word and storytelling

Applicant Eligibility

To be eligible, you must:
- Be at least 15 years of age as of December 31, 2024.
- Be a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada.
- Ordinarily reside in B.C. and have a physical address in B.C.
- Have lived in B.C. for at least 12 continuous months immediately prior to the application closing date (not including months of full-time post-secondary study).
  - Temporary absences to attend school outside of B.C. are acceptable.
  - You must be prepared to provide documentation, such as a StudentAid BC loan or Canada tax return filed as a B.C. resident, to support your residency status.
- Be enrolled in either:
- A certificate, diploma, or degree (Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD) program at a college, university, or academy, in any country in one of the fields of practices or programs of study listed.
  - A professional or pre-professional dance training program at a college, university, or academy in any country.
  - A pre-professional half-day dance program in combination with high school studies. NOTE: You do not need to know if you are accepted into your program before you submit your application. You may update the BCAC Program Advisor of your acceptance into your program at any time.
- Be enrolled as a full-time student in one or two of the following terms: Summer 2024, Fall 2024 or Spring 2025.
  - Enrolment status is defined by your school.
  - A pre-professional half-day dance program in combination with high school studies is considered full-time.
- Have completed and submitted any overdue final reports on previous BC Arts Council grants before the submission deadline for this program.
Designated Priority Groups
- The BC Arts Council has committed to targeted investment in underserved and equity-deserving groups and the development of equity support initiatives, including a policy to support designated priority groups. These identified groups will be the focus of BC Arts Council strategic measures, through dedicated programs, funding prioritization processes, partnerships, and outreach.
- The BC Arts Council’s designated priority groups include applicants and arts and cultural practitioners who are:
  - Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, or Inuit) Peoples
  - Deaf or experience disability
  - Black or people of colour
  - Located in areas outside greater Vancouver or the capital region