The Grant Program
The Downtown Eastside Small Arts Grants program is intended to help you as an emerging artist working and living in Downtown Eastside advance your art practice. Grants may range from $500 – $1,000. A grant is money we give you to help make art – don’t need to pay the money back. You’ll need to check you live and / or work in the designated area, and then apply online. In your application you will provide some information about your experience in making art, your connection to the Downtown Eastside, and your idea for a project. For more information, visit our Grants page.
Note: Applications will be accepted and processed in a rolling basis until funds run out. You will hear about the status of your application within 6-8 weeks from the day of submission.
Eligibility: Who Can Apply?
The Small Arts Grants are for individuals or groups of artists living and/or creating art in the DTES which includes areas of Gastown, Victory Square, Chinatown, Strathcona, the industrial area, and the Oppenheimer and Thornton Parks as shown on the map. Preference will be given to residents of the DTES.
The boundaries are the rail yards and port lands to the north, Malkin Street to the south, Richards Street to the west and Clark Drive to the east.
What Types of Projects are Eligible?
The Community Advisory Committee is looking for a wide variety of artistic media including music, theatre, writing, photography, pottery, textiles, jewelry making, carving, painting, animation, dance, mixed-media, performance, video and others. Emerging artists who don’t have access to major funding are encouraged to apply.
What Can I Use the Grant Money For?
You can use the grant for expenses that are needed for your art project. This includes products such as art supplies or hiring professional services like a copy editor for your book.
You can also use it to take classes or workshops related to your creative practice, or provide honorariums to anyone who contributes skills or knowledge to your art project.
Note that grants are not intended to pay for food, rent, or studio rent. Artists cannot pay themselves a fee.
Individual Grants vs. Group Project Grants
Video Chapter Navigation
-
00:00 Introduction
- 01:42 Creating a new account
- 03:46 Logging into the system
- 04:54 I forgot my password
- 06:01 Choosing your application.
- 06:50 Creating a new application for a project
- 13:35 The Artist and the Downtown Eastside (part 1)
- 19:13 The Artist and the Downtown Eastside (part 2)
- 24:00 Your Project: What it is and how you’ll do it (part 1)
- 26:06 Your Project: What it is and how you’ll do it (part 2)
- 36:50 Your Project: What it is and how you’ll do it (part 3)
- 44:52 About the artist
- 50:31 Support materials
- 59:03 Review
- 01:00:25 Previewing your completed application
- 01:01:34 Submitting your completed application
- 01:02:59 Troubleshooting the 2021/2022 DTES SAG Application Form
- 01:04:14 Terms and conditions: Individual Application
- 01:09:19 Terms and conditions: Group Application
What Happens After You Apply?
Applications will be accepted and processed on a rolling basis until funds run out. We adjudicate the grants in rounds, and you will hear about the status of your application two weeks after the closing date of the round you have applied in.