OPERATING: Apply to the City of Kingston Arts Fund
CKAF OPERATING GRANTS
2024 CKAF Operating Grant Recipients
The Kingston Arts Council is pleased to announce and would like to congratulate the following recipients of 2024 City of Kingston Arts Fund Operating Grants:
Agnes Etherington Art Centre | $75,000
Situated on Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat territories, Agnes is a curatorially-driven, research-intensive professional art centre proudly serving a dual mandate as a leading, internationally recognized public art gallery and active pedagogical resource at Queen’s University. By commissioning, researching, collecting and stewarding works of art, and by exhibiting and interpreting visual culture through an intersectional lens, Agnes creates opportunities for participation and exchange across communities, cultures, histories and geographies. With a new building on the horizon, Agnes has an unprecedented opportunity to reimagine the social, civic and pedagogical role of the 21st-century museum, ensuring the museums of Canada’s future no longer look like those of its past.
Cantabile Choirs of Kingston | $31,000
Cantabile Choirs is a community-based performing arts organization in Katarokwi/Kingston dedicated to fostering a love and appreciation for the vocal arts through high standards of vocal excellence and innovative programming. Cantabile provides music education and performance opportunities to singers of all ages in an inclusive, supportive, and accessible environment, promoting personal growth and safe creative expression. Cantabile’s mission was expanded in recent years to enhance cross-cultural awareness by featuring a diverse repertoire from various cultures and collaborating with culturally diverse professional artists, ensuring programming remains relevant and impactful.
Centre culturel Frontenac | $13,950
Le Centre culturel Frontenac organizes, supports, and promotes accessible artistic and cultural events in French in a diversified and inclusive manner. It brings together the French-speaking community and people interested in the French language in the Kingston and Thousand Islands area by celebrating art and culture in French.
Kingston Canadian Film Festival | $50,000
The Kingston Canadian Film Festival (KCFF) is dedicated to delivering access to Canadian film in a dynamic festival setting. KCFF presents screenings, events, and activities that provide a fresh experience of Canadian film, fostering an audience that supports and encourages the ongoing development and appreciation of our national cinema and its creators. KCFF researches, programs and exhibits Canadian films reflecting a range of perspectives and identities, creates dialogue between filmmakers and the public, provides professional development opportunities for established and emerging filmmakers, and nurtures local film production.
Kingston Symphony Association | $75,000
Kingston Symphony Association is inspired by a vision of exceptional music, community impact, innovation, exploration, growth, and organizational development. Their mission is to provide exceptional musical experiences and programs of the highest calibre for the enjoyment and education of their audiences. Within the broader orchestral and choral repertoire, Kingston Symphony Association proudly supports and showcases Canadian and contemporary content, artists and composers. Kingston Symphony Association is a cornerstone of cultural life in our local communities, striving to be a vibrant, versatile, and highly skilled musical resource accessible to all.
Kingston WritersFest | $44,814
Kingston WritersFest seeks to promote diverse literary expression, develop and grow an audience for the literary arts, and foster the artistic development of writers of all ages. The vision of Kingston WritersFest is to be a community that celebrates the power of the written word by connecting readers and writers in inclusive conversations that inspire, engage, and expand our worldviews. The festival welcomes an audience of 6,000 to more than 50 events featuring some 70 authors from around the world, across the country, and down the street.
Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre | $53,000
Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre facilitates the presentation, interpretation, and production of contemporary art. Modern Fuel aims to meet the professional development needs of emerging and mid-career artists through exhibition, discussion, workshops, residencies and mentorship opportunities. Modern Fuel is proactive in presenting work by provincial, national and international artists from diverse communities, including but not limited to communities defined by culture, geography, language, age, sexual orientation and gender identity. Modern Fuel is an advocate for contemporary art and artists rights.
ReelOut Queer Film Festival | $24,000
ReelOut exists to celebrate independent media art and to contribute to community vitality by programming materials that focus on issues of sexuality, race, culture, religion, class, gender, ability, health and age, thereby purposefully drawing together and initiating challenging dialogue among the residents of Kingston/Katarokwi and the surrounding areas. ReelOut’s core values are based on the traditional medicine wheel representing the spiritual (humility, pride), mental (integrity, tenacity), emotional (caring, courage), and physical (inclusive, representational).
Single Thread Theatre Company | $10,000
Single Thread Theatre Company creates immersive theatre experiences, advancing the art of immersive storytelling through innovation and the presentation of new works. Single Thread’s approach to non-traditional theatre making, inspired by creative industries such as video games and escape rooms, offers an empowering alternative for Kingston artists and youth to conventional theatre opportunities. Single Thread additionally champions digital theatre, specifically in the realm of XR, with the goal to place Kingston artists at the forefront of creation with these new technologies.
Theatre Kingston | $38,007
Theatre Kingston is driven by a vision to strengthen and celebrate the city’s theatre artists and audience by empowering local and returning artists to create artistic work of excellent quality. Theatre Kingston creates and reimagines stories that challenge the field and raise the standards of their artists, who go on to influence the practice of not only their continued work in the city, but beyond into the broader Canadian cultural landscape. Theatre Kingston’s diaspora are deeply embedded into the cultural landscape of Canadian theatre: writers, directors, actors, designers, stage managers, and administrators, many of which start their career with Theatre Kingston then return to create again with the organization.
Union Gallery | $14,391
Union Gallery is a space for creative risk-taking and curiosity that supports and promotes the arts communities of Katarokwi/Kingston by nurturing reciprocal relationships between students, artists, and arts workers at all stages of their careers. Union Gallery is a community-driven hub for the production and exhibition of contemporary art that fosters critical engagement, facilitates interdisciplinary experimentation, and creates opportunities for the next generation of cultural producers. Beyond a student gallery, Union’s vision is to be known as a bridge between communities and a nonprofit serving wider publics, an important distinction following their 2022 incorporation. Union Gallery’s values focus on accessibility, equity and anti-oppression, sustainability, and reciprocity.
2023 CKAF Operating Grant Jurors
Melissa Eapen
Kemi King
Alex McLean
Nicholas Senn
Christianne Wojcik
Ex-Officio Grants Committee Members
Nicole Daniels, Executive Director, Kingston Arts Council (Chair)
Violet Tang, former Grants & Programs Coordinator, Kingston Arts Council
Katherine Dionne, Administrative Assistant, Kingston Arts Council
Danika Lochhead, Director, Arts and Culture Services, City of Kingston
Councillor Jimmy Hassan, City of Kingston (absent)
About CKAF Operating Grants
The City of Kingston Arts Fund (CKAF) provides grants to local arts organizations & projects to foster creativity at all levels and enrich how Kingston residents experience and engage with the arts. CKAF celebrates Kingston's arts community. Click here to read more about the program.
CKAF Operating Grants support incorporated nonprofit arts organizations located in the city of Kingston who exhibit high achievement in arts programming and fulfill a significant role in the Kingston community through the arts. A jury of peers assesses applications and awards grants between $10,000 and $75,000 for a period of one year.
CKAF Operating Grant recipients must meet the following objectives:
I. Engage Kingston artists with professional opportunities and industry-standard compensation;
II. Nurture creativity and arts engagement for Kingston residents;
III. Address current needs in the Kingston community;
IV. Strengthen and expand access to the arts;
V. Create inclusive activities and equity practices that reflect the diversity of artists, arts communities and audiences in Kingston;
VI. Foster collaboration between emerging and established artists and arts organizations across disciplines;
VII. Build capacity in the arts and culture sector through professional development, mentorship and investment in sustainable, relevant, high-quality artistic work; and
VIII. Cultivate community partnerships across private and public sectors.
Adjudication
Applications to CKAF Operating Grants are evaluated in three areas: Artistic Contribution, Community Benefit, and Administrative Viability. Applications are reviewed by a jury of artists and arts professionals. Jurors are selected for their knowledge of the arts, high standing in the arts community, and awareness of the local and broader arts environment; jurors are reflective of the gender, demographic, and cultural diversity of Kingston.
If you would like to be considered for a CKAF Jury, please submit a Juror Interest Form.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible for a CKAF Operating Grant, organizations must:
- Have a mandate or mission focused on artistic endeavours (creation or presentation) and activities consistent with this mandate or mission;
- Be incorporated for at least two years as a non-profit organization or be a distinct and discrete arts organization within a parent non-profit institution that has been incorporated for at least two years;
- Be in good standing with the municipality, specifically in regard to previous grants from CKAF, the City of Kingston Heritage Fund, and/or the Community Investment Fund;
- Include artist fees as an expense;
- Meet additional eligibility criteria outlined in the CKAF Operating Grant Guidelines;
- Book a consultation with KAC staff at least one month prior to the application deadline (new applicants only).
An organization cannot receive a CKAF Operating and Project Grant in the same year, however, applications may be submitted to both programs. If an organization's Operating Grant application is successful, their Project Grant application will be excluded from consideration.
Applications
We are not currently accepting applications for CKAF Operating Grants.
Support
Schedule one-on-one meetings with KAC staff by emailing grants@artskingston.ca
Information for CKAF Recipients
Acknowledgement Requirements
As outlined in the Terms of Reference for CKAF grants, all grant recipients are required to acknowledge the support of CKAF by using both the City of Kingston and Kingston Arts Council logos in advertising, programs, events and brochures relating to the activities for which funds are granted. If the recipient is unable to include these logos in a design (as when, on a small flyer or advertisement, space does not permit them to be legibly included) the recipient must acknowledge the support of CKAF by specifying it in the text of the item.
For guidelines regarding the use of the City of Kingston logo, please refer to their webpage here.
If you require different formats or clarification regarding the acknowledgement requirements, please contact the KAC at grants@artskingston.ca
CITY OF KINGSTON LOGOS
City of Kingston (black)
City of Kingston (white)
City of Kingston (blue)
KINGSTON ARTS COUNCIL LOGOS
Kingston Arts Council (B&W)
Kingston Arts Council (colour)
Reporting Requirements
All CKAF Operating Grant recipients are required to submit an Interim Report. The 2024 Operating Grant Interim Report deadline is 15 January 2025.
The 2024 Operating Grant Interim Report forms will be posted in August.
For organizations applying to the Operating Grant program in 2024, the Final Report will be integrated into the 2025 application form. Organizations that choose not to apply in 2025 are required to inform the KAC and submit a Final Report.