City of Kingston Arts Fund
The City of Kingston Arts Fund (CKAF) provides grants to local arts organizations and projects to foster creativity at all levels and enrich how Kingston residents experience and engage with the arts.
CKAF’s objectives are to nurture the capacity of the arts, artists, and arts sector in Kingston while fostering creativity, encouraging social cohesion, enhancing the quality of life, and stimulating economic development through direct investment.
CKAF is comprised of two funding categories,
70% of the available funds are allocated to Operating Grants and 30% are allocated to Project Grants.
Plan for Administration
Information on all policies and procedures related to the administration of CKAF can be found in the Kingston Arts Council Plan for Administration of Arts Funding for the Corporation of the City of Kingston in 2023
CKAF Celebrates Kingston's Arts Community.
In 2007, Kingston City Council established the City of Kingston Arts Fund, comprised of $100,000 from the then Healthy Community Fund Program and an additional $400,000 in new funding. The Kingston Arts Council was contracted to administer CKAF and Kingston City Council has continued to invest in its growth each year as part of its commitment to supporting the arts and culture in Kingston.
The City of Kingston Arts Fund has invested over $9 million in local arts organizations, collectives, and artists since its inception in 2007.
Ways of Being performance at SpiderWebShow's Festival of Live Digital Art (2022). Photo by Jay Middaugh.
2023 Operating Grant Recipients
Agnes Etherington Art Centre | $75,000
Cantabile Choirs of Kingston | $29,534
Centre culturel Frontenac | $13,464
H’art Centre | $12,014
Kingston Canadian Film Festival | $48,457
Kingston Symphony Association | $71,250
Kingston WritersFest | $44,814
Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre | $53,818
Reelout Arts Project | $23,697
Single Thread Theatre Company | $10,000
Theatre Kingston | $38,007
Union Gallery | $13,487
See more information about the Operating Grant and the recipients here.
2023 Project Grant Recipients
Airwave YGK
CFRC 101.9FM | $15,000
Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA)
SpiderWebShow Performance | $13,500
The GroundUP Dance Festival 2024
Movement Market Collective | $12,267
Johnny's Dream
Amin Pourbarghi | $13,500
The Juvenis Festival
Blue Canoe Productions | $12,000
Kingston Baroque Festival
Kingston Baroque Consort | $5,558
Kingston's Got Talent!
Orchestra Kingston | $6,300
K-town Showdown Dance Battle 2023
Kingston School of Dance | $5,000
Melos Magnificats
Melos Choir & Period Instruments | $11,915
'Out of the City' African Arts Camp
Chaka Chikodzi | $11,620
PENTHEUS The second play in the City of Wine cycle
Salon Theatre | $10,500
Skeleton Park Arts Festival
Skeleton Park Arts Festival | $15,000
SPRING REVERB 2024
KPP Concerts | $15,000
Still Alive in Kingston
Jay Middaugh | $14,250
The Clearing
Marney McDiarmid | $10,320
The Gift
PeerLess Productions | $12,000
See more information about the Project Grant and the recipients here.
Urban Science Brass Band performing at Skeleton Park Arts Festival (2022). Photo by Jay Middaugh.
Performance of Obaa Mujer choreographed by Zahra Badua and Melissa Noventa, performed at Movement Market Collective's Ground UP Dance Festival (2022). Photo courtesy of the collective.
Past Year Recipients
2022 Recipients
2021 Recipients
2020 Recipients
2019 Recipients
2018 Recipients
2017 Recipients
2016 Recipients
Application Process
We are not currently accepting applications for CKAF grants. Applications will reopen in February 2024.
CKAF 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 all 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.
2023 CKAF Grants
CKAF Operating Grants support incorporated non-profit 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.
$10,000 - $75,000 for a period of one year.
CKAF Project Grants support arts projects from individual professional artists, collectives, and incorporated non-profit organizations that meet the CKAF objectives. Projects must demonstrate engagement with the Kingston community and engage professional artists and pay artist fees. Applicants are evaluated on artistic contribution, benefit to community, viability, and innovation.
$5,000 - $15,000 for a period of eighteen months from July 2023 to December 2024.
Additional Funding in 2021
In 2021, Kingston City Council allocated $200,000 in one-time funding to support individual artists and non-profit arts organizations in recognition of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This investment was in addition to the City’s annual contribution in support of the fund’s Operating and Project Grants. This funding was made available through two new grant streams; Resiliency and Adapt, administered by the KAC on behalf of the City of Kingston.
Resiliency Grants supported individual professional artists to continue to work and work safely in their artistic practice.
Total available funding for the Resiliency Grant was $100,000. Individual professional artists of any discipline applied for grants of $1,000 or $2,000.
This program supported individuals, collectives, ad-hoc groups, and non-profit arts organizations for new projects that directly addressed the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Total available funding for the Adapt Grant was $100,000 and applicants applied for grants of $4,000 to $10,000.
Contact Us
If you have questions about CKAF, please contact the Kingston Arts Council Grants Officer, Violet Tang, at grants@artskingston.ca.