CKAF 2026 Update
Kingston City Council approves $100,000 one-time additional investment into City of Kingston Arts Fund (CKAF)
Last week, Kingston City Council voted to amend the 2026 City Budget to include a one-time increased investment to the City of Kingston Arts Fund (CKAF) in the amount of $100,000.
The $100,000 investment will be added to the CKAF 2026 allocation and distributed directly into our local arts sector through CKAF grants. In combination with the base investment of $612,790 and returned funds and interest from previous years, this brings the total funding available through CKAF 2026 grants to over $738,000 — an increase of 20% from 2025.
The amendment, moved by Councillor Ridge and seconded by Councillor Amos, with support from Councillor Cinanni and Councillor Chaves, was approved unanimously at the conclusion of the City Council Budget Meeting on Tuesday, January 20th. The one-time investment is allocated from the Working Fund Reserve, meaning there is no effect on tax rates for Kingston residents.
“The City of Kingston has a strong history of supporting the arts and culture sector, to the benefit of our civic identity, local economy, and community wellbeing,” says Nicole Daniels, Executive Director of the Kingston Arts Council.
“The caliber and volume of creative experiences Kingston has to offer are essential to residents' quality of life and at the heart of Kingston’s identity. In the face of looming threats to the arts sector at the provincial and national level, this investment is an important step in sustaining the industry — the organizations, the festivals, and the artists who make Kingston a great place to live and to visit. Amidst a challenging economic landscape and with the pressures the City continues to face to maintain services and respond to community needs, we are deeply grateful for this support.”
With the conclusion of the CKAF Review and the approval of the new CKAF Framework in 2025, this investment in 2026 will help ensure that CKAF is accessible and inclusive, supports Kingston artists, increases opportunity for arts programming and community engagement, helps build capacity and resiliency of arts organizations, and encourages collaboration and partnerships.
For nineteen years, CKAF has bolstered and sustained Kingston's arts industry — at this exciting moment in the program's history, we are positioned to lead with more accessible, forward-thinking, and supportive granting practices, to the benefit of all Kingstonians. The 2026 funding investment will enable us to launch four grant streams in 2026: Operating Grants, Festival Grants, Project Grants, and Creation & Development Grants.
2025 City of Kingston Arts Fund Project Grant Recipients Announced
2025 Project Grant Recipients
Airwave YGK Musicians-in-Residence Program
CFRC 101.9 FM | $ 7,500
A New Beginning
Deaf Spirit Theatre | $ 8,000
A Rift in the Valley
GHY Cheung | $ 5,245
Bilingual Capoeira Batizado e Troca de Cordas
Afro-Brazilian Arts Festival Association | $ 7,000
Both Sides Now
PeerLess Productions | $ 7,500
Get Sketchy: An Urban Sketch Carousel
Sumera Khan | $ 5,300
Joy!
Sistema Kingston | $ 7,000
Kingston Pop Choir
Steph Drouin | $ 6,900
Kingston Printmakers Collective
Kingston School of Art | $ 7,500
K is for Kingston, K is for Katarokwi
Jane Kirby | $ 8,500
Old Wine New Bottles – Early Music Inspiring Young Musicians
Melos Choir & Period Instruments | $ 7,000
Paper Pulse: Regeneration
Emily Wu | $ 7,500
“PASS it on” – Project for Accessible Sewing Skills
Breanne Johnson |$ 7,000
Slow Dance 2026
Slow Dance | $ 4,600
The Art of Visiting – National Indigenous Presenters Gathering
Lodgepole Arts Alliance | $ 7,000
The Colours of Us: A Community Art Project on Connection
Kingston Hidden Artist Collective | $ 7,000
Wordlabs
Kingston Literacy and Skills | $ 7,500
2025 Project Grant Recipients: Festivals
Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA)
SpiderWebShow Performance | $15,000
Ground UP Dance Festival
Ground UP Dance Festival | $15,000
The Juvenis Festival
Blue Canoe Productions | $15,000
Skeleton Park Arts Festival
Skeleton Park Arts Festival | $15,000
2025 Operating Grant Recipients
Agnes Etherington Art Centre | $75,000
Cantabile Choirs of Kingston | $31,620
Centre culturel Frontenac | $14,229
Kingston Canadian Film Festival | $51,000
Kingston Symphony Association | $75,000
Kingston WritersFest | $45,710
Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre | $54,060
Reelout Arts Project | $24,480
Single Thread Theatre Company | $10,200
Theatre Kingston | $38,767
Union Gallery | $14,679
Learn more about CKAF Operating Grant recipients here.
About the City of Kingston Arts Fund
About CKAF
The City of Kingston Arts Fund (CKAF) provides grants to local arts organizations, artists, and collectives to foster creativity at all levels and enrich how Kingston residents experience and engage with the arts. Since its inception in 2007, CKAF has provided a mechanism for the City to invest in the arts, accounting for over $9.2 million invested to date. CKAF is comprised of two funding categories — 70% of the available funds are allocated to Operating Grants and 30% are allocated to Project Grants.
This year, we introduced a streamlined application process through which individuals, collectives, and organizations could request grants of up to $10,000 to support projects which demonstrate engagement with local artists, benefit the broader Kingston community, and support the CKAF program objectives.
CKAF is an investment in Kingston’s cultural capital that aims to foster cultural vitality, increase the capacity of the arts community to create and produce artistic work, engage residents and enhance our city’s cultural economy, and promote financial stability and sustainability. CKAF is administered by the Kingston Arts Council (KAC) on behalf of the City to ensure that the Fund continues to best support and nurture the capacity of Kingston's artists and the arts sector.
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 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 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.
Operating 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.
Project Grants
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.
Up to $10,000 for a period of fourteen months from October 2025 to December 2026.