Media Artists Program: Creation

Who can apply

Applicants must be professional artists and meet the following criteria:

1. A professional artist is someone who has specialized training in the field (not necessarily in academic institutions), who is recognized as such by their peers (artists working in the same artistic tradition), who has a history of public presentation, publication and/or production and who is committed to devoting more time to their artistic activity if financially feasible.
2. TAC recognizes that due to systemic barriers within the broader arts community (e.g. limited mainstream presentation opportunities for artists from equity-seeking communities) some flexibility may be required in interpreting eligibility criteria to take into account equivalent professional experience and contexts. Potential applicants from equity-seeking communities are encouraged to discuss their eligibility with the Program Manager in advance of submitting an application.
3. Applicants must be Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents or have an application pending for Permanent Resident status or be a Protected Person (approved refugee claimant) and, if requested, be able to provide documentation to verify this.
4. Applicants must be residents of the City of Toronto for at least one year prior to the application deadline. Temporary absences of up to 12 months may be considered, subject to written explanation and special permission; please contact the Program Manager. Neither a Post Office Box address nor a studio address can be used to meet the residency requirement.
5. Professional artists pursuing undergraduate or graduate studies may not apply for work related to their academic program of study.
6. Applicants must retain full copyright, financial and creative control.
7. Applicants to TAC’s 2026 Visual Artists Program may not apply to TAC’s 2026 Media Artists Program.
8. Individual artists may only receive one discipline-stream project grant and one strategic initiative grant per calendar year, and can only have one open application in each stream at a time.
9. Collaborative proposals (involving a co-applicant) are eligible. For these proposals, one of the applicants must identify a principal applicant. Co-applicants are subject to the same eligibility criteria as single, individual applicant. If the application is successful, the grant payment will be payable to the principal applicant, as listed in the application. Similarly, a T4A slip will be issued to the principal applicant.
10. The only eligible applicant for a film or video project is the director. Producers may not apply as co-applicants.
11. Applicants must have created at least one media artwork