Newcomer and Refugee Artist Mentorship

Who can apply

We define a newcomer as: an immigrant or refugee who has lived in Canada for less than 7 years; a refugee is a person who was forced to leave their home country and is now located in Canada.

The program provides funding for individual newcomer and refugee professional* artists to be mentored (guided) in their chosen arts discipline.

The mentorship application is submitted by the newcomer artist with the mentor as the co-applicant. Both the applicant and the mentor must identify as professional* artists.

*A professional artist is:

1. someone who has developed their artistic skills through training and/or practice;
2. is recognized as a professional by other artists working in the same artistic tradition;
3. actively practices their art;
4. seeks payment for their work, and would spend more time on their artistic activity if financially feasible;
5. and has a history of public presentation, publication and/or production

WHO CAN APPLY AS A NEWCOMER AND/OR REFUGEE ARTIST?

To be eligible for this funding, an applicant must be:1

1. Professional artists working in any artistic tradition (see definition above)
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) that 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 residents of the City of Toronto.
4. Applicants must have arrived in Canada after January 1, 2019.
5. Applicants must have a valid work permit and be legally allowed to work in Canada for the duration of their mentorship.
6. Applicants must have a SIN (Social Insurance Number).

WHO CAN APPLY AS A MENTOR?

1. Professional artists working in any artistic tradition (see definition above)
2. Professional arts workers including arts managers, curators and producers working in any artistic tradition
3. Applicants must be residents of the City of Toronto, living in Toronto for at least 1 year prior to the deadline and live and work in Toronto for at least 8 months of the year.
4. Applicants must have a valid work permit and be legally allowed to work in Canada for the duration of their mentorship.
5. Applicants must have a SIN (Social Insurance Number).

Mentors may only be listed as a co-applicant on one Newcomer and Refugee Artist Mentorship grant per year.