Mi'kmaq Arts Program

Nova Scotia-based Mi’kmaq artists, groups (including ad-hoc groups), bands, or organizations are eligible to apply. It is important to be recognized as an artist in the Mi’kmaq community as Peer Assessment Committees consider community connections. Please read our Mi’kmaq Arts Program Eligibility Requirements for further information on eligibility to this program or contact the Program Officer if you have questions. 

Individuals - the applicant is one person

Artist Duos - two artists are applying together

Ad hoc groups - applicants who are three or more individuals who are working collaboratively and are not registered in any manner. “Ad hoc group” refers to a group of artists formed for the specific purpose of creating a unique work.

Non-Profit Organizations – The leadership and the majority of the staff and board of the organization must be Mi'kmaq. The applicant can be a non-profit society or non-profit co-operative registered in the Province of Nova Scotia, and must be in good standing with the Registry of Joint Stock Companies.

Mi’kmaw Bands – any of the 13 Mi’kmaw bands in Nova Scotia. Bands from other provinces are not eligible.

Applicants must complete an identification form to demonstrate eligibility.

Applicants must be professional artists. "Professional" is defined by the Status of the Artist Act including but not limited to the following criteria:

• To have peer recognition
• To have a history of public presentation
• To have training appropriate to the artist's chosen discipline (including mentorship and/or apprenticeship training)
• To earn income, fully or in part, from artistic activity
• To demonstrate serious intent and devotion of energy to practicing art

Still not sure if you fit the criteria? Take our "Am I a Professional Artist?" quiz.

Applicants must be Canadian citizens who have maintained their primary residence in Nova Scotia for at least 12 months prior to applying to the program. Applicants who are out of the province temporarily and will be away for no more than 12 months may apply.

Applicants who apply to this program are also eligible to apply for funding to other Arts Nova Scotia programs

• Contribution to living expensesⓘ up to $2000/month during the project period (for individual or duo applicants only)
• Artist’s fees (for organizations or group applicants only)
• Materials
• Mentors / consultants / instructors / knowledge keepers / elders
• Professional fees for design, production and technical personnel and other production expenses for presentation grants
• Travel costs directly related to the project and outside of the applicant’s general area of residence
• Royalties
• Promotion and Publicity (for presentation grants only)
• Venue rental
• Rental of equipment essential to the project

Still not sure? Contact the program officer.

Contribution to the costs of access support such as transcribers, sign language, or attendants for artists who are Deaf or have disabilities are contributions Arts Nova Scotia makes above and beyond the grant received. These costs may not total more than 25% of the expense budget or $2500, whichever is less.

• Creative Industries work (e.g. commercial film and video production, music videos, recording, television/episode work, publishing, commercial design, architecture, or production/line crafts)
• Capital purchasesⓘ (e.g. buildings, property, construction, equipment, etc.)
• Recurring events or core activities
• Projects already funded through us or the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage (CCTH)
• Work that happened before the deadline
• Website development for promotional purposes
• Professional/artist fees for individual or duo applicants (Individual or duo applicants can claim living expenses only)

Still not sure? Contact the program officer.

This funding program is divided into the following categories:

Create - $15,000 Maximum, $500 Minimum. 

• Supports projects to develop or create new work.

Present - $12,000 Maximum, $500 Minimum

• Supports the public presentation of artists' own work.

Professional Development - $12,000 Maximum, $500 Minimum

• Provides funding to strengthen artistic or administrative capacity through formal study programs, mentorship, workshops, apprenticeship, conferences and other professional development activities.

A visual arts materials grant can be awarded in the same 12-month period as a Create, Present or Professional Development grant.

Visual Arts Materials Grants $750 maximum Supports artists working in the visual arts, crafts or traditional/customary art forms to create artwork. Grants of up to $750 are to help cover the cost of buying art materials and supplies.  This grant is intended for artists who need material support only.

When we talk about “projects,” we mean the specific part of a larger project. You may be able to apply for distinct parts of the same work overtime. For example, you could apply to workshop a play in one deadline and apply in the next deadline to present the play publicly. Knowing exactly what you want the money for will help you write a stronger application.

Applications have both mandatory and optional components. Below is a summary:

Click each item for more information.

For Create, Present, and Professional Development Grant Applications:

Mandatory documents:

• Online application form
• Self Identification Form
• Project description (written or oral/video)
• Schedule of work
• Artist CV(s)
• Group member statements (for group applicants only)
• Background information about the organization (for organization applicants only)
• Financial Template
• Support material

Optional documents:

• Support material annotations (strongly recommended)
• Letters of intent from any person or organization involved in the project
• Letters of support from professional practicing artists in the relevant discipline(s)

For Visual Arts Materials Grant Applications:

Mandatory documents:

• Online application form
• Self Identification Form
• Support material

Contact the program officer when in doubt about any of the above documents.

No. We encourage applicants to ask for what you need. In rare cases, if there are budget concerns  or ineligible expenses, funding may be provided at a reduced amount.

If the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline is moved until the next business day. 

We use a multi-disciplinary Peer Assessment Committee (PAC) to make funding decisions. PACs in this program are made up of three Mi'kmaq who are professional practicing artists, knowledge keepers, and/or arts administrators who are familiar with the disciplines represented in the applications. Program officers work to ensure diversity of region, gender and age when inviting assessors. A different PAC is appointed for each deadline. You can sign up to be an assessor on our Peer Assessment Sign-up Page.

The program officer is available to help facilitate the decision-making process but does not participate in the discussion, scoring, or ranking of applications.They apply our policies and procedures to ensure fairness and to avoid conflict of interest throughout the process.

Contents of the applications and proceedings of the meetings are strictly confidential. The decisions of the PAC are final. We publish the names of all peer assessors in the previous year in our final report. However, we do not provide a breakdown of the individual committee makeup.

Assessors score and rank applications based on the following criteria:

• the quality of the work as evidenced by the support material provided
• the artistic merit of the project
• the ability to carry out the project

  Fill out and submit the appropriate online application form and the Self Identification form.

The rest of your application files (project description, schedule of work, CV, support material, etc.) should be sent to artsnssubmissions@novascotia.ca according to the instructions below. You can watch our YouTube tutorial Submitting Your Application Over Email for more detailed instructions.

Before Sending Your Email

• Include your name on all files
• Number your files in the order they should be opened
• Ensure your page limits and file sizes/formats are in line with the program guidelines (see the "What is support material?" section for more information)
• Upload audio and video files to a streaming service such as YouTube, Vimeo or SoundCloud, then paste the links in the body of your email. It is a good idea to put your audio/video links in your support material annotations as well.

When Submitting

• Address your email to artsnssubmissions@novascotia.ca
• Submit by 11:59pm the day of the deadline
• Send one application per email 
• Subject line should be: “Your Name – Program Name – Category”
• Keep attachments under 25MB
• Do not attach large audio or video files; include a streaming link in the body of the email instead
• Do not send cloud-based attachments (WeTransfer, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.). These sorts of attachments cannot be opened.
• Do not use URL shorteners (TinyURL, Bitly, etc.)
• Do not duplicate your application; do not send an additional hard copy

If you are unable to submit by email please contact the program officer.

All applications sent to ArtsNS Submissions should receive an auto-reply confirmation. If you do not receive confirmation within one week, please contact a program officer. You must contact the program officer within two weeks of the deadline for us to consider your application. Applications will only be considered if there is proof of the submission email being sent before the deadline.

Arts Nova Scotia acknowledges Support4Culture for funding this program.