The AFA Art Collection is the only art collection dedicated solely to Alberta art. The Art Acquisitions by Application program is designed to acquire contemporary works of art by any eligible Alberta artist.
The AFA accepts submissions to this program once annually. Please note that submissions are accepted from individual artists, ensembles of artists, or from an artist’s gallery/agent. An artist cannot apply as an individual and as part of an ensemble in the same year.
Read the guidelines and apply.
Eligibility
To be eligible for this acquisition program, you must be a resident of Alberta. This means you:
- Are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or Protected Person with an open work or study permit from inside Canada
- Have had your primary residence in Alberta for at least one full year before applying
- Ordinarily live in Alberta for at least six months of each year.
Additionally:
- Applicants must be in good standing with the AFA, with no outstanding projects or reporting obligations.
- Current applicants to AFA grant programs and recipients of past AFA grants and awards are eligible to apply.
- You must meet the AFA definition of a professional artist; this means you must have participated in at least one public showing of your artwork and demonstrate an ongoing record of your artistic practice in your materials submitted. For more information on professional artist status, please see the AFA’s Collections Development Plan.
- Applicants must not be enrolled in any formal art-training program at the time of application. At least one full calendar year must have passed since graduating from any formal art-training study before applying.
- Artist residencies and PHD programs are considered eligible, provided they are self-directed and do not have a formal art-training component.
- Ensembles of artists are eligible to apply provided that each member meets the individual eligibility requirements.
Please note that this artist eligibility criteria also applies to artwork donations.
Learn more about AFA curatorial criteria and development policies.
