September 3, 2024 deadline
General Expert Panel comments
Comments made by the panel during the assessment of applications are outlined below. Please note that these comments provide a summary of the panel's assessment and do not necessarily relate to every application submitted to this deadline. The panel does not provide individual comments.
Project description
- Please be sure your description clearly outlines how you plan to do your project, because vague descriptions make it difficult for the panel to understand your goals and intentions.
- In addition to interests and content of your work, describe how your work fits within, and/or contributes to, broader contemporary arts practices.
- If you have a confirmed residency or exhibition, please include the confirmation of acceptance.
- If your activity is not yet confirmed, please include a second option or contingency plan.
- If applying for a post-secondary program, clearly state why that program is the best fit, and how you anticipate it will advance your career.
- Include a timeline or schedule of activity as a valuable component of your project description. This helps the panel better understand how and when you plan to undertake your activities.
- Applicants need to demonstrate clear anticipated outcomes or end goals, as this addresses potential impacts the project may have on you, your artistic practice, and/or your broader career goals.
- If you are undertaking an activity that is a clear departure from your usual practice, be sure to address what supports you will have in place to help you with your transition, learning, and development (i.e., mentors, courses, workshops, collaborations, etc.).
- The panel was impressed with the diversity of projects and the quality of activities in the province.
- An unsuccessful grant request did not necessarily mean your project was without artistic merit. Not all strong projects could be supported. The panel encourages applicants to reapply in the future, and to reach out to AFA consultants for feedback prior to next submission.
Budget:
- Budgets should be sufficiently detailed to give the panel all the information they need to evaluate the potential of a project.
- Budgets demonstrating expenses were researched did better than those without support materials. Include quotes or invoices (where relevant), letters of confirmation, and/or budget notes stating which websites and other sources were used.
- When you have pending revenue in your budget (in addition to the AFA grant you are requesting), the application is strengthened if a contingency plan is provided. For example, if the only revenue received is an AFA grant, can you still do the project as proposed, or can you modify it to fit a smaller budget?
- If your project includes exhibition-related activity where you are receiving artist fees from the gallery, these fees should be included as part of your revenues.
Support material:
- Please provide support files as per the guidelines on the website. Do not provide streaming or website links, as the panel requires files that can be downloaded. The panel does not have time to do additional research due to volume of applications.
- Make sure video files are not compressed so much that the imagery degrades and becomes hard to see. Please reach out to AFA staff if you need help with preparing your video.
- Please provide enough images or work samples to provide a clear sense of your work. If images do not reflect the proposed project, provide a context.
- For still images, ideally have one image per page where possible. By adding multiple images or design elements, your artwork may be more difficult to see clearly.
- If you have reference photos, please clearly label them so that the panel can see which photos are your work and which are not.
- Support materials are most helpful when they are reflective of the artist’s intent, activity and/or practice relative to the proposed project.
- Please reach out to the AFA staff in advance of a deadline if you need help with preparing or providing support material items (images, video, etc.).