Canada Council for the Arts

The Canada Council for the Arts is a federal, arm’s-length Crown corporation created by an Act of Parliament in 1957 (Canada Council for the Arts Act) “to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts.”

The Canada Council offers a broad range of grants and services to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations in music, theatre, writing and publishing, visual arts, dance, media arts and integrated (multidisciplinary) arts. It also seeks to raise public awareness of the arts through its communications, research and arts promotion activities.

The Canada Council awards prizes and fellowships every year to some 200 artists and scholars. The Canadian Commission for UNESCO and the Public Lending Right Commission operate within the Canada Council. The Canada Council Art Bank contains some 18,000 works of contemporary Canadian art that are rented to the public and private sectors.

The Canada Council is governed by an 11-member Board. The Chair, the members of the Board and the Director of the Canada Council are appointed by the Governor in Council for fixed terms. The Canada Council relies heavily on the advice of artists and arts professionals from all parts of Canada (some 750 serve annually as jurors, or peer assessors, in the awarding of grants) and works in close co-operation with federal, provincial and municipal cultural agencies and departments. The Council reports to Parliament through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. The annual budget allocation from Parliament is supplemented by endowment income, donations and bequests.

For more information about this IICSI partner please visit their website canadacouncil.ca