How it works

The Fund is open to professional artists, producing companies and organizations.  To be eligible, an artist must be a resident or citizen of Canada, although you may be pursuing your work outside the country.  While the lead producing company must be based in Canada, the project can include international partners and co-producers.  For more details, please read our Terms and Conditions.

Artists and producers may choose various ways to communicate with us:

• Written English and French
• Spoken English and French
• American Sign Language (ASL) – notification must be made in advance of meetings
• Langue des signes québécoise (LSQ) – notification must be made in advance of meetings

We offer financial assistance to pay someone to help with the submission process to those who self-identify as: 

• Deaf, hard of hearing, having a disability or living with a mental illness;
• a First Nations, Inuit, or Métis artist experiencing geographic, language and / or cultural barriers.

Please contact Emily Calongcagong (Emily.Calongcagong@nac-cna.ca or call (343) 588-0684) to pursue this option.

There are no deadlines for submissions.  We receive proposals throughout the year, and our curatorial team reviews them on an on-going basis.

You should be far enough along in your planning that we can see a clear trajectory for the work, with both confirmed and potential artists, producing and presenting partners, and funders.  We also want to receive your submission in time for our investment to have a meaningful impact on the project’s development. Most successful projects will have a development period of several years.

Before submitting your proposal, we strongly encourage you to contact Sarah Conn, Senior Manager of Artist Engagement, to discuss your project.

We make investment decisions through a three-phase curatorial process.

Phase One: Initial Proposal (Decision timeline: 4 to 6 weeks)

Complete a short proposal form, which summarizes the key details of the project and what the Fund’s investment would be used for. In this initial phase, we are not asking for detailed budgets, letters of support, or samples of work – we simply need enough information to determine whether your project meets our criteria and stands out as the kind of compelling, ambitious project the Fund might be interested in. 

We welcome written proposals using our Phase 1 Project Proposal Form. There are four formats available: standard, plain text, large print, and large print with high contrast (yellow text on black). Additional formats are available upoun request. 

The proposal form is available in English and French. However, you are welcome to fill out this proposal form in any language. We also accept video and audio proposals; the maximum lengths are included on the proposal form. 

Submissions are evaluated by our curatorial team consisting of the Fund’s Artistic Producer, members of the NAC’s Artistic Leadership team, and invited external artists and arts professionals. We review proposals as we receive them, and we’ll let you know in four to six weeks whether your project will be advanced to the second phase of consideration. 

This is a highly competitive process, and only a small number of projects are chosen to advance to Phase Two. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to provide feedback on proposals that do not make it past Phase One.

Phase Two: Detailed Proposal (Decision Timeline: variable, based on project)

If your project is selected to move to Phase Two, you will be asked to provide more detailed artistic, logistical and financial information. We’re looking to build a relationship with a project and its creators, so we’ll want to get to know you and the work better. Phase Two materials include:

• Support material (which may include video, images, design concepts, audio recordings);
• A detailed production timeline and plan that clearly outlines the project’s enhanced creation and development process;
• A detailed revenue and expense budget;
• Confirmation of partners, artists and funders;
• Most recent annual report, if applicable; and
• Financial statements (audited if an annual budget of more than $1 million), if applicable

Phase Two will also include a video conference with the project’s artistic leadership and the Fund’s curatorial team to discuss the project and the potential impact of the Fund’s investment.   

Phase Two materials are again evaluated by our curatorial team. At the completion of Phase Two, the strongest projects are chosen to advance to the final phase of the selection process.

The duration of Phase Two varies based on the amount of time you require to compile the necessary information. If your plans are fairly advanced and your team, producing and presenting partners, and funders are in place, we should be able to make a decision relatively quickly; if your plans are still evolving, so too will our conversations.

Phase Three: Negotiation of Investment Details (Timeline: variable, based on project)

For projects that are selected to receive an investment, we will work with you to finalize the details, including the timing of investment payments, and the completion of an investment agreement.

Throughout our process, we consider diversity of discipline, gender, ability, ethnicity, language, culture, and geography.

The Fund’s curatorial team makes investment decisions based on the following criteria:

Phase One Criteria

• The project is led by Canadian creators in theatre, dance, music and/or inter-disciplinary performing arts;
• The project has a strong artistic team and is artistically ambitious and compelling; 
• The project has committed Canadian and/or international producing and presenting partners; 
• The project has long term national or international impact, including through touring; and  
• The project has a significant amount of confirmed funding and a clear plan for how our investment would enhance your development process and elevate the project to a new level. 

Phase Two Criteria

• The artistic strength, vision and originality of the project;
• The clarity and ambition of the project, and its potential for national and international impact, including through touring; 
• The feasibility of the project: the team’s capacity, and resources (financial and organizational) to successfully deliver the project; 
• The potential of the Fund’s investment to enhance the project’s development process; and 
• The financial viability of the project. 

Before sending us a proposal, you should read about the projects that have received Fund investments, and review our investment approach.  We strongly encourage you to contact Sarah Conn, Senior Manager of Artist Engagement, to discuss your project before making a submission.

Once you are ready to submit your proposal, follow these steps:

1. Make sure your project meets our criteria.
2. Review the Fund’s official Terms and Conditions.
3. Complete the ten questions on our Phase 1 Project Proposal Form. There are four formats available: standard, plain text, large print, and large print with high contrast (yellow text on black). Additional formats are available upon request. 
4. Email your completed form to creation@nac-cna.ca. 
5. We will send you a confirmation email when your proposal has been received. 

The proposal form is available in English and French, both in standard and alternate formats. You are welcome to fill out the form in any language. We also accept video and audio proposals; the maximum lengths are included on the proposal form.

We offer paid proposal assistance. Please see Access Support for more information. 

We also do not require support materials (audio, video, letters of support, etc.) in Phase 1. 

Still have questions?

• Read our FAQs
• Contact us at creation@nac-cna.ca or Emily.Calongcagong@nac-cna.ca

The National Arts Centre is subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. Information which you submit to the National Arts Centre in support of your proposal will be handled in accordance with the provisions of these Acts and in accordance with the applicable policies of the National Arts Centre. For more information: Access to Information  |  Privacy