Presentation of works in public spaces or atypical venues

The program Presentation of works in public spaces or atypical venues supports artistic projects designed for the sites where they are presented, in situ works and productions designed to be presented at atypical sites for the discipline or the audience.

The CALQ hopes to see art move into natural settings as well as urban centres and rural communities in Québec to build bridges between works and the public in a spirit of accessibility and discovery. The CALQ also hopes the program will help works from across Québec circulate in neighbourhoods and regions not as well served by culture.

The projects must take place in Québec between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, with applications submitted by professional artists working in a discipline supported by the CALQ: circus arts, multidisciplinary arts, digital arts, visual arts, popular song, film and video, dance, literature and storytelling, arts and crafts, music, theatre and architectural research.

A project supported by this program may not be supported by another CALQ program.

The CALQ will prioritize projects that cannot be submitted for regular programs.

When the project involves partners, relevant confirmations must be included in the file.

This program is designed to:

• Enable a renewed experience of the arts among Quebecers by creating and disseminating works in public spaces or atypical settings;

• Democratize access to the arts and the discovery of powerful, meaningful works in all regions of Québec;

• Develop an artistic offer that complements existing models, differentiated through its use of sites or the originality of settings for presentation.

This program is for professional artists from all disciplines supported by the CALQ This link will open in a new window and for independent curators recognized in the fields of visual arts, arts and crafts, architectural research and digital arts as well as in film and video art.

In keeping with the Act respecting the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, only individuals who carry out on their own an activity covered by this program are eligible for financial aid. If you are a shareholder of a corporation or a partnership or if you are employed by a non-profit organization, you may apply only for personal projects that are not part of the activities of the company or the organization in question.

To be eligible, the applicant must satisfy the General criteria and conditions for this program.

If you have already submitted a grant application in one of the disciplines supported by the CALQ This link will open in a new window and it has been deemed eligible, you are automatically eligible for this program.

If this is your first application, you must meet one of the following conditions to be eligible:

• have participated in at least one production independent of or subsequent to your education, presented in a context recognized by peers in circus arts, multidisciplinary arts, popular song, film and video art, storytelling, spoken word creation in the literary domain, dance, music or theatre.
  OR
• have disseminated a work or body of works publicly at sites or in a context recognized by peers in digital arts, visual arts (including comic strips) and arts and crafts, or have publicly disseminated a work in architectural research. These works must have been produced independent of or subsequent to your training.
  OR
• have published, in a context recognized by peers, at least one book or three texts in a literary genre eligible for the CALQ. Electronic publications and self-published works are also eligible. A context recognized by peers does not include the university research and academic publishing milieus.

To be eligible, the project must meet the following conditions:

• The project must take place between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026.

• The space used for presentation may be outdoors or indoors but may not be a typical presentation site for the discipline involved in the application (e.g., live performance venues for performing arts, churches for music, galleries for visual arts).

• When the project involves partners, relevant confirmations must be included with the application.

• It is the applicant’s responsibility to check whether authorizations for access are required for presenting their project and to acquire them if needed.

Examples of eligible projects

• In situ installations 
• Ambulatory art events in natural settings
• Performances in store windows
• Contemporary music touring village markets
• Sound installations
• Landscape theatre
• Storytelling for children in parks
• Live sound art

• A project submitted for support by a group legally constituted as a corporation or a partnership, whether non-profit or not.
• A project that is part of an academic program.
• A project that is being supported by another CALQ program.
• Incomplete applications.
• Activities already completed as of the application date.
• Except for street arts, the presentation of works in typical presentation sites for the audience or the discipline involved in the application (e.g., live performance venues for performing arts, galleries for visual arts).
• Permanent public artworks.
• Projects presented exclusively online.
• A project that is part of regular programing for an event supported by the CALQ or the SODEC or a popular festival.
• Activities presented indoors or outdoors at elementary or high schools to students during the school year.

The grant is used for direct project development expenses.

Financial aid may include activities to create, rehearse and adapt a production along with communication and management activities to ensure the project’s success.

If the project involves a tour in Québec, expenses for the tour must be included in the application:

• travel and accommodations expenses;
• equipment rental expenses;
• insurance expenses;
• agency expenses;
• promotional and publicity expenses not paid by the venue.

Expenses will be eligible as of the project start date.

Financial support is available for artists with disabilities with a view to ensuring access to CALQ's services. Please complete the relevant section of your official form if you would like to submit an application.

November 28, 2024 at 11:59 p.m.

Applications for this program will be treated in the 2024-2025 financial year.

It is important to include partnership agreements and letters when required by the project. Incomplete applications are ineligible.

The CALQ sends acknowledgements of receipt by email. Candidates signed up for Mon dossier CALQ can track the processing of their application through their online file.

You may not submit more than one application for this program.

The contents of the file are indicated in the application form. Letters of recommendation are not sent for evaluation.

You must complete the three sections of the form.

Application form – Section 1 – Project description (Word) (64 KB)

Application form –  Section 2 – Personal information (Word) (69 KB)

Budget and presentation plan – Section 3 (Excel) (222 KB)

The Budget and Presentation Plan form is designed for Excel, versions 2010 or later. If you do not have one of these versions, please use Microsoft 365 free applications and productivity tools This link will open in a new window. These are free web versions of applications such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook and OneDrive. Any other spreadsheet software (such as Google Sheets , Numbers, OpenCalc,etc.) should not be used. These programs do not have the necessary functionality. Their use could compromise data.

If you have a change of address after the application is submitted, please inform the CALQ as soon as possible so that correspondence can be sent to your new address.

Subject to the provisions of an Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information, the CALQ respects the confidentiality of documents and information in its possession or sent to it.

Two sets of criteria will be used in evaluating the application. The first relates to the artistic value and impact of the project and is expressed as a score. The second relates to administrative aspects of the project and is expressed by two ratings among the following: Excellent – Very good – Satisfactory – With reservations – Weak.

1. Artistic evaluation of the project (100%)

Artistic quality and interest of the project with respect to the program objective (50%)

• Quality of past work
• Interest and originality of the artistic proposal
• Appropriateness of the presentation site for the artistic proposal
• Choice of artists and other professionals associated with the project

Impact (50%)

• Interest of the project for public access to the arts
• Assistance planned according to the nature of the project or the niche
• Complementarity of the project with the existing offer in the area proposed
• Benefits for the applicant, the discipline and the partners
• Appropriateness of the promotional strategy and the project

2. Administrative evaluation of the project

To access financial aid, you must receive a rating of at least “Satisfactory” for each of the two criteria in the administrative evaluation.

Feasibility

• Guarantees of completion
• Realism of the schedule
• Realism of the budget forecasts and income diversification efforts
• Partners’ level of commitment to completing the project, if applicable
• Respect for nature, if applicable

Remuneration

• Fair remuneration for artists, designers and technicians associated with the project

Applications are considered first by CALQ’s program managers based on eligibility conditions and the general objectives of the program.

Eligible applications are evaluated by juries, whose members are recognized for their skill in the disciplines in question. When necessary, the CALQ may choose to call upon assessors.

The jury evaluates the merit of the application based on the evaluation criteria indicated in the program. After their evaluation is complete, members make recommendations to the board of directors, which ratifies them. Decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

The CALQ will inform you of the decision regarding your application approximately three months after the application deadline.

If you register for Mon dossier CALQThis link will open in a new window, you will receive an email informing you to check your online file for the decision.

If your application is accepted, with the confirmation letter you will receive a document that outlines terms and conditions for the use of the grant.

If your application is declined and you have not registered for Mon dossier CALQ, the CALQ will communicate its decision in writing.

The CALQ wishes to reiterate that its decisions are final and without appeal. No form of verbal abuse, harassment or intimidation towards its team after a decision is rendered, nor at any point in the application process, is tolerated.