Honouring the Children Grant
Applications Open: February 12, 2024 and ongoing until funds are allocated or until August 15, 2024
Deadline: There is no deadline to apply
Need help applying? Calgary Arts Development is committed to open, fair and transparent processes. If you have any questions or need any help completing an application, please contact Morgan Possberg, Indigenous Program Specialist, at morgan.possberg@calgaryartsdevelopment.com as soon as possible. Staff can provide feedback on your application up to 10 days before application deadlines.
Please refer to each section below for important program details. You will find links to all our policies and other relevant information at the end of this document. We also recommend reviewing the Investment Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) before applying.
Program Overview
On June 2, 2021, Calgary Arts Development made a statement announcing that we designated up to $75,000 of our ArtShare Program funds to support artistic projects in memory of the 215 children found at Kamloops Indian Residential School. That announcement can be found at calgaryartsdevelopment.com. Since that time, there have been many more recoveries of unmarked graves at residential school sites across Canada, and as efforts increase to search these sites, there will be many more to come. With the support of our Indigenous Advisory, we named the $75,000 funding pool the Honouring the Children Grant which we offered again in 2022 and 2023, and will be available for 2024 as well.
Our commitment at Calgary Arts Development is to build good relations with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) based on mutual respect, to listen deeply, and to dedicate intentional funding for FNMI art and artists. It is all of our responsibility to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action and to work to reverse systemic racism against Indigenous people amidst the ongoing devastation and trauma of these discoveries.
Though this program was created in response to the children found in Kamloops, we recognize the impact of residential schools on all Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island.
Additional resources we have used to learn about the history of residential schools in Canada, and our responsibilities, include Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, The City of Calgary’s White Goose Flying Report, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action specifically #83, and #71-76, and Calgary Foundation’s Indigenous Ally Toolkit.
To learn more about the schools located near Calgary (known as Mohkinsstsis in Blackfoot), use this interactive map of residential schools in Canada. These include the Sarcee Indian Residential School, the Dunbow Industrial School, the Morley Indian Residential School, the St. Barnabas Indian Residential School, the Old Sun Residential School, the Crowfoot Indian Residential School, and St. Dunstans Industrial School.
A 24-hour National Indian Residential School Crisis Line offering support services and crisis referrals is available at 1.866.925.4419 for former residential school students and their families.
How to Apply?
This program is specifically for Indigenous artists or Indigenous arts organizations who live and work on Treaty 7 territory, to support artistic projects responding to, honouring or in memory of the loss of life, culture, ceremony and language amongst the original peoples of this land because of the residential school system.
Applications to this program are ongoing, and there is no deadline to apply.
The application process, requirements and funding decision will be developed through conversation between program staff and applicants.
The total budget for this program is $75,000.
If you are an Indigenous artist or Indigenous-led arts organization based in Treaty 7 territory and would like to apply for these funds, please contact Morgan Possberg to discuss your project.
Contact Information
If you have any questions about this program please contact Morgan Possberg, Indigenous Program Specialist, at morgan.possberg@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or call at 403.264.5330 ext. 230, as soon as possible.
Stay informed. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.
