RELEASE: ArtsNL announces 2025-26 Professional Operating Program recipients
Jul 16, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ArtsNL announces 2025-26 Professional Operating Program recipients
July 16, 2025 (St. John’s, NL) – ArtsNL provides multi-year funding through a new Professional Operating Program (POP), which helps offset operational costs for professional arts organizations. For the 2025–26 fiscal year, a total of $2.15 million has been distributed among 32 eligible professional arts organizations, and divided between three funding tiers determined by an organization’s size and scope:
- Cornerstone: $1,153,000 (12 organizations)
- Keystone: $946,027 (17 organizations)
- Capstone: $50,973 (3 organizations)
“POP is a new funding model, encouraging best practices so our professional arts organizations can thrive as part of a healthy arts ecosystem,” said Melanie Martin, Executive Director of ArtsNL. “The organizations that have been funded within POP are running exceptional organizations and providing vital opportunities for the creation and presentation of art, benefitting artists and audiences province-wide, and ArtsNL is proud to support that work.”
Senior leadership from some organizations shared their thoughts on the impact of the new Professional Operating Program:
“Bonavista Biennale was thrilled to receive the results of our recent application to the Professional Operating Program. Increased funding will allow us to impact more artists and visitors each cycle and continue to offer meaningful programming on the Bonavista Peninsula between major exhibitions. We’re grateful for the rigorous process that ArtsNL undertook in creating the POP framework to consider additional metrics and industry standards, as well as the increased funding levels this program has meant for many arts organizations throughout the province.”
— Sue Balint, Executive Director, Bonavista Biennale
“I want to thank the Provincial Government through ArtsNL for providing this important operational funding. Operational funding is critical to allow arts organizations to develop projects, hire artists, and grow audiences and fans across the province. The POP funding review process was thorough and has created a new regime which challenges us to continue to strengthen our operations and programming as we move through this new four-year funding cycle.”
— Hugh Donnan, CEO, Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra
Eligibility to POP is based on an organization’s ability to demonstrate organizational relevance to the community they serve; maintain an annual budget as defined within their tier, as well as engage in sound financial practices and fiscal management; have healthy board governance; engage in regular strategic planning and ensure alignment of the organization’s mandate and artistic activities; have defined leadership positions, who are paid a living wage, among other criteria. Recipient status is determined through a comprehensive multi-year assessment.
The 2025-26 Professional Operating Program recipients are:
Cornerstone Stream
| Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra | $125,000 |
| Theatre Newfoundland Labrador | $115,000 |
| Newfoundland Independent Film Makers Co-Op Ltd. | $110,000 |
| Opera on the Avalon | $105,000 |
| Rising Tide Association | $105,000 |
| Wonderbolt Productions Inc. | $100,000 |
| Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland | $ 95,000 |
| St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival | $ 95,000 |
| Perchance Theatre | $ 88,000 |
| Camber Arts | $ 75,000 |
| Kittiwake Dance Theatre | $ 70,000 |
| Stephenville Festival Inc. | $ 70,000 |
Keystone Stream
| Eastern Edge Gallery | $ 95,000 |
| RCA Theatre Company | $ 94,000 |
| Neighbourhood Dance Works | $ 90,000 |
| Lawnya Vawnya | $ 71,000 |
| Tuckamore Festival | $ 70,000 |
| Nickel Film Festival | $ 64,912 |
| Friends of Writers at Woody Point | $ 55,000 |
| Riddle Fence Publishing | $ 54,000 |
| St. Michael’s Printshop | $ 53,868 |
| Bonavista Biennale | $ 53,834 |
| PerSIStence Theatre Company Inc. | $ 49,000 |
| Sound Arts Initiatives Inc. (Sound Symposium) | $ 42,986 |
| Soundbone Traditional Arts Foundation | $ 37,442 |
| Union House Arts | $ 35,000 |
| White Rooster Theatre | $ 33,985 |
| Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre | $ 25,000 |
| Lady Cove Women’s Choir Inc. | $ 21,000 |
Capstone Stream
| CB Nuit | $ 20,000 |
| Réseau culturel francophone de TNL | $ 15,973 |
| Labrador Creative Arts Festival | $ 15,000 |
For more information about the Professional Operating Program, including eligibility criteria and program guidelines, visit artsnl.ca/grants/pop.
Media Enquiries:
Charlene Jackson
Communications Officer, ArtsNL
Phone: (709) 726-2212 ext. 3
charlene@artsnl.ca
The Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council (ArtsNL) is a non-profit Crown agency created in 1980 by The Arts Council Act. Its mission is to foster and promote the creation and enjoyment of the arts for the benefit of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The Council is governed by a volunteer board of no fewer than 9 and no more than 11 members appointed by Government. At least 7 members must be artists or arts administrators, and one member is appointed to represent the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation (non-voting). ArtsNL receives an annual allocation of $5.3 million from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to support a variety of granting programs, program delivery, office administration, and communications. It also seeks support from the public and private sectors. It supports the following artistic disciplines: dance, film and video, literary arts, multidisciplinary arts, music and sound, theatre and performing arts, and visual arts.
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BACKGROUNDER: About the Professional Operating Program
Launched in December 2024, the Professional Operating Program (POP) is ArtsNL’s new funding model that provides multi-year operating support to established professional arts organizations in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The program was developed over the course of two years through extensive consultation with arts administrators province-wide. It replaces the Sustaining Program for Professional Arts Organizations (SPPAO) and the Annual Operating Program for Professional Arts Organizations (AOPPAO) with a clearer, more transparent structure that reflects the diversity and evolution of the sector.
POP is designed to offset the costs associated with the administration, creation, production, and presentation of art. The program acknowledges that professional arts organizations play a pivotal role in sustaining Newfoundland and Labrador’s creative ecosystem through their programming, employment, and outreach. POP recipients have demonstrated in their detailed application, along with their financial and statistical information, that they have met the benchmark program criteria.
Organizations are classified by funding tier—Cornerstone, Keystone, or Capstone—based on their size and scope, community reach and operational capacity, and ability to consistently maintain a minimum operating budget as defined by the tier. This structure allows ArtsNL to recognize and respond to the varying needs and contributions of organizations, which are all engaged in different but equally important work, across the sector. Sectoral engagement is also a program requirement, which includes opportunities for mentorship and professional development to foster a thriving and collaborative arts ecosystem.
Funding through POP is a multi-year, competitive process. Applications are evaluated by peer assessors based on published criteria, including artistic merit, organizational effectiveness, and community impact. Organizations must submit annual reports and upload financial statements and statistical information to CADAC (Canadian Arts Data / Données sur les arts au Canada) to maintain eligibility. Funding levels are confirmed each year based on available resources and compliance with program requirements.
While this program has been implemented without additional provincial investment, it represents a rebalancing of operational funding to professional arts organizations. Organizations that do not meet the screening criteria for POP may be eligible to apply within the Professional Projects Grant Program (PPGP) or Community Arts Program (CAP).
The next intake for POP applications is scheduled for 2029. For full eligibility details and program guidelines, visit: artsnl.ca/grants/pop and artsnl.ca/faqs.