Executive Director’s Letter to the Community

Upholding Peer Assessment

February 9, 2026

Dear Arts Community,

Peer assessment is fundamental to ArtsNL’s core mandate: the delivery of public arts funding. Each year, we engage approximately 60 artists to serve on peer assessment committees. These assessors are respected members of the arts community who devote significant time and care to this work, reviewing hundreds of applications and complex support materials. Assessors are selected for their expertise and bring professionalism and a genuine commitment to the arts community. As an agency, ArtsNL is deeply grateful for their service.

ArtsNL has seen a significant increase in grant applications, resulting in our ability to fund approximately 32% of project grants. In every funding round, many strong applications cannot be funded, which is deeply frustrating for artists and assessors alike. Staff work closely with applicants to provide feedback informed by the peer assessment process to support future applications.

Staff are the first point of contact for frustration and anger over funding outcomes, and ArtsNL has experienced an increase in aggressive and, at times, harassing communications following funding decisions. Staff and assessors are sometimes accused of bias or misconduct, including allegations of favouritism or unfairness, and in some cases, these complaints are escalated to provincial government officials.

ArtsNL’s Peer Assessment Policy prohibits publishing the names of peer assessors associated with specific programs. This policy aligns with practices in other smaller provinces—such as New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Manitoba—and is intended to protect assessors in close-knit arts communities, where professional and personal relationships often overlap. ArtsNL practices transparency by publicly disclosing the names of all peer assessors, in alphabetical order, in its Annual Summary.

For several years, ArtsNL has navigated a challenge to a funding decision. The decision to uphold the Peer Assessor Policy—and not release names associated with a specific granting round—resulted in an Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (ATIPP) request. The Board unanimously agreed that ArtsNL had an obligation to protect the integrity of peer assessment and to honour its commitment to assessors, who served on committees with the understanding that their identities would be protected. ArtsNL denied the ATIPP request. That decision was appealed, and the former Privacy Commissioner ruled that disclosure was required. After seeking legal counsel and considering the implications for its commitments to peer assessors, ArtsNL proceeded to seek a court ruling.

This legal process was lengthy and draining, diverting time, energy, and public resources away from a small team working to deliver programs and services to the arts community. Ultimately, ArtsNL was required to disclose the information because there is no exemption within ATIPP legislation for the unique work the organization carries out as a public agency. The legislation considers the name and function of a person receiving remuneration from a public body not to be “personal information,” and provides no exemption for the peer assessment work administered by ArtsNL or the personal or professional risks associated with the role. Legal counsel has encouraged ArtsNL to advocate for legislative change to better protect peer assessors—not just their opinions, but also their identities.

ArtsNL recognizes that funding decisions can evoke strong emotions and that public discourse has become increasingly polarized. Staff are committed to respectful, constructive dialogue, even in moments of disagreement. Public arts funding is a responsibility entrusted to ArtsNL through public resources, and it must be administered with clear policies and expectations.

ArtsNL will continue to uphold its Peer Assessment Policy. Applicants are prohibited from contacting peer assessors to discuss funding decisions, engaging in disrespectful or harassing behaviour, or undertaking any form of retaliation. Behaviour that violates these funding conditions may result in the denial or withdrawal of funding, and disqualification from future funding opportunities, in accordance with ArtsNL policy.

Melanie Martin
Executive Director | ArtsNL

Community Resources:
ArtsNL Peer Assessment Policy
ArtsNL Behaviour Policy
ArtsNL Netiquette Policy