How do I know if I’m eligible to apply to ArtsNL for funding?

ArtsNL uses the following definitions to identify eligible applicants:

Definition of an individual professional artist:
A person shall be considered to be a professional artist if that person satisfies 4 of the following criteria, including at least one of the criteria referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c):

1. the person receives or has received compensation which can be included in professional or business income;
2. the person has a record of income or loss relevant to the history of his or her work and appropriate to the span of his or her artistic career;
3. the person has received public or peer recognition by publicly disseminated critical reviews or appraisals or by similar means;
4. the person has presented his or her work to the public by means of exhibitions, publications, screenings, performances, readings, or by other means appropriate to the nature of his or her work;
5. the person is represented by a dealer, publisher, agent or similar professional representative appropriate to the nature of his or her work;
6. the person devotes a reasonable proportion of his or her professional time to promoting or marketing his or her work;
7. the person
   (i) has received professional training in an educational institution from a practitioner recognized in his or her profession, or
   (ii) is self-taught within the established practices of the person’s cultural traditions;
8. the person has membership in a professional association, appropriate to his or her artistic activity,
   (i) whose membership is or categories of membership are limited under standards of the association, or
   (ii) which is a trade union or equivalent appropriate to his or her artistic activity; and
   (i) the person holds copyright in his or her own work and has received royalty or residual payment based on that copyright.

Definition of a collaboration of professional artists:
Each individual in the collaboration must meet ArtsNL’s definition of an individual professional artist (see above). A maximum of three individual professional artists can be part of a collaboration.

Definition of a professional arts group:
A group of individual artists who work in one or more of the artistic disciplines supported by ArtsNL:

• that has the creation and/or presentation of works of art as its primary activity
• that is composed of at least two individuals
• that has all members meeting ArtsNL’s definition of a professional artist
• that charges artist fees at established national standards for the artistic discipline(s) and practice in which it operates
• that pays individual members artist fees at established national standards for the artistic discipline(s) and practice in which it operates
• that has internal oversight of the group’s finances and can produce an annual financial statement

Definition of a professional not-for-profit arts organization:
A formal organization operating in one or more of the artistic disciplines supported by ArtsNL:

• that has the creation and/or presentation of works of art as its primary activity
• that is registered, or operates as a non-profit arts entity
• that has a board of directors overseeing the operations of the organization
• that has a paid artistic director, general manager, or equivalent
• that pays artist fees at established national standards for the artistic discipline(s) and practice in which it operates
• that has internal or external oversight of the organization’s finances and produces an annual financial statement

Definition of a community-based arts group:
A group of individual artists who work in one or more of the artistic disciplines supported by ArtsNL:

• that has the creation and/or presentation of works of art as a primary activity
• that is composed of at least two individuals
• that operates in a not-for-profit capacity
• that operates as a community-based organization (i.e. run by volunteers and typically does not pay a professional administrator or artistic director)
• that has internal oversight of the group’s finances and can produce an annual financial statement

Definition of a community based not-for-profit arts organization:
A formal organization operating in one or more of the artistic disciplines supported by ArtsNL:

• that has the creation and/or presentation of works of art as a primary activity
• that is registered, or operates as a non-profit arts entity
• that has a board of directors overseeing the operations of the organization
• that operates as a community-based organization (i.e. run by volunteers and typically does not pay a professional administrator or artistic director)
• that has internal or external oversight of the organization’s finances and produces an annual financial statement

Definition of a school in the kindergarten to grade 12 Newfoundland and Labrador school system:
An educational institution recognized as a school by the province of Newfoundland and Labrador that teaches the prescribed Newfoundland and Labrador school curriculum for kindergarten to grade 12 to children and youth.

All applicants must also meet the required age and residency requirements:

Residency, age and activity requirements:

Professional individual artist:

• Must be a current resident of  Newfoundland and Labrador for a minimum of twelve consecutive months at the time of application
• Must be at least 18 years of age or hold post-secondary standing

Professional arts groups and professional not-for-profit arts organizations:

• Must have been active in Newfoundland and Labrador for a minimum of one year at the time of submitting an application
• Must have actively engaged in professional arts activities within the last year
• Must have at least half its members (for groups), or member artists and board members (for organizations) who are at least 18 years of age, or have post-secondary standing

Community-based arts groups and community based not-for-profit arts organizations:

• Must have been active in Newfoundland and Labrador for a minimum of one year at the time of submitting an application
• Must have actively engaged in community-based arts activities within the last year
• Must have at least half its members (for groups), or board members (for organizations) residing in Newfoundland and Labrador
• Must have at least half its members (for groups), or board members (for organizations) who are at least 18 years of age, or have post-secondary standing