Organization: The Museum of Jewish Montreal
Program: Microgrants for Creative or Cultural Exploration
Project Timeframe: November 2025 – July 2026
Microgrant Amount: $1400 – $1500 Project Budget + $500 Honorarium
Application Deadline: Sunday, October 12th, 2025, 11:59pm EST
The Museum of Jewish Montreal—an innovative place to connect with Montreal’s Jewish identity, share our diverse heritage, and create new cultural experiences—is excited to announce the 2025-2026 cycle of our Microgrant Cohort Program for Creative or Cultural Exploration. Entering its sixth year, our Microgrant Program provides seed funding to help emerging creatives bring their innovative project ideas to life. By offering this funding, we hope to give applicants the chance to pursue their interests and realize their ideas while encouraging intellectual curiosity and community-building. Grants awarded will be $1400 to $1500 per project, in addition to a $500 honorarium for participating in an 8-session seminar series and attending 2-3 extracurricular activities. See below for details.
Selected candidates will participate in our seminar series, with sessions focusing on professional skills development, and exploring contemporary Jewish arts and culture. The seminar series will consist of eight 2-hour sessions that will take place on Tuesdays, from November 2025 through January 2026. Projects will be presented from February to June 2026.
Microgrant projects may be presented as Public Events, (i.e., creative workshops, concerts, book launches), or as Public Projects, (i.e., essays, research articles, oral history collections). Public Projects should ideally engage with the community in some way during its development (i.e., discussion groups, reading circles, interviews). In the application form, applicants will be asked to select whether their project will be presented as a Public Event or Public Project. All participants will receive development and production support from Museum staff.
We are looking for projects from each of the following areas: food, art, and culture/heritage.
Though not limited to the following, projects may include:
- Small printed publications/zines/chapbooks
- Research projects or articles
- Creative workshops
- Presentations: Book readings, lectures, concerts, performances
- A website, blog or social media account (Instagram, TikTok)
- A personal/family exploration project, to be presented in a format of choice
Click here to view past examples of Microgrant Projects.
Eligibility Criteria:
All applicants currently living in Montreal are invited to apply as individuals or in small groups (up to 3 people) for creative projects at any stage of development. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, however proposed projects must relate to Jewish culture or identity. Successful applicants must be available to attend designated in-person seminar sessions.
Applicants of all ages are welcome to apply, though priority will be given to those aged 18-35 with multifaceted and intersectional identities (these could include, but are in no way limited to: members of racialized communities, newcomers, those from interfaith backgrounds, people with disabilities, LGBTQ2+, and gender non-conforming persons). We do not accept project proposals towards: 1) An academic course or class credit, 2) The applicant’s workplace or other organization in which the applicant is involved, 3) Operational funding for a business or organization, or 4) Charitable organizations.
Applications are due Sunday, October 12th, 2025 by 11:59pm EST. All proposals must be submitted through the Google Form linked above. Any questions related to the application or program can be directed to info@imjm.ca. Please note that only successful applicants will be contacted.
This program is made possible with funding from the Azrieli Foundation, the Betty Averbach Foundation, CANVAS, and The Canadian Race Relations Foundation.
Call for Applicants: Microgrants for Creative or Culture Exploration (PDF)