Organization: The Museum of Jewish Montreal

Program: Microgrants for Creative or Cultural Exploration

Project Timeframe: November 2022-June 2023

Microgrant Amount: $800-$1350 Project Budget + $400 honorarium

Application Deadline: October 26, 2022

The Museum of Jewish Montreal is excited to announce our next Microgrant Cohort Program for creative or cultural exploration, providing seed funding to help young adults 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 will range from $800-$1,200 per project, as well as a $400 honorarium for participating in an 8-session cohort seminar series (see below for further details).

All applicants currently living in or with a strong connection to a community in Quebec 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. Applicants aged 18-35 with multi-faceted 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 identifying persons) will be prioritized.

Selected candidates will participate in our microgrant cohort seminar series, with sessions focusing on developing professional skills, along with exploring Montreal’s Jewish heritage and culture. The seminar series will consist of eight 2-hour sessions that will take place from November 2022 – January 2023. Projects will be presented in February-June 2023. Each microgrant project must include a live event component. This can include: speaker panel, artist talk, book reading, workshop, performance, or concert. Please consider how any in-person events can be adapted to be an online event. Candidates will receive planning support from the Museum.

We are looking for projects from each of the following three areas: food, art, and culture/heritage.

Though not limited to the following, project deliverables may include:

• Small printed publications/zines/chapbooks
• A podcast mini-series, demo
• Research project or article
• Hands-on workshop
• Presentation: speaker panel, book reading, lecture, concert, performance
• A website, blog or social media account (Instagram, TikTok, Byte)
• Creative uses of public space, for example an outdoor scavenger hunt
• A small-scale installation or pop-up exhibit, such as a vitrine or temporary outdoor display (please note that micrograntees must find and coordinate their own space)
• A personal/family exploration project, to be presented in a format of choice
• A project focused on community-building through an experimental activity or experience

To apply, please submit ONE pdf document that answers the following questions/contains the following documents:

• Brief bio (200 words MAX)
• Description of project (250 words MAX)
• How does your project connect to the Museum’s mandate? (150 words MAX)
• What experiences (lived or learned), and/or skills will you bring to developing your project? (200 words MAX)
• What skills do you want to learn or grow to support your project’s development? (200 words MAX)
• Brief preliminary budget (no specific format required, estimated project expenses)
• Optional: CV, portfolio, existing project materials, past work, professional or project reference

Please do not submit an application with multiple documents or a ZIP file. If you are unfamiliar with combining multiple documents into a PDF, you can watch this video tutorial or this free PDF combiner website.

Applications are due Wednesday, October 26, 2022 by 11:59pm EST and should be emailed to Anya Kowalchuk at [email protected]. Any questions related to the application or program in general can be directed to [email protected].

Our mandate: The Museum of Jewish Montreal is an innovative place to connect with Montreal’s Jewish history and identity, share our diverse heritage, and create new cultural experiences.

Call for Applications – Microgrant Cohort 2022-2023

This microgrant initiative has been generously funded by the Betty Averbach Foundation, and Quebec Community Groups Network Community Innovation Fund, whose mission is helping Quebec’s English-speaking communities put social innovation in action by supporting innovative projects that address the needs and priorities of vulnerable English-speaking youth, seniors and newcomers.

Funding acknowledgement:

The Community Innovation Fund is financed in part by the Government of Canada’s Social Development Partnerships Program – Children and Families Component and is part of the Action Plan for Official Languages – 2018-2023: Investing in Our Future. The fund is managed by the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN)

Le Fonds d’innovation communautaire est en partie financé par le Programme de partenariats pour le développement social du gouvernement du Canada – volet enfants et familles. Il fait partie du plan d’action pour les langues officielles – 2018-2023 : Investir dans notre avenir. Le Fonds est géré par le Quebec Community Groups Network.