Cultural Investment Program

General eligibility

• Be active in St. Catharines
• Provide programming or services that are open to the public and publicized city-wide
• Have a diversified revenue base (Culture Days Activity Program excluded)

General ineligibility

Some activities are beyond the scope of the SCCIP. No activities will be funded retroactively. Grants are not available for:

• Civic departments, boards, commissions or advisory committees, City programs or projects (i.e. libraries, community centres)
• Social service, religious, or sports organizations
• Educational institutions (schools, colleges etc.)
• Club or community centre programs
• Conferences, conventions or banquets
• Scholarships, prizes and awards
• As donations (including the waiving of fees and charges)
• Groups raising funds for non-cultural causes
• Uniforms or personal equipment
• Deficit reduction
• Projects that are political or religious in nature, or that further related doctrine

Sustaining Core program

• Carousel Players, an award-winning professional theatre for young audiences' company, committed to presenting inspiring and creative plays for ages 4 to 18 in theatres, schools and other performance venues. Approved for: $49,000 (core) and $3,000 (special project)
• Chorus Niagara, an auditioned 100-voice mixed choir with singers who come from all walks of life and represent all ages from 18 to 80. Approved for: $18,500
• Niagara Artists Centre (NAC), a member-focused and community-minded arts organization, recognized in both Niagara Region and the broader contemporary arts community for the high quality, boundary-pushing work they program. Approved for: $47,500
• The Niagara Symphony Orchestra, a fully professional orchestra of over 50 musicians that provides diverse programming as an anchor organization at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Approved for: $61,000
• Suitcase in Point, a multi-arts organization that produces original satire and innovative multidisciplinary events in St. Catharines. Approved for: $32,000

Sustaining Midsized program

• The Avanti Chamber Singers, an award-winning, 30-plus mixed voice choir who have been performing in St. Catharines since their inception in 2006. Approved for: $5,500
• The Gallery Players of Niagara, one of Niagara’s most prominent presenters of classical chamber music, with intimate and diverse concerts that range from baroque repertoire on period instruments to commissions and performances of new Canadian works. Approved for: $12,500
• The Willow Arts Community, a multidisciplinary arts and mental health organization that provides free art classes, publication, and exhibition opportunities to adults with lived experience of mental health / addictions. Approved for: $21,000

Sustaining Festival program

• Voices of Freedom Festival, TD Jazz Series and 88 Keys, organized by Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts. Bravo Niagara! is an organization that brings extraordinary Canadian and international musicians to St. Catharines. Approved for: $8,350
• Cicada Music and Arts Festival, an event that showcases a diverse lineup of talented Canadian folk, indie, roots, and world musicians who have garnered local and international recognition. Approved for: $24,500
• The Foster Festival, a professional theatre company producing the plays of Norm Foster, who is internationally renowned for his skill in examining extraordinary moments in the lives of ordinary people. Approved for: $24,500
• The Mighty Niagara Film Fest (Niagara Artists Centre), a festival that presents films made about or in Niagara, by filmmakers with connections to the region, as well as films that are considered of interest to Niagara audiences. Approved for: $5,000
• Niagara Jazz Festival, an organization dedicated to keeping jazz music alive by uniting the Niagara community in a festival that combines live jazz with a unique Niagara experience – food, wine, culture, and natural wonders. Approved for: $8,650
• In the Soil Arts Festival (Suitcase In Point), an event that nurtures the creation of new work, showcases talent, encourages innovation, offers learning opportunities for youth and provides intimate and uncommon platforms for audiences to experience work by contemporary performing and literary artists, musicians and media artists. Approved for: $17,000

Arts Development program

September 2024 Deadline:

• Dear Bear Multi-Arts Group - Why Don't We Together: Dear Bear Multi-Arts Group is an emerging ensemble of lighting and sound designers, directors, actors, builders, and makers. Their project is an immersive audio-visual experience, conceived as a compelling way to listen to audio stories together. Approved for: $2,000
• Matter of Black Community Services - Emancipation Day STC 2025: Matter of Black will celebrate Black history within the Niagara region by bringing Emancipation Day events and performances to St. Catharines through a range of free activities from July 19 to August 1, 2025. Approved for: $7,500
• Music Niagara - Arts Unbound: Celebrating Arts and Culture Beyond Limits, a project that will  showcase musicians, artists, and performers with disabilities and aims to foster a deeper appreciation for underrepresented voices in the cultural landscape. Approved for: $4,000
• Niagara Youth Orchestra - NYO to GO!: a new initiative designed to bring musicians into the heart of the community through a series of pop-up musical experiences. Approved for: $3,000  

May 2024 Deadline:

• St. Catharines Poetry Slam – Monthly Poetry Slam Event Series: St. Catharines Poetry Slam will present one or two well-known “feature poets” at their monthly event series at Mahtay Café. Approved for: $3,000
• Studio Accelerando – Journey to the Centre of the Earth: Studio Accelerando is an ad hoc collective creating work that embraces collaboration and equality, founded by Colin Bruce Anthes and Robert Feetham. They will present “Journey to the Centre of the Earth”, a theatre work based on the Jules Verne novel, at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Approved for: $8,000

Culture Builds Community program

September 2024 Deadline:

• Avanti Chamber Singers - Bring Your Font Line Worker: A Community Concert, an event at Silver Spire auditorium for those struggling with housing insecurity and the people who work with them. Avanti will sing and host a very casual reception with food and conversation. Approved for: $2,000
• Willow Arts Community - ReNew the View: Sharing our Hopes, a project where Willow Arts will partner with staff at Niagara Regional Housing (NRH) and The Raft to offer workshops to at-risk youth, introducing new accessible artforms, explore themes of belonging, and grow self-esteem and confidence in the youth. Approved for: $8,500

May 2024 Deadline:

• Essential Collective Theatre (ECT) – Scenes of the Welland Canal: ECT will present a series of one-hour sessions that include scene readings from their 2017 production, "The Welland Canal Play". The scenes will be chosen as prompts to engage the audience in post-performance discussion about the historical aspects of the canal, the social changes that came about and the writing process for each scene. Approved for: $3,263
• Luis Martin Flores - 4th Annual Day of the Dead & Art Festival: This Festival is organized by multidisciplinary artist Luis Martin Flores, in collaboration with Mexican art creators and musicians, and will feature the creation of Ofrenda de Dia de Muertos, live music, a costume contest, traditional Mexican food and drinks and a kids zone with games and crafts. Approved for: $1,970

• Skye Rogers – Homeward Bound: Skye Rogers is a local interdisciplinary performing artist who will, along with project collaborator Kosar Dakhilalian, create a devised work of theatre that delves into the concept of home and our relationships to it through different lenses. Approved for: $3,000
• SOFIFRAN - 2025 Festiv’Ebene Festival and Book Fair: SOFIFRAN is a non-profit community organization, created in 2007 by Francophone immigrant women living in the Niagara region. They will produce these two cultural events in March 2025 at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.
  Approved for: $6,000
• Tomorrow's Voices Foundation - Choir Program: Tomorrow's Voices was launched to provide a choir program for kids between the ages of 8-18 who have barriers to music programming. They will run weekly 75-minute choir rehearsals from September through to June, as well as provide opportunities to work with guest artists. Approved for: $6,000

Culture Days Activity program

• Eve Atoms - The Breath Balm Campaign: a public art project that frames art making as a peace-making initiative. Approved for: $365
• Carousel Players – Puppet Extravaganza: An afternoon of puppet performance and puppet creation for all ages. Approved for: $1,200
• Luis Martin Flores – Day of the Dead Mexican Arts and Crafts Workshop: A family event to learn how to make decorations, like painting sugar skulls or making coloured carpets that symbolize the earth. Approved for: $752
• Rajshree Jena – Muguloo Workshop: Muguloo is a form of decorative art practiced in southern India. Participants will draw geometric patterns and are encouraged to play with colors, textures and other media. Approved for: $450
• Jenn Judson – Collage-a-thon!: A drop-in style event featuring the barrier-breaking medium of collage. Approved for: $1,000