COVID-19 Update

Kingston City Council has committed to continuing its investment in arts and heritage funding as the pandemic unfolds and has allocated an additional $200,000 in 2021 to support Kingston-based artists and not-for-profit arts organizations. This is part of a $1 million-dollar investment by the City for pandemic relief funding for the arts, local businesses, and recreation and social service non-profit organizations. Find out more if you are a creative business interested in funding.

Cultural Grants

Every year, the City of Kingston provides close to $1 million in funding to non-profit arts, heritage, and cultural organizations and artist collectives through two funding programs: the City of Kingston Arts Fund and the City of Kingston Heritage Fund. The funding programs support sector development and provide residents with access to a broad range of cultural offerings.

City of Kingston Arts Fund

The City of Kingston Arts Fund (CKAF), provides operating and project grants to arts organizations, collectives, and groups and organizations each year. CKAF was established in 2007 and since then, the City has invested $6.9 million in funding that is intended to nurture the capacity of the arts, artists and the arts sectors in Kingston through a program of direct investment. CKAF is administered by the Kingston Arts Council (KAC) on behalf of the City.

The Kingston Arts Council is a local professional arts service organization that operates arms-length from the City of Kingston and serves professional artists, arts professionals, and arts organizations. Activities of the KAC include, but are not limited to administering arts funding, professional development, support for capacity building, raising public awareness for the value of the arts, advocacy work, and providing networking opportunities.

In 2021, the City investment to the operating and project grant programs totals $569,050. An additional $200,000 has been invested to create two new, one-time funding programs developed in partnership with the Kingston Arts Council that include Resiliency Grants for individual artists and Adapt Grants to help artists, collectives, and arts organizations adjust to the impact of COVID-19.

More information on the Kingston Arts Council and the City of Kingston Arts Fund including grant guidelines, application forms and deadlines, grant-related professional development opportunities, and CKAF Impact Reports can be found on the KAC website.

City of Kingston Heritage Fund

The City of Kingston Heritage Fund (CKHF) provides operating and project grants to museums, heritage projects, cultural groups and historical societies to expand how and improve how Kingston’s stories are being shared. CKHF was established in 2013 and since then, the City has invested $1.5 million in funding, enriching how residents experience Kingston's cultural heritage and to learn about local history to improve civic pride and quality of life. The Kingston Association of Museums, Art Galleries and Historic Sites (KAM) administers the CKHF on behalf of the City of Kingston.

KAM champions, nurtures and amplifies Kingston’s cultural heritage landscape by fostering professional development, advocacy, public engagement and collaborative partnerships. Through its activities and services, KAM aims to ignite imagination, dialogue and engagement to enrich and support a resilient, innovative and responsive cultural heritage network integral to the identity, health and expression of the Kingston and area community.

In 2021, the City investment in the funding program totals $388,080. An additional $64,181.40 is also available as a result of there being unallocated funds in 2020.

More information on the City of Kingston Heritage Fund including grant guidelines, application forms and deadlines, and grant-related professional development opportunities be found on the KAM website.