# Manitoba Arts Council

The Manitoba Arts Council (MAC; French: Conseil des arts du Manitoba) is a provincial crown corporation whose purpose is to promote the arts. The Council awards grants to professional artists and arts organizations in Manitoba in all art forms; it also provides related creative activity such as arts education.
The Council was founded in 1965 with the passage of An Act to Establish The Manitoba Arts Council and incorporated in 1967. (It now operates under the terms of The Arts Council Act.) Remaining at arm’s-length from the Government of Manitoba, it is funded by the Manitoba Sport, Culture and Heritage and reports annually to the Provincial Legislature through the Minister of Sport, Culture and Heritage in its annual report.

## Governance

Today, the Council operates under the terms of The Arts Council Act, which was amended in 2017. Remaining at arm’s-length from the Government of Manitoba, it is funded by the Manitoba Sport, Culture and Heritage and reports annually to the Provincial Legislature through the Minister of Sport, Culture and Heritage in its annual report.
The Manitoba Arts Council consists of 9 board members who are appointed for a term by the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council. The Executive Director is hired by the Council to carry out its policies and oversee operations.

## Manitoba Arts Award of Distinction

The Manitoba Arts Award of Distinction is a CA$30,000 prize awarded annually to an artist or arts professional for "artistic excellence and contribution to the development of the arts in Manitoba."$^{:12}$
Recipients are selected by a multidisciplinary panel from nominations submitted by the community. The award process is administered and funded by the Council.
| Year | Name | Field |
| 2002 | Leslee Silverman | theatre |
| 2003 | Robert Kroetsch | literary arts |
| 2004 | Grant Guy | performance and media arts |
| 2005 | Guy Maddin | film |
| 2006 | Aganetha Dyck | visual arts |
| 2007 | Robert Turner | music |
| 2008 | Roland Mahé | theatre |
| 2009 | William Eakin (artist) | visual arts |
| 2012 | J. Roger Léveillé | literary arts |
| 2014 | Robert Archambeau | visual arts |
| 2016 | Diana Thorneycroft | visual arts |
| 2018 | Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan | performance arts |
| 2020 | Alan Greyeyes | music |
| 2022 | Daina Warren | visual arts |
| 2023 | Di Brandt | literary arts |
| 2024 | Jennine Krauchi | beadwork |

## Prizes in the Arts

Four $10,000 Prizes in the Arts were awarded every two years, opposite of the Manitoba Arts Award of Distinction, recognizing artists or groups working in Manitoba in four categories:
* The Connecting Creative Communities Prize
* The Emerging Excellence Prize
* The Indigenous Full Circle Prize
* The Rural Recognition Prize
Recipients were selected by a multidisciplinary panel from nominations submitted by the community. The award process was administered and funded by the Council. The Prizes in the Arts were discontinued in 2022.
| Year | Connecting Creative Communities | Emerging Excellence | Indigenous Full Circle | Rural Recognition |
| 2019 | Theatre Projects Manitoba | Helga Jakobson | Marie-Josée Dandeneau | Flin Flon Arts Council |
| 2021 | ArtsJunktion mb Inc. | melannie monoceros | Lana Sinclair | Donna Besel |

## Operations and grants

In the 2019/20 fiscal year, the Council funded 525 arts organizations and artistic projects, which made for a total of CA$8.3 million.
The following is the number of MAC-funded projects by region, per 10,000 population:$^{:7}$
* Northern Manitoba (NorMan), 4.5
* Parkland, 2.6
* Interlake, 3.2
* Westman, 2.6
* Central Plains, 2.9
* Pembina Valley, 2.8
* Eastman, 1.6
* Winnipeg, 3.0
The Council's "Indigenous 360" funding stream offers three granting programs that support professional Indigenous artists, arts/cultural professionals, Knowledge Keepers, art groups, and organizations from Manitoba. In the fall of 2018, the Council began collecting information on the background and identity of individual applicants—this includes Indigenous, visible minorities, females, non-binary, and Francophone applicants, as well as applicants who live with a disability or mental illness or who are deaf.$^{:2}$
Organizations and activities funded by MAC in 2019/2020$^{:9}$ :
| Recipient | City/town | Awarded amount (CA$) |
| Aboriginal Music Manitoba Inc. | Winnipeg | $15,000 |
| aceartinc. | Winnipeg | $89,180 |
| Arbeiter Ring Publishing Ltd. (ARP Books) | Winnipeg | $24,500 |
| Art City Inc. | Winnipeg | $15,000 |
| Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba | Brandon | $185,000 |
| Art Holm | Winnipeg | $6,000 |
| Arts Manitoba Publications Inc (Border Crossings) | Winnipeg | $99,470 |
| Arts West Council Inc. | Brandon | $3,000 |
| ArtsJunktion | Winnipeg | $14,792 |
| At Bay Press | Winnipeg | $15,000 |
| Association of Manitoba Book Publishers | Winnipeg | $48,000 |
| Bedside Press | Narol | $6,250 |
| Brandon Chamber Players | Brandon | $20,580 |
| Camerata Nova | Winnipeg | $15,000 |
| Cancercare Manitoba Foundation Inc. | Winnipeg | $10,000 |
| Canzona Inc. | Winnipeg | $12,500 |
| Cluster: New Music + Integrated Arts Inc. | Winnipeg | $5,302 |
| Company Link | Winnipeg | $11,000 |
| Contemporary Verse 2 | Winnipeg | $34,500 |
| Eckhardt-Gramatte National Music Competition | Brandon | $9,000 |
| Fernwood Publishing | Winnipeg | $4,055 |
| Flin Flon Arts Council | Flin Flon | $7,500 |
| Gallery 1C03 (University of Winnipeg) | Winnipeg | $8,700 |
| Gimli Film Festival | Gimli | $20,000 + $5,000 |
| Goldrock Press | Norway House | $7,500 + $7,500 |
| Graffiti Art Programming Inc. | Winnipeg | $10,000 |
| Great Plains Publications | Winnipeg | $32,500 |
| GroundSwell, Inc. | Winnipeg | $45,080 |
| Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre | Winnipeg | $15,000 |
| Herizons Magazine | Winnipeg | $6,000 |
| Home Routes/Chemin Chez Nous | Winnipeg | $10,000 + $7,500 |
| Interlake Art Board | Winnipeg | $7,382 |
| Jazz Winnipeg | Winnipeg | $10,000 |
| J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing | Winnipeg | $36,700 |
| La Maison des artistes visuels inc. | Winnipeg | $13,250 |
| Les Éditions du Blé Saint-Boniface | Winnipeg | $26,250 |
| Manito Ahbee Festival Inc. | Winnipeg | $15,000 |
| Manitoba African Film Festival Inc. | Winnipeg | $15,000 |
| Manitoba Arts Network | Winnipeg | $12,500 |
| Manitoba Association of Playwrights Inc. | Winnipeg | $53,900 |
| Manitoba Band Association | Winnipeg | $6,000 |
| Manitoba Chamber Orchestra Inc. | Winnipeg | $8,000 + $20,000 + $112,000 |
| Manitoba Choral Association | Winnipeg | $1,500 |
| Manitoba Opera | Winnipeg | $220,000 + $150,000* |
| Manitoba Printmakers Association Inc. / Martha Street Studio | Winnipeg | $55,000 |
| Manitoba Theatre for Young People | Winnipeg | $56,250 + $245,000 |
| Manitoba Underground Opera | Winnipeg | $15,000 + $15,000 |
| Mentoring Artists for Women's Art (MAWA) | Winnipeg | $73,000 |
| Misericordia Health Centre | Winnipeg | $10,200 |
| NAfro Dance Productions | Winnipeg | $25,000 |
| Northern Juried Art Show 2019 | Thompson | $12,125 |
| NorVA Centre | Flin Flon | $7,572 |
| One Trunk Theatre | Winnipeg | $20,000 |
| PLATFORM centre for Photographic Digital Arts | Winnipeg | $58,000 |
| Plug-In Inc. (Plug In Institute of Contemporary Arts) | Winnipeg | $166,600 |
| Polycoro Inc. | Winnipeg | $15,000 |
| Prairie Comics Festival | Winnipeg | $8,840 |
| Prairie Debut Inc. | Portage la Prairie | $5,000 |
| Prairie Fire Press Inc. | Winnipeg | $73,720 |
| Prairie Theatre Exchange Inc. | Winnipeg | $33,750 + $355,000 |
| Q DANCE | Winnipeg | $15,000 |
| Rainbow Stage | Winnipeg | $15,000 |
| Rosamunde Summer Music Academy | Winnipeg | $3,000 |
| Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre Inc. | Winnipeg | $37,500 + $686,000 + $150,000* |
| Royal Winnipeg Ballet School | Winnipeg | $744,800 |
| Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division | Winnipeg | $10,000 + $130,000 |
| Sarasvati Dramatic Theatre Productions and Repertory Inc | Winnipeg | $15,000 + $15,000 |
| Sawdon Dance | Winnipeg | $14,600 |
| School of Contemporary Dancers Inc. | Winnipeg | $32,500 |
| Shakespeare in the Ruins | Winnipeg | $9,000 + $56,050 |
| Sick + Twisted Theatre | Winnipeg | $10,000 |
| Signature Editions | Winnipeg | $35,000 |
| SOUNDYARD | Winnipeg | $5,880 |
| Spence Neighbourhood Association Inc. | Winnipeg | $15,000 |
| Theatre by the River Inc. | Winnipeg | $7,000 |
| Théâtre Cercle Molière Winnipeg | Winnipeg | $175,000 |
| Theatre Projects Manitoba | Winnipeg | $40,000 + $51,500 |
| Turnstone Press Ltd. | Winnipeg | $35,000 |
| University of Manitoba Press | Winnipeg | $34,500 |
| Urban Shaman Inc. | Winnipeg | $65,000 |
| Video Pool Media Arts Centre | Winnipeg | $95,060 |
| Window Winnipeg | Winnipeg | $7,850 |
| Winnipeg Aboriginal Film and Video Festival | Winnipeg | $15,000 |
| Winnipeg Chamber Music Society | Winnipeg | $17,000 |
| Winnipeg Film Group | Winnipeg | $95,000 |
| Winnipeg International Writers Festival | Winnipeg | $8,000 |
| Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra | Winnipeg | $8,000 + $18,000 |
| Winnipeg Jewish Theatre | Winnipeg | $35,000 |
| The Winnipeg Singers | Winnipeg | $29,400 |
| Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra | Winnipeg | $56,250 + $735,000 + $125,000* |
| Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers $112,250 | Winnipeg | |
| Young Lungs Dance Exchange | Winnipeg | $15,000 |
| zone41 theatre, inc. | Winnipeg | $15,000 |
*Special operating grant disbursed on behalf of Manitoba Sports, Culture, and Heritage.