Emerging Artist Scholarships

$5,000 scholarships for emerging BC and Yukon First Nations artists age 17-29.

Award Amount

$5,000

Number of Awards

Up to 7 per year

Application Deadline

CLOSED

**Notifications to all 2024 Scholarship applicants will be sent by third week of April 2024.

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: CLOSES FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Deadline: February 26, 2024

YVR Art Foundation offers Emerging Artist Scholarships of $5000 each to British Columbia and Yukon First Nations artists who are between the ages of 17 and 29 years (born between 1995 – 2007) and who presently reside in BC or the Yukon. 

Scholarships are awarded on an annual basis to Emerging Artists who create visual art that reflects BC or Yukon First Nations culture and who wish to further their artistic career by expanding their work or practice into a new area, by study or work with a Mentor artist or attend a school of art. Visual Art can include (but is not limited to) drawing, painting, digital art + design, illustration, carving, sculpture, printmaking, textiles, animation, photography, video and film. 

Up to seven Emerging Artist Scholarship recipients will be selected per scholarship year by a Jury composed of established Indigenous artists and/or curators. All applicants will receive notification of the Emerging Artist Scholarship results by April 2024. Scholarship recipients will then be awarded and invited to attend a Scholarship Awards Reception in Vancouver in May 2024.  

Scholarship recipients will be invited back to Vancouver in 2025 to display their finished artwork at the awards reception, followed by an exhibition of their work at YVR. (Travel and accommodation will be provided as part of the scholarship).

Scholarship Artwork

Applicants for the Emerging Artist Scholarship award propose to create an artwork during their Scholarship year that is representative of the skills developed through the proposed mentorship or educational opportunity. Emerging Artist Scholarship award recipients then have the option to display their final artwork at the YVR Vancouver International Airport, and the potential opportunity to showcase their work with YVRAF’s other community partners.

Application Assistance

Please contact the YVR Art Foundation Program Coordinator if you require accommodations or assistance when completing the application form.

How to Apply

There are two ways to apply:

1. Apply Online:

Review the Application Guidelines and fill out your Online Application Form.

2. Apply by Mail or Courier:

Download a pdf copy of the Application Guidelines and Application Forms, complete it and mail or courier it to the address listed on the application: See below for instructions on how to mail or deliver your application.

Questions and Inquiries

If you have any questions or inquiries about the Emerging Artist Scholarship Program eligibility criteria or the application process, please contact YVR Art Foundation, by phone at 604.276.6261 or email programs@yvraf.com.

 

Frank O’Neill Award

One of the YVR Art Foundation Emerging Artist Scholarships is named in honour of Frank O’Neill, who was General Manager and CEO of the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) from 1987 until his retirement in 2006. Funded by YVR, this scholarship recognizes Frank’s cultural vision, determination and contributions to the development and public display of BC First Nations art at the airport. Frank is a Founding Director of the YVR Art Foundation, and was President of the Foundation from 1998 to 2005.

Note: a separate application is not required for this award. All applicants for the YVR Art Foundation Emerging Artist Scholarship will be considered for this award.

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Program Donors and Partners

YVR Art Foundation gratefully acknowledges the donors, award delivery partners, and cultural organizations whose generous support makes this program possible.

  • Travel Partner: Air Canada
  • Hospitality Partner: Sandman Signature Vancouver Airport, Fairmont Vancouver Airport
  • The Audain Foundation
  • Kasian
  • RBC Emerging Artists
  • Stantec
  • Vancouver International Airport
  • Whelan Construction