Manitoba Arts Council – Create (Music)

Create pays for the writing stage: researching and making new work, developing something already half-finished, or taking part in a creation-based residency. For a composer or songwriter that can cover materials, fees for collaborators, equipment and studio rental, residency fees, travel and research, and your own living costs while you work. One exclusion matters more than any other — music recording is not eligible here, and Manitoba Arts Council points recording and commercial production towards Manitoba Film & Music instead. Presenting or publishing finished work belongs to a different grant as well.

Professional artists, professional arts groups and Indigenous Knowledge Keepers in Manitoba can apply. The tier you enter decides your ceiling: Emerging means up to five years of professional activity and at least one professional presentation, and caps at $7,500; Mid-career is five to fifteen years and three presentations, up to $10,000; Established is over fifteen years and five presentations, up to $15,000. Assessors will consider equivalent experience if your path does not fit neatly.

Applications go through Manipogo, and the profile you build there needs validating five to ten business days before you submit, so this is not a last-night job. The form asks for a 400-word background, a 500-word project description, an explanation of the fees you are paying people, a timeline, a budget that balances, a statement on cultural integrity, and up to three pieces of support material — four minutes of audio counts as one.

An external peer panel scores artistic merit, impact and feasibility. Results take fourteen to sixteen weeks; for the October 2026 intake, expect them around February 2027.