I Love My Gig Ontario: Call for creatives

Overview

Has the Covid-19 pandemic changed your understanding of care?

I Love My Gig Ontario is a 12-week fellowship bringing together 13 Ontario-based artists and other creative gig workers to reflect on lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic and explore collective ways such as mutual aid to face future crises with wise creativity and care. This virtual-only fellowship runs from Mid-March to June 2025 (former Mid-February to May 2025).

This fellowship is proudly presented by ArtsPond with funding from Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and Government of Ontario. It is open to Indigenous, Racialized, d/Deaf, Disabled, or other justice-deserving creatives from suburban, rural, and remote communities across Ontario.

Fellows will :

• Be paid a $2,000 flat-fee
• Engage in visionary group discussions with other fellows
• Receive one-on-one mentorship and care from community elders and doulas
• Contribute to a collective publication that imagines transformative pathways to a caring, post-pandemic Ontario.

Activities

Fellows will dedicate ~50 hours over 3 months: 45 hours for self-directed project work and 5 hours for group and individual meetings. One-on-one mentorship and support from community elders and doulas will be available throughout. The dates of the fellowship are subject to change.

Fellows will create a personal project reflecting on the impact of their pandemic experiences while offering wise possibilities for strengthening access to community-engaged mutual aid and personal care in the face of future crises in Ontario. Personal projects can include:

• Creative journals, essays, blogs, sketches, community research, mind maps, and more
• Desired scope is either 1,800 to 2,400 words; 10 to 12 minutes of video/audio; 5 to 8 images or sketches with a written commentary; or other meaningful contributions to be explored with the care team
• While fellowship meetings will take place in English (with ASL/CART available), personal projects may use other languages chosen by the fellow.

As a part of their journeys, fellows will be encouraged to transform their personal stories into ideas that support radical care within communities. With guidance from community elders, doulas, and peers, they will explore the pandemic’s impact on Ontario’s arts and culture ecosystem and identify ways to lead new care-based projects or strengthen access to current initiatives that benefit the lives of individuals, families, communities, and the planet.

By the end of the fellowship, it is our hope that the transformative visions of each of the fellows will offer roadmaps for their own personal growth in the aftermath of crisis, while also collectively developing important insights for the next generation of leaders and recipients of creative change and care in Ontario.

Eligibility

Three basic eligibility requirements are:

• Open to adults who are 18 years of age or older, live in Ontario, and are legally allowed to work in Ontario during the fellowship.
• Open to those with lived experience as Indigenous, Racialized, d/Deaf, Disabled, or living Outside the Core in a suburban, rural, or remote community.
• Open to all practices in the artistic, creative, and cultural industries. This includes, but is not limited to, artists, designers, curators, educators, activists, advocates, producers, managers, entrepreneurs, engineers, and other creatives. Aspiring, emerging, mid-career, established, and elder professionals from any discipline or profession are encouraged to apply.

Access and care

Our team is committed to responding meaningfully to access and care needs, including:

• For applicants, information sessions and one-on-one support with online forms are available. Personal interviews can be requested in place of written applications.
• Selected fellows will also be invited to create a personalized access plan with the care team, which may include support from doulas and mentors. ASL, CART, and plain language services will be provided during meetings, with some additional limited funds available for personal access and care costs.

Application process

The deadline to apply has been extended to January 13, 2025 at 5 pm Eastern (formerly December 2, 2024, at 5 pm).

Apply online at artspond.com/ilmgo-apply.  You may request access accommodations or support by writing to care@artspond.com. Let us know what your access needs are by January 6, 2025, at 5 pm Eastern, if possible. We will try to respond to requests received after this deadline as our resources allow.

The care team and a peer advisory committee will review all applications and select 13 fellows based on their potential contributions, growth, compatibility, and vision for community care. Ideal candidates will show urgency, curiosity, diverse lived experiences, commitment to mutual exchange, and a vision for creative solutions rooted in mutual care. Visit artspond.com/ilmgo-criteria for a detailed description of our selection criteria.

Ownership and publication

The work fellows produce during the fellowship will remain their own intellectual property. All creators will be properly credited. While ArtsPond typically publishes work in the creative commons, fellows are encouraged, but not required, to do the same.

Fellows will grant ArtsPond first and perpetual (but not exclusive) rights to publish the content they approve for publication. If their content is to be reproduced for sale, a separate agreement will be made. Fellows may have their content published elsewhere afterwards if ArtsPond is credited as the original host and publisher.