Building Communities through Arts and Heritage

The Building Communities through Arts and Heritage program was created to help you celebrate your community – both its past and its present. This program increases opportunities for local artists; local artisans; local heritage performers or specialists; and local First Nations, Inuit, and Métis cultural carriers to be involved in their community through festivals, events and projects. It also allows local groups to commemorate their local history and heritage.

The Building Communities through Arts and Heritage program offers funding through three separate components.

Local Festivals

The Local Festivals component provides funding to local groups for recurring festivals that present the work of local artists, local artisans, local heritage performers, and local cultural carriers.

Read more about who can apply for funding through the Local Festivals component.

Community Anniversaries

The Community Anniversaries component provides funding to local groups for non–recurring local anniversary commemoration events, with or without a minor capital project. Eligible events and capital projects are those that commemorate the 100th anniversary or greater, in increments of 25 years, of a significant local historical event or personality.

Eligible commemorative items and capital projects such as community art projects, restoration of objects, community history books, statues and murals can be funded up to a maximum $25,000.

Read more about who can apply for funding through the Community Anniversaries component.

Legacy Fund

The Legacy Fund component provides funding for community-initiated capital projects that restore, renovate, or transform an existing building or exterior space (such as a statue, community hall, monument, garden or work of art) intended for community use.

Eligible capital projects are those that commemorate the 100th anniversary or greater, in increments of 25 years, of a significant local historical event or personality.

Read more about who can apply for funding through the Legacy Fund component.

For further information on other funding opportunities, please visit: Funding - Culture, history and sport.