About the Fellowship

An endowment in Jini Stolk’s memory provides support for Toronto-based arts managers.

Arts managers are responsible for the administrative, financial, and overall health of organizations. They are passionate and committed to their work, but often have little opportunity to explore, think, develop their expertise and generate new ideas. The Jini Stolk Creative Fellowship offers arts managers a chance to grow and join a collaborative network.

Overview

The Jini Stolk Creative Fellowship provides $20,000 over two years ($10,000 each year) to an arts manager of a small to mid-sized Toronto arts organization to encourage the development of the field of arts management, including organizational experimentation and effective governance through professional development, research, networking and sharing.

A new Fellow will be announced annually.

Goals

  • To support an arts manager who wishes to explore a new idea and/or develop their expertise.

  • To encourage experimentation, such as building new frameworks, learning about complexities and thinking about systems change.

  • To build a network and support model. Recipients/alumni will be encouraged to share ideas, resources and support each other’s work.

  • To build a knowledge base.

  • To enhance the arts sector.

Eligibility – who

The Jini Stolk Creative Fellowship is open to Toronto-based arts managers at any career level (with at least two years of experience in the arts sector) who:

  • Are Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents of Canada living in Toronto (postal code begins with an M).

  • Work at a Toronto-based arts organization (postal code begins with an M).

  • Work at a small or mid-sized arts organization (operating budget less than $10 million).

  • Work in any arts discipline.


Restrictions:

  • Past recipients of The Jini Stolk Creative Fellowship are not eligible.

  • No fellowships will be made posthumously.

Eligibility – what

Nominated proposals for The Jini Stolk Creative Fellowship will aim to make improvements to the arts sector. Proposed activities can include, but are not limited to:

  • Research

  • Travel

  • Conference fees

  • Professional development

  • Internships

 
Areas of interest for exploration can include, but are not limited to:

  • Governance

  • The field of arts management

  • Organizational sustainability / sustainable practices / healthy organizations

  • New or adapted models of working / systems change / moving organizations forward

  • Navigating the complexities of your work

  • Co-leadership working models (for example, between artistic directors and executive managers)

  • Succession planning or phasing out an organization

  • Policy making

  • Advocacy

 

Nominations

Nominations should consist of:

  1. A one-page nomination letter from either the Chair or President of the Board of Directors, the Artistic Director or Executive Director of the nominee’s organization.

  2. A 250-word letter of intent written by the arts manager (the nominee). The letter of intent will include:

    • why the individual wants The Jini Stolk Creative Fellowship

    • its purpose

    • the impact they expect their work to have.

  3. A budget that outlines the intended use of the funds.

  4. A biography of the nominee or their CV.

  5. Optional: additional support material that does not exceed one page or one website link.

Submit

The deadline to submit is November 1, 2023

Submissions will be accepted electronically between September 6, 2023 and November 1, 2023.

Nomination submissions must be sent to: aboyd@oafdn.ca

Assessment

All nominations will be assessed by a jury made up of artists and arts professionals with direct experience working with small to mid-sized arts organizations in Toronto.

Nominations will be evaluated on how a nominee aims to make improvements to the arts sector as demonstrated by the:

  • relevance and viability of the nominee’s proposal; and

  • potential for impact in the field of arts management.

Final Report

At the conclusion of the Fellowship, recipients will be encouraged to share their learnings. How this is done will be identified by the recipient. Examples include:

  • Producing a report (made available for open sharing).

  • Speaking at a conference.

  • Organizing a sharing session with an organization or group of the recipients’ choice.

Contact

For questions about the Jini Stolk Creative Fellowship contact:

Sarah Gladki at jinistolkfellowship@gmail.com

Management and administration

The Ontario Arts Foundation manages The Jini Stolk Creative Fellowship.

Established in 1991, the Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2022-23, the OAF paid out $4.0 million in endowment income and $450,000 in awards and grants. 

The Fund

The Jini Stolk Creative Fellowship Fund has been made possible through the generous support of lead donors Sandra and Jim Pitblado and Tim and Frances Price, as well as many other individuals who loved Jini and want to honour her good work.

The amazing community that donated to the Fund ensures that Toronto-based arts managers will be supported for many years into the future.