Hyperborea Art Grants are intended to subsidize build materials for projects appearing at Hyperborea. They do not fund labour, manufacturing equipment, or transportation.

Fundable items include:

  • Construction materials (wood, hardware, paint, metal, etc.)

  • Electronic components (LED strips, transistors, control boards, Arduino, etc.)

  • Fuel for generators or fire arts

The following items are not applicable for funding:

  • Food or alcohol

  • Time or labour (this is a gift to the community in the spirit of participation)

  • Personal transportation (however transportation support exists for project materials)

  • Production/manufacturing equipment (tools, projectors, tablets, software, etc.)

  • Sound system equipment

  • Personal gear (tents, sleeping gear, theme camp decoration, burn barrels, etc.)

  • Entirely pre-fabricated products (domes, carports, etc.)

  • Dance, music, or performance (unless you’re applying for a Micro Grant with material investment)

Assessment Criteria

Your application will be anonymously reviewed, including but not limited to the following criteria:

Creativity

How original, interesting, relevant, daring, magical, and thought-provoking is your idea?

Construction

What is the feasibility of your project? Will you be able to build it within your proposed timeline and budget? Have you accountable for fire art restrictions?

Completeness

How well-thought-out is your project? How complete are your materials list, safety plan, and Leave No Trace plan?

Interactivity

Does your project engage the senses? We prioritize projects that have the ability to engage two or more senses at a time!

Art Grant Committee members, Hyperborea Experiential Arts Team members, and Hyperborea event leads are permitted to apply for a Hyperborea Art Grant as long as they submit their applications anonymously, do not publicly discuss their application, and abstain from commenting or voting on any personal project.

Submission Documents

An itemized budget, schedule, and drawings/renderings are mandatory for the consideration of your project. Please remember to send your supporting documents to art@tohyperborea.ca before the deadline and please reach out if you have any questions.

Grant Award

If you are selected to receive any of our art grants, you will be contacted by your primary email address with your award amount and contract. Your award may include conditions, recommendations, or additional questions that you will need to address before the award is finalized. The contract must be signed between Hyperborea and the artist before any funds can be disbursed for any project.

Disbursement

If you are selected to receive an art grant, you will receive 75% of your grant upon award, The remaining 25% will be disbursed within 15 days after the event’s conclusion provided the project has met its build requirements, passed necessary inspections (Fire Art Safety and Leave No Trace), and all receipts submitted. The exception is the Micro Grant, which disburses 100% of the grant to recipients upon award.

Mid-Build Check-In

Effigy, Temple, and certain Large Grant recipients will be asked to submit a mid-construction update to inform us on progress and help us decide whether we can provide any troubleshooting assistance.

Tickets

Our event is non-profit and 100% volunteer run. That means every single person at the event purchases a ticket. This ensures that every penny goes directly into producing the event and funding more art. Priority ticket options will be provided to all artists to guarantee that all members of their core project team may attend.

Placement

The Placement Team determines the placement of all funded art projects at the event to ensure that your art is safe and well-featured, and help create a curated distribution of art at the event. You will be informed about your project placement prior to the event, and again when you arrive on site. All placement decisions must be adhered to.

Transportation

Transportation assistance is offered by the Hyperborea Art Department. A truck will transport art from downtown Toronto to the event a few days prior to gate open, and return to Toronto the day of event close. Arrangements from Montreal may be available by request.

Before and after the event, artists are expected to pack their projects for transport, bring them to the designated loading site, and load/unload their projects.

Compliance

All projects must adhere to all rules and criteria detailed in their contract. This may include restrictions on materials, safety/fire checks, mandatory milestones etc. They must also fully install and strike their project at the Hyperborea event for which they were awarded. 

Incomplete projects are defined by no-shows or failure to fulfill the scope of the project agreement. Artists must notify the Art Department at least 15 days prior to gates open if they will be unable to complete their project, and will be expected to repay 100% of the grant funds within 15 days of the event closing date.