Audio information (from text on page) read by Kay Slater.

The deadline for submissions is July 15th every year.  Artists and curators: submit proposals by completing this form.

If Google Forms are not accessible to you, you can submit your proposal by mail or by email to submissions@grunt.ca  (Max. attachment size 25MB, you may send multiple emails if necessary; we recommend zip files, or using WeTransfer or Dropbox but please ensure to send us a note that you are doing so). You can also send us your application as a video, maximum 10 minutes in length.

A plain text worksheet with submission questions is available here.

If you have any questions…ask! Reach us via submissions@grunt.ca

Submission information and questions in ASL – video does not contain voice.

All submissions must include the following:

1. Your name, address, email, and any other contact information.
2. C.V. including a list of any past exhibitions.
3. A detailed proposal for the exhibition, describing what you wish to do and any special requirements. You may propose works/projects that are currently in-progress, but please describe the anticipated final outcome.
4. Artist Statement.
5. Required Question: What is your relationship to making and/or presenting art on stolen land? grunt gallery is located on the unceded and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ/selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, who have lived in kinship with this land, water and air for thousands of years. Applicants from the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations are not required to answer this and may simply indicate that they belong to a Host Nation.
6. Required Question: If your proposal is selected to be presented by grunt, what would you want to learn, practice or try that would provide more points of access to your work? Please feel free to familiarize yourself with grunt’s accessibility practices by exploring content on our website.
7. Support materials/Examples of past work (images and/or videos). *Please see notes below.
   • Visual art support materials: 5-10 images at 72 dpi minimum. Clearly identified: numbered and including a name, title, dimensions and a numbered image list. Example of title for digital images: 01. Artist Name, Title of work, size of work.jpeg (or other file formats). Please indicate if your submission includes works you do not plan to show with your proposed exhibition.
   • Performance art support materials: a short video that typifies and helps to explain your work. Please submit a video file (.m4v, .avi, .mov, etc) or links to online video, not a DVD.
8. *if a mailed application only: a self-addressed, stamped envelope to return your submission. Please allow 4 months for consideration. The gallery retains accepted submissions until the exhibition.

View the grunt gallery floor plan here.

Click here for a video walk-through of grunt gallery with audio description.

About the submissions process:

grunt gallery’s programming includes visual and media art exhibitions, installations, screenings, performances and projects, which are often accompanied by print or web publications.  We produce gallery-based exhibitions, as well as real-time events and web projects. A curatorial committee of 5-9 people consisting of curators, programming staff, board members and artists meets for 5 days every August to review submissions.

Exhibitions typically run for 6 weeks, with opening receptions held on Thursday or Friday nights. Performances, screenings and talks are also coordinated independently or in conjunction with the exhibitions, held either in-person or online.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many submissions are typically received in a year?
A: This of course varies, but in recent years we have seen an incredible increase in the volume of submissions received and are averaging around 200-230 per year.

Q: How many proposals are selected?
A: There is often some variation in our programming, but typically we select 3 or 4 proposals per year from our submissions jury.

Q: Do you accept international submissions?

A: Yes, but we cannot guarantee funds for travel. However, this has often been the case with our gallery and we are able to and familiar with supporting artists applying for travel grants.

Q: Who is on the grunt exhibitions jury?
A: Our jury is open to all staff, with most participating. We often also invite a guest juror from outside of the organization, but who is also from within the local arts community.

Q: How are exhibition submissions scored?

A: We score in three categories:

Artistic Merit (x/40)

• This score reflects the actual art and ideas expressed in your proposal. Things we are looking for here are how you are contextualizing your work and ideas, and how you see your work engaging with the wider community of artists working in similar fields and mediums. We are also here looking at the craftsmanship and quality of your pieces.
  

Impact (x/30)

• Impact refers to several things; what kind of impact will it have in our programming and on our audiences but also what kind of impact it will have on the artist at this stage in their career.
  

Feasibility (x/30)

• There are several factors considered in feasibility including practical considerations like installation, physical space, volume, accessibility, shipping and insurance expenses, but this also includes considerations towards if the gallery feels like we can carry the work with nuance and care.
  
  Regarding content, typically the feasibility score will come into discussion around work that might require trigger warnings due to either the graphic nature of content or if the subject matter is particularly sensitive. This could include things like sexual, domestic and/or physical violence and abuse, representations of medical procedures and/or trauma, residential school, depictions of war and/or genocide and so on. grunt is not opposed to showing works around these subjects, but we are very careful in thinking through how to best hold the artist, the work, ourselves and our audiences.

Q: What does accessibility mean at grunt and what considerations are we looking for in our submission form?
A: Accessibility at grunt means more than just the physical space of the gallery that we are inviting people into. Accessibility is most heavily looked at in the feasibility score, but we also take it into consideration in the artistic merit score; what ideas do you have about creating more access points to your work? If the focus of your work is exploring accessibility and Disability arts, how are you engaging with that conversation? Are you adding to it or critiquing it? How are you acknowledging and holding space for conflicting access needs? Are you prepared for your work to be viewed in our low-sensory & voice off Thursdays?

We understand that not everyone shares the same experiences in engaging with accessibility work, but we always appreciate when it is prioritized or a willingness to collaborate with our Curator and Exhibitions & Accessibility Manager is demonstrated. Even if you’re not sure where or how to start with this work.

Q: What is the budget for each exhibition at grunt gallery?
A: Each exhibition at grunt has a budget of $8500 CAD. A typical budget for an artist submitted exhibition (not submitted by a curator) looks like this:

*CARFAC 2025 rates

Please note that grunt gallery does not pay for the fabrication of artworks, framing, or material costs. If your project requires further resources than outlined here, please detail all expenses in your proposal.

Q: Does grunt gallery pay for shipping?

A: Shipping is included for one-way and something that is an important consideration in scoring the applications we receive (feasibility score). If there is room in the budget after discussing with the artists, we can sometimes pay for shipping both ways.

Q: Does grunt gallery pay for travel for artists outside of Vancouver?

A: Travel is not promised as a part of exhibiting an artist’s work unfortunately. This is discussed with artists after they’ve been selected and if additional funding cannot be secured or there is no interest in creating a publication, grunt gallery will forgo the exhibition publication and reallocate those funds towards travel.

Q: What if I want to do something outside of the standard exhibition budget?

A: In nearly every case, expanded programming requires seeking additional funding, or for the artist/curator to bring their own funds into the exhibition via artists grants or funding from their institution.

However, this does not mean that we are asking for free work if those other avenues of funding aren’t successful! We know it’s exciting to plan an exhibition and sometimes it’s hard to make sure every aspect of your work is coming across as envisioned, but we always prefer to do something as well as we can with the budget we have, rather than overextending ourselves and the artists.

Q: Can grunt offer support in seeking alternative funding sources?

A: Yes, the Curator and Program Director often work with artists in applying for additional funding. This can come in the form of research to see what’s available, support in the writing of the grant itself and in providing support letters. However, it is important to bear in mind that we still need to have a solid plan with the budget we have in the event that securing those additional funding sources is not successful.

Q: Can I suspend work from the ceiling?

A: Yes and no; we cannot suspend work from the ceiling without also renting scaffolding. Renting scaffolding immediately adds an additional $500-1000 to installation expenses, so if we can find an alternative that is very much preferred so that the remainder of the budget can be allocated to either travel or programming.

Weight is also a consideration; our ceiling is not flat and not easy to add fixtures into.

Q: Why are you asking about our relationship to making and/or presenting art on stolen land on the submission form?

A: Frankly, because this is an important consideration to make for any settler regardless of whether or not they have a show with us. Though grunt gallery’s current Curator is Indigenous, it is still largely and historically has been a settler-run organization. How we, and the artists and collaborators we bring in, are in relation to the land is something we take very seriously. This question is not intended to shift the focus of your project to answering or solving the questions of decolonization and/or reconciliation, but to help us understand how you think of yourself and your practice in relation to these territories. Your responses to this question are for internal review only.

Q: Why are only xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ/selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) applicants exempt from this question about making and presenting work on these territories?

A: Because it’s their land and they don’t have to explain themselves to us. If any MST applicants would find this section a useful place to expand their thoughts on how their practice relates to their territories, they are welcome to but it is entirely optional.

Q: If I’m Indigenous but not from MST Host Nations, do I still have to answer this section?
A: Yes, please. Though these answers are for internal review, the Curator is looking for insight into your practice from the moment they begin reviewing submissions.

Documentation:

The gallery documents all exhibitions for our archives digitally. Artists will receive digital copies of these images. Documentation may include installation shots but may not include shots of individual pieces. Artists are free to document individual elements of the exhibition themselves. Performance documentation usually consists of digital photographs and/or video.

Publicity:

Publicity is the responsibility of grunt gallery, and typically includes local event listings, brochures, press releases and information on the grunt website. We will also promote the exhibition through our social media channels. grunt is not responsible for approaching reviewers but will assist whenever possible. Interview requests with journalists will be arranged by the Communications Manager.

For submissions to the Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen:

We accept a wide variety of media works and formats to a maximum of 10 minutes, including video, film, animation, gif and photography, for our urban art screen located on the Independent Building at Kingsway and Broadway in Vancouver. Submissions to the MPCAS are a separate process from our exhibitions submissions.

All MPCAS submission details and forms are here.