Urban Art Biz-
A series of workshops supporting Indigenous artists throughout the grant-writing process.
Applying for grants to fund your creative projects is a crucial step in your artist’s journey. With the guidance of established Indigenous Artists, we will walk you through each part of the grant application to help you define who you are as an artist and write a compelling proposal.
Urban Art Biz is back for Season six! This year, we are offering a cohesive series of four workshops to help Indigenous Artists build their artist bundle and increase their chances of securing funding.
Each of our four workshops will be led by an established Indigenous Artist or Relational Maker. The workshops are centered around the four sacred medicines; teachings will be shared, and we will build your project applications from the ground up. Our goal is to help you prepare a fully realized grant application in time for the spring 2027 funding deadlines.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2026
1 – 3:30 PM w/ Liz Barron
Asemaa (Tobacco) – Asking for Support
- Researching available grants
- Exploring grant guidelines
- Preparing your Artist CV
- Creating an artist profile on funders’ profiles.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2027
1 – 3:30 PM
Wiinggashk (Sweetgrass) – Thoughts and Words
- Project Description – Who are you?
- What do you want to create?
- When and where will this happen?
- Who is involved in the project?
- How will you create this project?
- Why is this project relevant?
- What artistic impact will this project have for you?
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2027
1 – 3:30 PM
Giizhik (Cedar) – Respect and Honour
- Project Timeline – Steps involved in the project, dates, dissemination
- Budgeting – Materials, equipment, travel, living expenses, crew, Elder fees, etc.
- Community Accountability – What impact will this project have within the community?
SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2027
1 – 3:30 PM
Mashkodewashk (Sage) – Resilience and Renewal
- Supporting Material – Maximum amount of samples, formats, labelling, uploading.
- Final once-over – Checking word counts, spelling, grammar
- Evaluation Criteria – Artistic merit, relevance, feasibility
Each Workshop must be registered for individually.
Please contact indigenous@creativemanitoba.ca with any questions.
Register now for Building Your Artist Bundle sessions
We want to help you build your artist bundle and encourage each participant to register for all four parts of the series, but you are also welcome to register for just the one or two workshops that will serve you best.
These workshops are FREE for Indigenous artists! Each workshop will accept a maximum of 20 participants and is first-come, first-served.
Register for each workshop below:
Session 1 – Nov 28th – Asemaa – Asking for Support – OPEN
Session 2 – Jan 23rd – Winggashk- Thoughts and Words – Registration opens Dec 1st
Session 3 – Feb 27th – Giizhik – Respect and Honour – Registration opens Jan 1
Session 4 – Mar 13th – Mashkodewashk – Resilience and Renewal – Registration opens Feb 28
Light refreshments will be served.
Presented in partnership with
Urban Shaman Gallery is an Indigenous artist-run centre dedicated to meeting the needs of artists by providing a vehicle for artistic expression in all disciplines, presenting contemporary Indigenous art with integrity while taking a leadership role in the cultivation of Indigenous art. Urban Shaman Gallery is a nationally recognized leader in Indigenous arts programming and one of the foremost venues and voices for Indigenous art in Canada. Our focus on developing new programming and new ways of presenting it has resulted in increased exposure and the expansion of our activities. Urban Shaman is dedicated to the Indigenous arts community and the arts community at large.
Urban Art Biz is a series of workshops focused on the business side of art from an Indigenous perspective. Urban Art Biz was developed by Creative Manitoba’s Indigenous Programs and is presented in partnership with Urban Shaman Contemporary Indigenous Art Gallery.
The workshops will be held IN PERSON at Creative Manitoba. Creative Manitoba is located on the 2nd floor of the new Market Lands Building – Unit C, 148 King St., between City Hall and Red River College. Entry is on the south side of the building facing William Ave. An entry code will be sent to you upon registration.