Open Calls

Brampton Arts Organization’s current and upcoming artist calls, submissions, and funding opportunities for Brampton’s vibrant creative community. Stay up to date with our calls for projects, programs, exhibitions, markets and creative initiatives designed to develop and support creatives and arts & culture organizations across the city.

Current Calls for Artists

Call for Brampton Filmmakers, Producers, Crew, Actors, and Screenwriters

The Brampton Arts Organization (BAO) is seeking submissions for the 2025 Brampton Film Showcase to celebrate National Canadian Film Day on April 16th at SilverCity Brampton Cinemas.

Submit your finished or in-progress work (10 minutes or less) and help us showcase the depth and range of screen-based work emerging from Brampton.

Call Opens: January 16, 2025
Submission Deadline: Sunday, February 23, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Fees: FREE – zero cost to submit your work

Brampton Film Showcase Date: April 16, 2025
Brampton Film Showcase Time:  6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Venue:  SilverCity Brampton Cinemas

Awards & Prizes

Each filmmaker will be paid $250.00 CAD to screen their film. The People’s Choice and Judges Choice Awards will be handed out to the winners at the end of the evening.

Rules and Terms

Submissions will only be accepted from Brampton and/or Peel region filmmakers and creators. The submission cannot be longer than 10 minutes and can be in any genre. Overall suitability of the submission for the screening will be considered in order to curate a variety of genres and film types. Films screened at previous Brampton Film Screening and Networking nights will not be considered.

Priority will be given to applicants who belong to equity-deserving groups, including those who identify as Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, 2SLGBTQIAP, Deaf, Disabled and intersections of those identities. Additionally, preference will be given to filmmakers who are able to attend the April 16th event in person.

Selection Committee

Brampton Arts Organization Staff
City of Brampton Tourism and Film Staff
Local Brampton Filmmakers
BIPOC TV & Film Staff

Additional Information and Accessibility Support

If you have any questions about this call or require any assistance, accommodations or additional support in completing this application, please reach out at least one week prior to the application deadline to info@bramptonartsorg.ca.

Film or Video Submission

Applicants are asked to submit their work before Sunday, February 23, 2025 at 11:59 pm.

Apply Now

Notification

Applicants will be notified of the results the week of March 10th. Communication about the status of your submission will be through email.

Please note that only works submitted through the formal submission process will be accepted, unless otherwise arranged due to accessibility needs.

Call for Brampton Artists, Creative Businesses, and Arts & Culture Organizations

Call Opens: February 5, 2025
Application Deadline: Sunday, March 2, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Fees: FREE – zero cost to vendors to apply

Market Dates: June 14 , 2025 to October 11 , 2025
Market Schedule:  8:00 am — 1:00 pm
Venue:  Wellington Street and Ken Whillans Square, pending any changes.

The Brampton Arts Organization (BAO) and the City of Brampton seek vendors for the 2025 Brampton Farmers’ Market. Slots are available for artists, creative businesses and arts & culture organizations.

This year, we are excited to offer four free rotating artist booths and a couple of subsidized permanent artist booths. The City of Brampton charges $475 for a Permanent Vendor Booth. BAO will subsidize 50% of the cost, making your cost for the season $237.50.

If you are an artist vendor, creative business, or an arts & culture organization in Brampton or Peel Region, you can apply now to showcase your artworks or profile your organization. Examples of works we are looking for include photographic prints, editioned works, paintings and prints, ceramics, stationery, and more.

Local arts & culture organizations and creative businesses are also encouraged to apply. Arts & culture organizations are not required to sell artworks.

Applicants are asked to submit their work before Sunday, March 2, 2025 at 11:59 pm.

Apply Now

PLEASE NOTE that the following product categories will not be considered for these BAO-sponsored booths: Beauty, bath, wellness, candles, jewellery, woodworking, knit or crocheted items and food products. The City of Brampton has created an artisan category for these vendors. You may apply as an artisan here.

Additional Information and Accessibility Support

Call for Emerging to Mid-Career Brampton Creatives

The Brampton Arts Organization (BAO) is seeking applications from emerging to mid-career Brampton creatives to participate in an eight-week professional development program. The program explores the basic and necessary skills to not only survive as a creative practitioner but more importantly thrive.

In this program you will examine aspects of an artist’s work that are related to curatorial practice and exhibiting artwork. The program consists of weekly lectures, assignments and in-person demonstrations. Participants will be introduced to practical ways of exhibiting art, the logistics of framing, packing and shipping artwork, understanding how to install and document artwork and current trends in practices of displaying artwork. The program will culminate in a final showcase at the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (TOAF) from July 11-13, 2025.

Call Opens: February 11, 2025
Application Deadline: Sunday, March 2, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Fees: FREE – zero cost to apply
Honorarium: Artists will be paid $250 to participate in this program

Program Dates and Time: Saturday’s from April 12 to July 5, 2025 from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Venue:  BAO Office, 8 Nelson St W, Brampton

Final Showcase Dates: July 11-13, 2025
Final Showcase Location: TOAF @ Nathan Philips Square, 100 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5H 2N3

Who Can Apply?

This program is open to all emerging to mid-career Brampton-based creatives who are 18 years of age or older.

Program Schedule

April 12 – Workshop 1: Introduction to Canadian Art World and Practical Art Skills
April 26 – Workshop 2: Grant Writing and Funding an Art Career
May 10 – Workshop 3: Preparing an Exhibition
May 17 – Workshop 4: Practices of Display
May 24 – Workshop 5: Field Trip Day
June 7 – Workshop 6: Exhibition Planning
June 21 – Workshop 7: Exhibition Planning
July 5 – Workshop 8: Final Check-in and Artwork Dropoff
July 11, 12, 13 – Installation and Final Exhibition at Toronto Outdoor Art Fair

Program Facilitator

Jessica Thalmann is an artist and educator currently based in Toronto and New York City. She received an MFA in Advanced Photographic Studies from ICP-Bard College and a BFA in Visual Arts from York University. Thalmann has taught at the International Centre for Photography, Akin Collective, MacLaren Art Centre, Toronto School of Art, Gallery 44 and City College of New York. She has been an artist in residence at the Banff Center for Arts and Creativity, Alberta, Canada, and at the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is a recipient of grants from the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council.

Her work has been shown in group exhibitions at Aperture Foundation, International Centre for Photography, Camera Club of New York Baxter St, and Humble Arts Foundation (New York), VIVO Media Arts Centre (Vancouver), Museum of Contemporary Art, Harbourfront Centre, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Varley Art Gallery of Markham, Angell Gallery, Gallery TPW, Art Spin, and Gales Gallery at York University (Toronto).

Additional Information and Accessibility Support

Applicants who need additional information, resources, assistance or time to apply can do so by contacting us at least five days in advance of the application deadline. To do so, or for any additional information please contact info@bramptonartsorg.ca.

Application Submission

Applicants are asked to complete the application form before Sunday, March 2, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.

Apply Now

Notification

Applicants will be notified of their application status within two week after the application deadline of March 2, 2025. Communication about the status of your application will be through email.

The Brampton Arts Organization (BAO) is seeking poems from Brampton-based poets and writers to celebrate National Poetry Month. Works will be showcased on signs at transit stations and on buses across the city.

Call Opens: February 19, 2025
Application Deadline: Sunday, March 9, 2025
Fees: FREE – zero cost to apply
Payment: $350.00 Canadian (+HST if applicable) per selected poem

April is National Poetry Month and to celebrate the Brampton Arts Organization is seeking up to 20 poems by local Brampton-based poets and writers to showcase on signs at transit stations and on buses across the City of Brampton.

We believe in the transformative power of words to inspire and enrich the daily experiences of Brampton residents through a selection of unique and poignant poems displayed at transit stations. Together, we hope to bring moments of literary beauty and contemplation into everyday life while spotlighting local writers.

Beginning in April, selected poems will be printed and installed at transit stations and on buses across the City of Brampton. We hope to showcase a collection of short poems in a variety of styles and languages, touching on diverse themes.

Keep in mind that selected poems will be displayed in public spaces; as such, they will be seen by everyone, including young children. We aim to showcase positive, optimistic work.

Submission Guidelines

You may submit up to 3 poems for consideration but we will not select more than one per writer
Poems must be short: a maximum of six lines long and must fit on one page
Poems can be new or recent original work
Poems may be in any language
A translation must be provided for poems that are not in English
PSAs or advertising materials will not be considered

File specifications: Please upload a single file containing your poem/s. Poems must be, typed one poem per page, and single spaced.

Content Requirements

Poems’ content should be intended for a general audience and accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. Poems with the explicit use of alcohol, smoking, illegal drugs, horror, offensive language, nudity, explicit sexual activity and/or violence will not be considered.

Selection Process and Criteria

This call welcomes applications on an ongoing basis until Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 11:59 PM. Submissions will be evaluated by BAO staff and local writers (the “Selection Committee”) according to the following criteria:

The poem’s suitability to the goals of the project.
The poem must not have been part of the 2024 Brampton Poetry Project.
Priority will be given to poets and writers residing in Brampton; however, consideration will also be given to writers outside of Brampton whose work has been influenced by Brampton and who have a strong connection to the city.

The selection committee will, at its discretion, determine if submissions are suitable for a general audiences.

The selection committee will prioritize applicants who self-identify as belonging to one or more of the following groups or intersecting marginalized identities: Indigenous, Persons of Colour, Deaf Persons, Persons with Disabilities, Newcomers, Persons Living with Mental Illness, and 2SLGBTQIAP.

We strongly encourage applications from these communities and will endeavour to accommodate applicants with a disability during our process per the Ontario Human Rights Code guidelines and other applicable legislation. If you wish to self-identify, please do so via your submission application.

Selection Committee

Brampton Arts Organization Staff
League of Canadian Poets
Local Brampton Poet

Payment

Artists selected for this opportunity will be paid a one-time payment of $350.00 Canadian dollars* (+HST if applicable) per poem to:

Have your work presented on signs at transit stations and on buses across the city, on the Garden Square LED screen and across the social media and websites of Garden Square Brampton, BAO, and the City of Brampton.
Promote your participation in the exhibition online and on social media by tagging @baobrampton and #BramptonPoetryProject on each post related to the project.

*The artist payment includes any necessary costs or materials, and no further compensation will be made to the artist for costs associated with participating in the project.

Additional Information and Accessibility Support

Application Submission

Applicants are asked to submit their work before Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.

Apply Now

Notification

Applicants will be notified of the results by the end of March. Communication about the status of your submission will be through email.

Please note that only works submitted through the formal submission process will be accepted, unless otherwise previously arranged due to accessibility needs.

Reserved Rights of Brampton Arts Organization

The Artist (Poet) will retain all right, title, and interest, including moral rights, to the submitted work. The Artist will provide to the Brampton Arts Organization (BAO) a broad irrevocable, paid-up, royalty-free, and otherwise cost-free license to use, publish, reproduce, adapt, exhibit, copy, and create derivative works for the submitted works, including the right to modify the size of the work submitted with respect to this opportunity.

The Artist understands that BAO will keep any documents of any type, including images, submitted by the Artist in accordance with its record-keeping obligations as required by applicable statutes, regulations, and by-laws. The Artist represents and warrants that the Artist is the exclusive owner of the rights conveyed to BAO and that the Artist has full power and authority to license the submitted work.

The Artist warrants and represents that the submitted work is original to the Artist and does not violate any intellectual property rights of any other person or entity contrary to the Copyright Act or otherwise provided at law.

Upcoming Calls for Artist

Presented by the Brampton Arts Organization (BAO) and Brampton Library (BL), the Brampton Artist in Residence Program provides funding of $8,000 and free, dedicated workspace to professional artists, writers, arts organizations and collectives working in any artistic discipline to undertake a community-engaged artist residency at a Brampton Library branch.

Call Opens: February 25, 2025
Application Deadline: Sunday, March 16, 2025
Fees: FREE – zero cost to apply
Honorarium: $8,000 Canadian (+HST if applicable)