City of Kingston Arts Fund Review

Council approved the Arts Fund Review Recommendations report on May 6, 2025 (Resolution Number:2025-173).

A person sitting at a table on a dark stage. Several other people are visible in the background.

The City of Kingston Arts Fund (CKAF) was first established by the City in 2007 and since then, $9.4 million dollars have been provided to arts organizations, collectives and artists through operating and project grants. CKAF is administered by Kingston Arts Council at arm's length from the City and has provided a way for the City to invest in arts and arts organizations. The fund has been essential in developing Kingston’s arts and culture industry for which it is recognized.

To ensure the CKAF continues to support Kingston arts organizations, projects, artists and the public, the City is undertaking a review of the granting program. It is expected the CKAF Review will consider the program mandate, objectives, outputs, and reporting and evaluation mechanisms, and consider other potential changes such as an expansion beyond the current focus on operating and project grants and/or streamlining existing CKAF grant streams.

Learn more about the City of Kingston Arts Fund review.

Get involved!

The next phase of public engagement has launched and includes a survey, one-on-one interviews, community focus groups, pop-ups, and an open house.

Take the online survey

Please note: the survey link will redirect you from the project page to the survey hosted by Saffy, an external consultant on the project.

The community advisory group, made up of community members selected through an open application process, will be supporting the engagement as project champions, and details will be announced.

A person sitting at a table on a dark stage. Several other people are visible in the background.

The City of Kingston Arts Fund (CKAF) was first established by the City in 2007 and since then, $9.4 million dollars have been provided to arts organizations, collectives and artists through operating and project grants. CKAF is administered by Kingston Arts Council at arm's length from the City and has provided a way for the City to invest in arts and arts organizations. The fund has been essential in developing Kingston’s arts and culture industry for which it is recognized.

To ensure the CKAF continues to support Kingston arts organizations, projects, artists and the public, the City is undertaking a review of the granting program. It is expected the CKAF Review will consider the program mandate, objectives, outputs, and reporting and evaluation mechanisms, and consider other potential changes such as an expansion beyond the current focus on operating and project grants and/or streamlining existing CKAF grant streams.

Learn more about the City of Kingston Arts Fund review.

Get involved!

The next phase of public engagement has launched and includes a survey, one-on-one interviews, community focus groups, pop-ups, and an open house.

Take the online survey

Please note: the survey link will redirect you from the project page to the survey hosted by Saffy, an external consultant on the project.

The community advisory group, made up of community members selected through an open application process, will be supporting the engagement as project champions, and details will be announced.

Council approved the Arts Fund Review Recommendations report on May 6, 2025 (Resolution Number:2025-173).

  • About the City of Kingston Arts Fund review

    About

    The City has hired Saffy, a consulting firm of strategists working at the intersection of city-building, culture, design and research, to support the CKAF Review. Saffy brings a human-centred and equity-informed approach with a focus on alternative methods, community engagement and collaborative research and processes to create meaningful change and develop impactful solutions.

    The CKAF Review will be rooted in community and involve broad public consultation and will be done from a place that prioritizes equity, diversity and inclusion and applies the City of Kingston’s IIDEA lens (Indigenization, Inclusion, Equity, Diversity and Accessibility) to all phases of the work

    About

    The City has hired Saffy, a consulting firm of strategists working at the intersection of city-building, culture, design and research, to support the CKAF Review. Saffy brings a human-centred and equity-informed approach with a focus on alternative methods, community engagement and collaborative research and processes to create meaningful change and develop impactful solutions.

    The CKAF Review will be rooted in community and involve broad public consultation and will be done from a place that prioritizes equity, diversity and inclusion and applies the City of Kingston’s IIDEA lens (Indigenization, Inclusion, Equity, Diversity and Accessibility) to all phases of the work required, and especially as it relates to any recommendations to be made. The CKAF Review will also consider the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other challenges and trends facing the arts sector, and how CKAF can be leveraged in a way that helps support recovery and long-term sustainability.

    Project phases

    1. Phase 1 – Preparation and Project Vision: this includes establishing the context for a City of Kingston Arts Fund Review through a review of all pertinent background materials and conducting discovery interviews with City staff and key CKAF partners, including the Kingston Arts Council.

    2. Phase 2 – Consultation and Public Engagement: this will be a three-month long process that consults broadly with people who have a vested interest in CKAF and arts funding in Kingston, including CKAF recipients, applicants, jury members, community and cultural groups who have never applied to CKAF, and artists, arts workers and residents, with a focus on those who are part of equity-deserving groups.

    3. Phase 3 – Analysis and Reporting: this will include preparing draft recommendations for CKAF and assess, in consultation with staff as well as with key CKAF partners, the feasibility of the recommendations made, including the staffing and resources needed. This phase will also include an opportunity for public input and feedback on the draft recommendations. The Final Report will be presented to the City of Kingston and key CKAF partners, and will then be presented to the Arts, Recreation & Community Policies Committee and City Council for review and approval.

    Goal – That the CKAF review process engages the community in an equitable and open way and that by October 2024, the review of CKAF will be complete and recommendations to the CKAF program will be ready for Council to review and approve.

    Scope

    Conducting a review of the City of Kingston Arts Fund includes:

    • Establish the context for a City of Kingston Arts Fund Review through a review of all pertinent background materials.
    • Consult broadly with people who have a vested interest in CKAF and arts funding.
    • Prioritize consultation with artists, arts workers and residents who are part of equity deserving groups.
    • Engage with various City Committees and Working Groups such as the Arts & Culture Advisory Committee, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee, and the Kingston Music Advisory Committee.
    • Evaluate the impact, effectiveness, management, and administration of CKAF in its current form based on an understanding of its context and in relation to the consultations completed.
    • Develop a set of recommendations outlining how CKAF could or should evolve that includes program mandate and objectives, granting streams, investment levels, reporting and evaluation frameworks, administrative governance, processes and resources, and consideration of other City grant funding programs that intersect with arts and culture.
    • Draft a comprehensive CKAF Review and Implementation Report.
    • Validate CKAF Review recommendations with the community and present the final Report to the Arts, Recreation & Community Policies Committee and City Council for review and approval.

    Council approved the Arts Fund Review Recommendations report on May 6, 2025 (Resolution Number:2025-173).