The pandemic has robbed musicians of their ability to engage in live performances, ultimately blocking this stream of revenue and creating a barrier between them and their audiences. Now more than ever, it is crucial to support local artists in every way that we can –  this steadfast belief is where the Create and Connect Grant was born.

Grant Information 

Centre In The Square and the City of Kitchener’s Film, Music, and Interactive Media Office has a mission to help local musicians create and connect. A Covid-19 relief measure, the Create and Connect Grant, formed to support local musicians in re-connecting and broadening their audiences and will be administered by Centre In The Square and the City of Kitchener’s Film, Music, and Interactive Media Office. 

There will be a total of fourteen golden tickets ($1,000 grants) awarded to local musicians with the crème de la crème of ideas and overall most creative plans for creating and connect with their audiences. If you secure the grant, Good Company Productions will match services in-kind with the grant value. In other words, Good Company Productions will provide you with $2000 worth of services.

Whether you plan to create a music video, livestream a performance, produce a song, hire a photographer to get new photos taken of you or your band or essentially anything that will act as a catalyst for your career – this grant is for you!

How to Apply for the Grant

When applying for the grant, there are a few important things to note:

1. You must be a minimum of 16 years old.
2. A resident of Waterloo Region.
3. Only one application can be submitted per band, group or project.
4. Grant recipients agree to stream or post their projects to social media by August 2021.
5. Applicants will be notified in April of the status of their application.
6. You must have your application in by Friday, March 19, at 11:59 pm.

The application will ask you to define your project – are you looking to create audio, create a video, broadcast or livestream? If you are looking to create something that doesn’t fall under those categories, add in your creative idea under the ‘Other’ section.

You will be asked to describe in detail how you will connect with or grow your audience with this project. Will you spend the grant on collaborating with others, equipment or even just general expenses?

You will outline any barriers you face in creating music and connecting with an audience on the application. Even before the pandemic, there were a few obstacles that most can think of, but the barriers have been endless in the live performance realm amidst the pandemic.

If you or someone you know could benefit from the Create and Connect Grant, please visit the grant website for more information and apply for one of these career-launching grants. 

How to Use the Grant

Good Company Productions wants emerging artists to get the most bang for their Create and Collect Grant buck! One way that emerging solo artists or bands can use their grant money is for live-off-the-floor demo recordings. Good Co. has the resources to accommodate solo acts, full bands, and everything in-between.

Our production team can provide artists with a single-shot video or multiple angles that capture their authentic performance. These videos can prove to be a tremendous asset to apply for future gig opportunities, festivals and are simply excellent content to fill your social media channels. Another way our team can help is by hosting full live virutal shows with ticket sales to promote new releases, and connect with your fans.

Good Company Productions values the artist and showcasing local talent above all else. We understand what a battle it can be to get your foot into the gigging door – especially for emerging musicians with limited budgets. Our team is willing to work with you to find a venue for the shoot that suits your aesthetic and provide  affordable quotes based on the recording scale. Utilizing our services with the grant money would leave the emerging musician with some cash left in their pocket and a stellar live-off-the-floor demo recording!

Apply for Create and Connect Grant. 

Check out the incredible local musicians and community influencers helping out with the granting process:

Kevin Ramessar – https://kevinramessar.com/about
Jessie T- https://www.facebook.com/jessiet.official/about/
Tichaona Ekhaya – https://www.facebook.com/ekhayamusic/?ref=page_internal
Sam Nabi – https://samnabi.com/ 

Photo from https://centreinthesquare.com/createconnect-grant/