During the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the Manitoba Arts Council reviewed 1191 grant applications, down from 1671 in 2021-2022. Half of the applications (50 per cent) were successful. The total requested amount was $18.03 million, and $11.1 million was awarded. The decrease in the number of applications in this year compared to last year is directly related to the discontinuation of the Arts and Cultural Sustainability Funds (ACSF), which was an extraordinary investment made by the government of Manitoba and delivered by the Manitoba Arts Council in 2021-2022.
This report first breaks down the grants that were made by applicant type, granting program, and region. Next, we present a summary of granting for individual applicants in different priority and age groups. Last, we offer an overview of the peer assessors who reviewed applications during the 2022-2023 year.
Table 1: Applications by applicant type
MAC receives applications from individuals, groups, and organizations, along with a small number of nominations submitted by people who are not eligible to apply for grants. Among individuals, over half of the applications (61%) were submitted by professional artists. Among organizations, most applications are submitted by professional arts organizations and clients enrolled in the Support-Operate program.
Overall and due to the ACSF program in 2021-2022, the majority of applicant categories have seen a decline in 2022-2023 in the numbers of applications, awarded applications, requested amount and awarded amount.
Individual applicants
| Applications | Awards | Award rate | Requested amount | Awarded amount | |
| Professional artists | 722 (▼96) | 296 (▼123) | 41% (▼10%) | $4,819,863 (▼$1,754K) | $1,724,668 (▼$1,169K) |
| Indigenous Knowledge Keepers | 17 (▼4) | 12 (▼2) | 71% (▲4%) | $122,742 (▼$89K) | $77,374 (▼$57K) |
| Arts/Cultural professionals | 47 (▲5) | 16 (▼2) | 34% (▼9%) | $311,484 (▼$60K) | $61,904 (▼$56K) |
| Students of the arts | 43 (▼4) | 18 (▼6) | 42% (▼9%) | $130,397 (▼$1K) | $48,395 (▼$20K) |
Organizations and groups
| Applications | Awards | Award rate | Requested amount | Awarded amount | |
| Arts groups | 34 (▼24) | 21 (▼7) | 62% (▲14%) | $314,549 (▼$286K) | $184,132 (▼$92K) |
| Arts organizations | 80 (▼159) | 47 (▼159) | 59% (▼27%) | $799,975 (▼$5488K) | $402,134 (▼$4,733K) |
| Operating clients | 142 (▲8) | 139 (▲8) | 98% (0%) | $10,535,796 (▲$162K) | $8,374,533 (▼$1,236K) |
| Community organizations | 85 (▼203) | 40 (▼211) | 47% (▼40%) | $553,817 (▼$4,139K) | $239,794 (▼$3,350K) |
| Arts-service organizations | 2 (▼10) | 1 (▼8) | 50% (▼25%) | $20,000 (▼$333K) | $5,000 (▼$283K) |
| For-profit publishers | 7 (▼3) | 3 (▼5) | 43% (▼37%) | $67,850 (▼$197K) | $22,250 (▼$185K) |
Total
| Applications | Awards | Award rate | Requested amount | Awarded amount | |
| All individual applicants | 829 (▼99) | 342 (▼133) | 41% (▼10%) | $5,384,486 (▼$1903K) | $1,912,341 (▼$1,303K) |
| All groups and organizations | 350 (▼391) | 251 (▼382) | 72% (▼13%) | $12,291,987 (▼$10,282K) | $9,227,843 (▼$9,878K) |
| Nominators | 12 (▲10) | 0 (0) | 0% (0%) | $360,000 (▲$300K) | $0 ($0K) |
| ALL APPLICANT TYPES | 1191 (▼480) | 593 (▼515) | 50% (▼16%) | $18,036,473 (▼11,885K) | $11,140,184 (▼11,181K) |
For each category, the table shows the number of applications and awards, as well the percentage of applications that were successful (“Award rate”). The right-most two columns show the total amount requested and awarded. In each column, the number in parentheses shows the change from 2021-2022.
Table 2: Applications by program
MAC receives applications for operating support (through the Support-Operate program) as well as applications for project grants and nominations for prizes. In this year, former Arts Branch Operating clients were consolidated into MAC’s Support-Operate program, which accounts for the increase in this program.
The three Indigenous 360 programs (Create, Learn and Share) were consolidated into one program for the second cycle in 2022-2023.
The Create, Travel/PD, and Artists in Schools programs had an increase in application numbers compared to 2021-2022, which corresponded to a decrease in award rate. This can be attributed to the easing of pandemic restrictions in 2022-2023.
| Program | Applications | Awards | Award rate | Requested amount | Awarded amount |
| Create | 242 (▲33) | 81 (▼5) | 33% (▼8%) | $2,406,563 (▲$254K) | $738,650 (▼$71K) |
| Indigenous 360 | 36 (▲36) | 22 (▲22) | 61% (▲61%) | $365,005 (▲$365K) | $236,959 (▲$237K) |
| Indigenous 360 – Create | 21 (▼18) | 12 (▼19) | 57% (▼22%) | $223,788 (▼$169K) | $124,178 (▼$193K) |
| Indigenous 360 – Learn | 8 (▲3) | 4 (▼1) | 50% (▼50%) | $30,770 (▲$9K) | $15,625 (▼$6K) |
| Indigenous 360 – Share | 12 (▼3) | 6 (▼4) | 50% (▼17%) | $118,975 (▼$8K) | $60,103 (▼$20K) |
| Learn – Artists in Schools | 129 (▲45) | 79 (▲13) | 60% (▼18%) | $578,622 (▲$139K) | $350,275 (▲$26K) |
| Learn – Residencies | 49 (▼12) | 13 (▼4) | 27% (▼1%) | $170,626 (▼$51K) | $51,443 (▼$13K) |
| Learn – Travel/PD | 225 (▲112) | 90 (▲20) | 40% (▼22%) | $211,268 (▲$105K) | $77,404 (▲$16K) |
| Learn – Scholarships | 34 (▼13) | 19 (▼5) | 56% (▲5%) | $92,000 (▼$39K) | $50,000 (▼$19K) |
| Recognize – Competitions | 14 (0) | 10 (0) | 71% (0%) | $87,730 ($0K) | $49,758 (▼$7K) |
| Recognize – Prizes | 26 (▲14) | 1 (0) | 4% (▼4%) | $780,000 (▲420K) | $30,000 ($0K) |
| Share – Artists in Community | 143 (▲1) | 66 (▼8) | 46% (▼6%) | $902,730 (▼$59K) | $402,245 (▼$64K) |
| Share – Present | 71 (▲4) | 33 (▼7) | 46% (▼13%) | $772,996 (▲$20K) | $312,032 (▼$102K) |
| Support – Arts Leaders | 26 (▲6) | 6 (▼1) | 23% (▼12%) | $721,024 (▲147K) | $185,049 (▲$19K) |
| Support – Operate | 126 (▲81) | 126 (▲81) | 100% (0%) | $10,207,076 (▲$4,494K) | $8,140,000 (▲2,426K) |
| Support – Strengthen | 18 (▼19) | 14 (▼15) | 78% (▼1%) | $88,500 (▼$87K) | $66,750 (▼$65K) |
| Support – Adapt | 0 (▼321) | 0 (▼160) | 0% (▼50%) | $0 (▼$2,989K) | $0 (▼$1,355K) |
| Arts and Culture Sustainability Fund | 0 (▼340) | 0 (▼333) | 0% (▼98%) | $0 (▼$12,125K) | $0 (▼$9,826K) |
| Former Arts Branch programs | 0 (▼100) | 0 (▼100) | 0% (▼100%) | $0 (▼$2,588K) | $0 (▼$2,414K) |
| ALL PROGRAMS | 1191 (▼480) | 593 (▼515) | 50% (▼16%) | $18,036,473 (▼$11,885K) | $11,140,184 (▼$11,181K) |
For each program, the table shows the number of applications and awards, as well the percentage of applications that were successful (‘Award rate’). The right-most two columns show the total amount requested and awarded. In each column, the number in parentheses shows the change from 2021-2022.
Table 3: Applications by region (All applicants)
As a result of the ACSF program in 2021-2022, all the regions have seen a decline in applications submitted in 2022-2023.
About 20% of the applications and 22% of the awards went to applicants located outside of Winnipeg. The amounts awarded to applicants outside of Winnipeg constituted 12% of the total MAC granting budget for 2022-2023. The applications received from “Outside Manitoba” were submitted by Manitoba residents temporarily living outside of the province.
| Region | Applications | Awards | Award rate | Requested amount | Awarded amount |
| Rural Manitoba | 140 (▼99) | 75 (▼91) | 54% (▼15%) | $1,042,570 (▼$782K) | $553,509 (▼619K) |
| Urban centres outside Winnipeg | 103 (▼79) | 56 (▼82) | 54% (▼22%) | $1,799,164 (▼$859K) | $789,364 (▼$1172K) |
| Winnipeg | 944 (▼294) | 461 (▼336) | 49% (▼15%) | $15,152,239 (▼$10,239K) | $9,795,311 (▼$9,361K) |
| Outside Manitoba | 4 (▼8) | 1 (▼6) | 25% (▼33%) | $42,500 (▼$5K) | $2,000 (▼$29K) |
| All regions | 1191 (▼480) | 593 (▼515) | 50% (▼16%) | $18,036,473 (▼$11,885K) | $11,140,184 (▼$11,181K) |
For each region, the table shows the number of applications and awards, as well the percentage of applications that were successful (‘Award rate’). The right-most two columns show the total amount requested and awarded. In each column, the number in parentheses shows the change from 2021-2022. Regions are defined following the classification used by Canada Post, with postal codes starting R0 classified as rural, postal codes starting R2 and R3 reserved for Winnipeg, and postal codes starting R1, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8 and R9 in use for urban centres outside the city of Winnipeg.
The information in the two following tables is based on profile information shared by individual clients on a voluntary basis. This information is not available to assessors who review applications. Because sharing this information with MAC is optional, we do not have a complete picture of the diversity represented by the applicants and may be under reporting the true number of applicants in each category.
Note: aggregate numbers reflecting clients’ self-identification may fluctuate from year to year, as clients update the information they share with MAC. The numbers presented in this table are based on the information available at the time when this report was created and may differ from the information that was available when applications were submitted.
Table 4: Applications by priority group (Individual applicants only)
Data collected through Manipogo, our online granting system allows MAC to track several key performance indicators, including measures of how MAC’s granting breaks down for different MAC priority groups. Tables 4 and 5 present an overview of granting for individuals in different priority and age groups. To put this information into context, MAC received a total of 829 applications from individual applicants in 2022-23, and 41% of these were successful.
| Individual applicants who are … | Applications | Awards | Award rate | Requested amount | Awarded amount |
| … Indigenous | 170 (▲7) | 75 (▼28) | 44% (▼19%) | $1,730,467 (▲$343k) | $907,662 (▲$136k) |
| … Black or People of Colour | 143 (▼15) | 71 (▼26) | 50% (▼11%) | $569,385 (▼$868K) | $522,245 (▼$192K) |
| … female | 451 (▼51) | 187 (▼88) | 41% (▼14%) | $2,691,988 (▼$1,126K) | $874,954 (▼$971K) |
| … non-binary | 32 (▼1) | 21 (▼5) | 66% (▼13%) | $223,781 (▼$80K) | $92,079 (▼$136K) |
| … Deaf/living with disability or mental illness | 157 (▼4) | 68 (▼19) | 43% (▼11%) | $1,022,346 (▼$248K) | $398,939 (▼$221K) |
| … Francophone | 81 (▼3) | 39 (▼4) | 48% (▼3%) | $552,749 (▼$102K) | $185,464 (▼$120K) |
For each category, the table shows the number of applications and awards, as well the percentage of applications that were successful (‘Award rate’). The right-most two columns show the total amount requested and awarded. In each column, the number in parentheses shows the change from 2021-2022.
Table 5: Applications by age group (Individual applicants only)
| Birth decade | Applications | Awards | Award rate | Requested amount | Awarded amount |
| Before 1960 | 84 (▼3) | 22 (▼19) | 26% (▼21%) | $540,174 (▼$174K) | $154,679 (▼$121K) |
| 1960s | 112 (▲18) | 50 (▼5) | 45% (▼14%) | $732,029.4 (▼$46K) | $208,872 (▼$167K) |
| 1970s | 107 (▼54) | 53 (▼29) | 50% (▼1%) | $801,199 (▼$578K) | $307,378 (▼$302K) |
| 1980s | 235 (▼34) | 95 (▼44) | 40% (▼12%) | $1,465,319 (▼$608K) | $551,838 (▼$409K) |
| 1990s | 191 (▲10) | 77 (▼16) | 40% (▼11%) | $1,147,772 (▼$173K) | $400,866 (▼$212K) |
| 2000s and after | 18 (▼2) | 9 (▲3) | 50% (▲20%) | $38,000 (▼$21K) | $15,875 (▲$1K) |
For each age group, the table shows the number of applications and awards, as well the percentage of applications that were successful (‘Award rate’). The right-most two columns show the total amount requested and awarded. In each column, the number in parentheses shows the change from 2021-2022.
Table 6: Assessors
Peer assessment is the cornerstone of MAC’s assessment process, and 170 external assessors participated in the assessment of applications in 2022-2023. MAC aims for critical diversity in assembling its panels, to bring a broad range of perspectives in the assessment of the submitted applications.
| Category | Number of assessors |
| Indigenous assessors | 36 (▼9) |
| Assessors who are visible minorities | 61 (▼4) |
| Female assessors | 92 (▲23) |
| Male assessors | 58 (▲17) |
| Non-binary assessors | 8 (▼5) |
| Assessors who are Deaf or who live with a disability or mental illness | 5 (▼11) |
| Francophone assessors | 18 (▲8) |
| Assessors from rural areas in the province | 9 (▲2) |
| Assessors from urban centres outside of Winnipeg | 9 (▲1) |
| Assessors from Winnipeg | 86 (▲31) |
| Assessor from outside Manitoba | 66 (▲23) |
| Assessors born before 1960 | 18 (▲5) |
| Assessors born between 1960 and 1979 | 70 (▲23) |
| Assessors born between 1980 and 1989 | 36 (▲3) |
| Assessors born in 1990 or afterwards | 27 (▲8) |
| Note: The number in parentheses shows the change from 2021-2022. |
As a result of COVID, almost all panel sessions took place over videoconferencing, allowing MAC to cast a wider net in terms of recruiting expertise from beyond Manitoba’s borders.
Note: Except for geographic location, which is based on postal code, the information aggregated for this table is submitted to MAC voluntarily. Because sharing this information with MAC is optional, we do not have a complete picture of the diversity represented by the assessors and may be under reporting the true number of assessors in each category.
Download the full Grants Listing with Statistical Overview
