Join the Canadian Forces Artists Program

Call to Artists: Canadian Forces Artists Program

Artists who are chosen to participate in the CFAP program are given the opportunity to witness the daily operations, personnel, and spirit of the Canadian Forces, as well as families and communities affected by Canadian military activities. These deployments will provide an opportunity for research and inspiration for artists to create new works. Canadian artists have long played a vital role in documenting the Armed Forces (Navy, Army and Air Force) in paintings, sculptures, photography and a wide variety of other media. Over the years, military activities have inspired numerous artworks that have been extensively exhibited to the public; the styles of interpretation and expression have changed but the unique insights and visions of artists have always been and always will be an important part of how Canadians see their military.

Five artists and two alternatives were selected to be in residence with the Armed Forces for approximately a week in 2024-2025 at ATF-P (Air Task Force Prestwick), CFB Petawawa, HMCS St. John’s, the Netherlands, Ottawa, and Latvia. In the past, artists have deployed to operations in Canada and overseas (Afghanistan, Kuwait, Sudan, Latvia, Middle East, France and the United Kingdom). The program covers the costs of travel and living expenses for the duration of the deployment. The program will only support artists travel expenses from Canada. Travel costs to Canadian departure and return points is the responsibility of the selected artist.

Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada and meet the definition of professional artist, which includes the following criteria:

• have at least two years of professional practice in their field following basic training/education;
• have produced an independent body of work;
• have received the recognition of their peers through a history of public exhibitions

Applicants cannot apply for activities that are carried out to satisfy the course requirements of an education institution or directly support the delivery of an education program or course.

Proposals are evaluated by a selection committee composed of experienced arts professionals. This has included representatives from the National Gallery of Canada, The Canada Council for the Arts, the Canadian War Museum, the Library and Archives Canada as well as alumni of the CFAP program. Applications are assessed based upon the quality of the artist’s work, the relevance of the artist’s proposal to the goals of CFAP, their suitability to participate in the program, and the impact the Selection Committee sees the artist’s involvement in CFAP will have on the artist themselves as well as on the larger community.

Further Information

To submit any questions you have for the Canadian Forces Artists Program, use the online form and select "Artists Program" as the subject field.