AFA — Art Acquisitions by Application

• A 300–500 word artist biography
• A professional artistic resume or CV/Curriculum Vitae
• A signed Designation for Submission by a Commercial Gallery, Organization or Artist Agent form if applying as a gallery, agent or ensemble of artists
• Up to 20 digital photographs of the artworks, with a 4 MB maximum file size and jpgs or pdfs accepted

Who is eligible?

• Resident professional artists applying as individuals
• Ensembles of artists, if each member meets all individual eligibility requirements
• Galleries or artist agents applying on behalf of an eligible featured artist who has signed a Designation for Submission by a Commercial Gallery, Organization or Artist Agent form
• Sole proprietorships applying under the gallery or agent classification, with the sole owner completing the Designation form
• Current applicants to AFA grant programs and recipients of past AFA grants and awards

Who is not eligible

• Applicants enrolled in any formal art-training program at the time of application
• Applicants for whom at least one full calendar year has not passed since graduating or completing any formal art-training study

Eligible expenses

• Purchase of original artworks at fair market value, based on the artist's past sales history and comparable works by peers
• If an artwork is already framed and the materials are archival, the cost of the frame may be included in the artwork price

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Film, video, moving image, digital media, and other time-based media
• Student work or any artwork created while enrolled in a formal art-training program
• Applied arts such as gaming, architecture, interior design, and commercial photography, as well as graphic design and fashion design
• Published books containing artwork or photographs, reproductions or copies of original artworks such as giclée prints, and photographs or prints mounted directly onto aluminum, foamcore, or similar substrates
• Artworks that are not display ready or are in poor physical condition, and artworks using Indigenous imagery, themes, or stories without evidence of respectful engagement, appropriate permissions, or community protocols

• Public Access, including whether the artwork can be easily shown and shared through AFA programs, handled and set up by 1-2 people, and withstand travel and display in non-traditional spaces
• Care and Conservation, including fragility, conservation needs, storage requirements, and long-term transport, framing, maintenance, or care costs
• Curatorial Considerations, including relevance to Alberta's history and the visual arts in Alberta, originality, artistic excellence or material skill, exhibition history, and public recognition
• Development of the AFA Art Collection, including whether the artist is new to the collection or whether the artwork addresses a chronological, curatorial, or gap in medium within the collection

• If you are a first-time applicant, email registrationafa@gov.ab.ca at least five business days before the application deadline to obtain a GATE Front Office username and password, and include your full legal name if applying as an individual, or the common name of your business or organization and the legal entity name if applying as a gallery or agent, plus your email address.
• Access the GATE Front Office online application system and use your existing GATE profile if you already have one for another AFA funding program.
• Complete the required GATE formlets, including accurate details about each submitted artwork, an artistic statement about each piece, and the exhibition history of the artworks submitted.
• Upload the required attachments in GATE, including the artist biography, professional artistic resume or CV, digital photographs, and the Designation for Submission by a Commercial Gallery, Organization or Artist Agent form if applicable.
• Submit the online application through GATE Front Office no later than 11:59 pm Mountain Time on the deadline date; if the deadline falls on a statutory holiday or a weekend, it is extended until the next working day.

• All submissions are reviewed, adjudicated, and selected by an external three-person peer jury.
• The program uses a two-stage adjudication: Stage 1 reviews all applications submitted to the deadline and develops a shortlist, and Stage 2 is an in-person viewing of shortlisted artworks at the AFA offices in Edmonton.
• Shortlisted artworks are assessed for conservation and condition issues before being presented to the expert panel; works in poor physical condition or otherwise not meeting eligibility criteria are removed from further consideration and the artist is notified.
• The AFA aims to notify artists within three months of the application deadline of the Stage 1 outcome, and all applicants are notified in writing within six to eight months of the application deadline.
• Before an artwork is purchased, the artist or copyright owner must submit a signed Reproduction/Exhibition Agreement for each artwork, a digitally signed PDF Acquisition Data Sheet for each artwork, an artist biography of 500 words or less, and a detailed invoice.

• Only one application per artist is allowed per annual intake.
• If two applications are submitted for the same artist, only the first application received will be reviewed; the second is ineligible for that intake.
• You may submit up to five artworks in a single application, and all artworks must be included in the same application.
• Art Acquisition by Application does not require a final report.