2026/27 ARTS EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT PROGRAMS

Workshops/courses across various arts disciplines in which participants will create artwork that will be refined and polished in order to be ready for inclusion in a professional arts portfolio and/or for submission to art exhibitions, festivals, literary publications, etc,. Pitches for advanced/intermediate level classes are appreciated.

Safe, facilitated gatherings for marginalized artists to come together in order to learn new skills and create art. The goal of these gatherings/workshops is to decolonize the process of creating art. Instead of focusing on an end product, the focus will be on the creative process and on crafting space for traditionally marginalized individuals to express themselves and professionalize in accordance with their traditions and cultures.

These workshops may also culminate in performances, shows, exhibitions, publications, etc., but the focus will be on ensuring that  folks from priority groups are given space to freely create.  One creative incubator will be scheduled per term. The incubator topic may be in any artistic discipline or multidisciplinary. Priority groups include BIPOC, LGBTQ+, gender minorities, Neurodivergent folks, Disabled folks, and other marginalized groups.

Examples of Arts Education stream courses may include but are not limited to the following range of disciplines:

• Literary Arts (e.g. poetry, prose, memoir, creative nonfiction, playwriting, etc,.)
• Visual Arts (e.g. painting (oil, watercolour, acrylic), sculpture, textile art, illustration, embroidery, beading, quilling, sewing, printmaking. etc,.)
• Theatre & Performance (e.g. acting for theatre/film, improv, comedy, etc,.)
• Movement & Dance (e.g. traditional dance, contemporary dance, etc,.)
• Music (e.g. singing, songwriting, music composition, etc,.)
• Media Arts (e.g. film, podcasting, sound art, digital art, etc,.)
• Photography (shooting techniques, accessible photography with a phone, etc,.)
• Multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary (book binding, zine making, text-based collage, etc,.)

Large webinar style course where the instructor will provide a preliminary overview of a professional development topic such as grant writing, branding, publishing, social media, marketing, etc,.

Examples of professional development programs may include but are not limited to the following range of disciplines:

• Literary Arts (e.g. traditional publishing, self-publishing, editing/revising, critique circles, etc,.)
• Visual Arts (e.g. exhibition 101, art installation, crafting artist statements, etc,.)
• Theatre/Performance/Dance (e.g. portfolio building, audition techniques, stage management, )
• Music (e.g. music production & editing, Garage Band/Logic, etc,.)
• Media Arts  & Photography ( open source video editing, film financing, film festival strategy, sound editing, photo editing, etc,.)
• Arts Business & Admin (e.g. marketing, project management, intro to arts entrepreneurship, branding, legal side of business, etc,.)
• Arts Finances ( filing taxes for artists, grant writing, funding sources for artists, drafting budgets, etc,.)
• Multidisciplinary Professional Skills ( creating an artist CV, portfolio building, schedule management, navigating contracts/copyright laws, networking,  etc,.)

• Paid teaching opportunities at Workman Arts.
• Free access to training and professional development opportunities.
• Community-based support from artists who have mental health experiences.
• Access to Zoom Pro for planning and running  online courses.
• Access to equipment and/or gear for teaching.

To submit for ARTS EDUCATION, please click here.

To submit for PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, please click here.

Workman Arts also invites applicants to submit their applications in the following format:

• Paper sent by mail
• Oral format*

*This includes: an interview by phone or video conferencing (Zoom, Skype, or Meet), a voice recording (MP3 or WAV), or a video recording (MP4, AVI, or MOV)

Applicants who would like to apply by mail, orally, or require other accommodations can get in touch with the Education Manager by May 1st to make arrangements. Workman staff or a peer support may be assigned to help the applicant complete the submission process.

Applications will be assessed on the content itself and not be judged based on the format of the submission.

Apply by the deadline (May 25th, 2026 by 11:59 pm EST)

• The Workman Arts Course Selection Committee will review all applications and create a shortlist.
• Final decisions will be made by Workman Arts staff.
• Instructors will be confirmed and contacted by late July.

Please note that due to receiving a large volume of applications, we are unable to provide individual feedback at this time.

All applicants will be contacted regardless of results.

Workman Arts provides professional development and multi-disciplinary art workshops and mentorship opportunities for and by artists with lived experience of mental health and/or addictions issues. Workman Arts also provides member artists with community support, access to free studio space, materials, equipment, free art courses as well as professional development and presentation opportunities.

We recognize all forms of knowledge acquisition and invite instructors from all backgrounds to apply; academic experience is not necessary. We prioritize hiring artist-members or artists with lived experience.  To learn more about our membership, click here.

Please keep in mind that programs are intended to provide participating artists with guidance and support in their own creative pursuits or the chance to contribute to a larger collaborative process (rather than be in service to an Instructor’s sole artistic vision or project). Also, please note that Workman Arts is a non-clinical arts organization and we will not prioritize applications that are situated explicitly within an art therapy and/or clinically-based framework.