The KAC Newsletter | August Issue 2

Artist Prosperity Survey - Now Closed, Exhibit by James Greatrex opening 18 August, Upcoming Events, and Job Board, Opportunity Page, & Grant Board Highlights!

August 15, 2025

KAC NEWS & UPDATES

Artist Prosperity Survey - Now Closed

The KAC extends our sincere thanks to everyone who completed the Artist Prosperity Survey. Your time, experiences, and insights will help shape a clearer picture of the realities of working in the arts in our region.

With the survey now closed, we move into the next stage: analyzing the data and developing a comprehensive report, which will be published this fall. This report will serve as a valuable resource for artists, arts organizations, and policymakers as we work toward a stronger and more sustainable arts sector.

The Artist Prosperity Project is funded by the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area, and we would like to thank our community partners for all of their work in the development and promotion of the survey including Tourism Kingston – Music Office, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston Theatre Alliance, Spider Web Show, and Modern Fuel.

POCKET GALLERY

Upcoming Exhibition:
Cluster Being by James Greatrex

Date: 18 August - 5 September
Location: Kingston Arts Council — Unit 115, 370 King St W, Kingston

Cluster Being by James Greatrex is a series of over 50 storyboard panels depicting recalled scenarios from a childhood and adulthood shaped by Cluster B personality types, narcissistic, histrionic, anti-social, and bipolar. This exhibition is part of the foundational planning for a graphic novel and film that explore topics of intergenerational trauma, religious indoctrination, as well as the pitfalls of diagnostic inflation in pharmacology and clinical psychology. 

Rendered in a simple comic format on black bristol board, the work continues Greatrex’s exploration of intergenerational trauma, religious indoctrination, and the complexities of memory begun in his 2020 documentary PTSD Generation, created with his mother, Willow Baker.

The exhibition invites viewers into a collaborative process: each storyboard can be rated for its poignancy, provocation, or relatability, with participants credited in the final work, premiering at KCFF in 2026.

Cluster Being is both personal narrative and public conversation, an evolving work shaped by shared responses to deeply lived experiences.

EVENTS

Modern Fuel
Date: 30 August 2025 | 2:00 PM

About the Event

The Remix Revelations is an engaging artist talk featuring the talented Artists-in-Residence of The Remix Residency, offering a behind-the-scenes look at their creative journeys this August. Join us for an inspiring evening as they share insights from their residency experience and unveil the work they developed during their time at Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre.

About The Remix Residency

This Remix Residency invites QTBIPOC artists to explore how archives (personal, community-based, and/or institutional) can be tools for remembering, queering, reframing, and remixing the past to help envision and imagine liberatory futures. Centered in Katarokwi-Kingston, The Remix Residency will support 5 selected artists that aim to critically engage with QTBIPOC histories, challenge colonial narratives, and co-create knowledge rooted in resistance, memory, and collective care. In a time of growing political repression, this residency affirms the urgency of reconnecting with our ancestors, understanding our positionalities, and queering archives to disrupt the historical and continuous erasure of QTBIPOC histories and lived experiences. It’s The Remix!!

Kingston Theatre Alliance
Date: 24 July - 17 August 2025

The Kick & Push is an annual innovative live performance festival that takes place in Kingston, Ontario. Our 11th consecutive season is a month-long, and celebrates innovative and award-winning experiences made by Canadians for Kingston audiences. The festival will take place across various limestone city venues and locations , including the Tett Centre, Cedar Island National Park, the Kingston Grand Theatre, and our namesake, the K&P trail.

Upcoming Performances

Why Don’t We Together
An electric and intimate audio-visual experience featuring original short stories, rich soundscapes, and immersive lighting!

Love in the First Degree
A campy, interactive courtroom comedy set in the neon-drenched 1980s. The case? What should’ve been the most radical wedding reception of the decade...until the groom dropped dead mid-toast. Now, eight wedding guests stand accused of murder. Part game, part performance, and all 80s excess, Love in the First Degree turns theatre into a live mystery thriller where you hold the gavel.

Where the Wild Robots Are
An interactive performance with enchanted robot creatures

There are always plenty of arts events happening in Kingston and the surrounding area. Check out our Arts Events Calendar to view our full list of upcoming events!

JOBS

Draped & Undraped Models (ArtNoise)
Remuneration: $22/hour
Deadline: Rolling

Music Foundations Teaching Artist (Sistema Kingston)
Remuneration: $30-$35/hour
Deadline: Until Filled

Choir Teaching Artist (Sistema Kingston)
Remuneration: $30-$35/hour
Deadline: Until Filled

XR Producer (Single Thread Theatre)
Remuneration: $13,000 – $14,000
Deadline: Until Filled

Workshop Leaders – Short Term Contract Positions (H'art Centre)
Deadline: Until Filled

OPPORTUNITIES

Call for Board Members:
Board of Directors (Kingston Arts Council)
Deadline: Rolling

Call for Board Members:
Board of Directors (Union Gallery)
Deadline: 11 August 2025

Call for Proposals:
Juvenis Festival Pitches (Blue Canoe Productions)
Deadline: 31 August 2025

Call for Proposals:
Performances, presentations, workshops, games, and more (PXR)
Deadline: 15 September 2025

Call for Submissions:
Film Submissions (2026 Kingston Canadian Film Festival)
Deadline: 1 December 2025

Call for Submissions:
2ND ANNUAL KINGSTON ART TOUR (Kingston Art Tour)
Deadline: Until Filled

GRANTS

Below is a snapshot of upcoming grant deadlines. To view our more comprehensive and fully navigable database of grant opportunities at the local, provincial, and national level, please visit the KAC Grants Board !

Seed Grant (Ontario Trillium Fund)
Deadline: 20 August 2025 | 5:00 PM

Literary Creation Projects (Ontario Arts Council)
Deadline: 10 September 2025 | 1:00 PM

Music Creation Projects (Ontario Arts Council)
Deadline: 11 September 2025 | 1:00 PM

Multi and Inter-Arts Projects (Ontario Arts Council)
Deadline: 18 September 2025 | 1:00 PM

SUPPORT THE KAC

Love the arts? So do we!

When you support the Kingston Arts Council, you’re helping empower an arts sector that drives innovation, fuels the local economy, and enriches the lives of everyone in Katarokwi/Kingston.

Your donation – whether one-time, monthly, or annual – enables us to deliver impactful programs and services that support the artists and creatives shaping our cultural industry.

As a registered charity, we’ll provide a charitable tax receipt for your contribution. Join us in building a thriving, sustainable arts sector.

THE KINGSTON ARTS COUNCIL IS PROUDLY FUNDED BY