IMAGINE Arts Incubator Program
Applications for 2026-2027 open Monday, September 14, 2026!
The IMAGINE Arts Incubator Program has been developed to foster creativity and innovation and to enable artists, creators, and educators to explore, invent, collaborate, and produce.
The IMAGINE Arts Incubator Program assists artists in developing works by offering free space and technical support at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts in the form of an artistic residency, the filming/recording an original work, or a socially engaged arts project. The IMAGINE Arts Incubator Program allows artists and creators to immerse themselves in artistic research and development to explore new collaborations, styles, concepts, and performance practices.
What’s Included:
- Venue rental
- Artist honoraria
- Production staffing including one planning meeting with production staff
Examples of technical production support:- Multi-camera video and multi-track audio recording capture with files provided to the artist for post-production
- Recording studio style multi-track recording sessions with files provided to the artist for post-production
- ‘Live-off-the-floor’ style video and audio capture - the artists perform full pieces start to finish and the production team live switches cameras and captures audio like a live concert (but without an audience)
Program Criteria:
The IMAGINE Arts Incubator Program supports projects with a music component that focus on one or more of the following areas:
- Original, inspiring, and innovative
- High quality and pushing the boundaries of the art form and practice
- Works that embrace collaboration and exchange between artistic disciplines and cultures
- Socially engaged works that deal with pressing issues of our time and inspire understanding, dialogue, and action
- Creative placemaking initiatives that leverage the power of arts, culture, and creativity to drive a community’s agenda for change, growth, and transformation or promote community wellness and cohesion
Who Can Enter:
- Performing artists 18 years or older as of application deadline
- Canadian citizens and/or permanent residents of Canada
- Performing artists working in all musical genres
2026-2027 Key Dates:
- Applications open: Monday, September 14, 2026
- Applications close: Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 11:59pm
- Applications awarded: Friday, December 18, 2026
Questions? Contact the Isabel team at Isabelcompetition@queensu.ca
THANK YOU
We thank Bader Philanthropies Inc. for their generous support of the IMAGINE Arts Incubator program and their belief in artists and creativity.
PAST COMPETITIONS
IMAGINE Arts Incubator 2025-2026
This competition is now closed. Read about the 2025-2026 recipients
IMAGINE Arts Incubator 2024-2025
This competition is now closed. Read about the 2024-2025 recipients