Building equity through participatory grant-making: Involvement in grant assessment builds shared understanding

Since the Building Arts Equity: BPOC (BAE) program was launched in 2023, the grant has engaged around 50 applicants in participatory grant-making, with an application review process that involves local artists, community members, and experts to review and provide feedback on applications.

For Saskatoon-based artist Sonia Reid, a past applicant and peer-assessor, being part of the participatory adjudication process was “introspective.” The experience was an opportunity for her to gain valuable insight into how others structure their proposals, and what makes one stand out.

“You have to get clear about your ‘why’ — why this matters, why now, and why it helps the community,” she says. “The most compelling ones were the ones where you could feel the heart... This isn’t just about art for art’s sake — it’s about building something bigger.”

SaskCulture partnered with SK Arts and the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan to develop the BAE program. The Program supports many artists from African, Black, Asian, Latin American, Caribbean and Middle Eastern descent in Saskatchewan who want to pursue projects that celebrate cultural diversity and promote inclusion in the arts.

Damon Badger Heit, supervisor, partnerships and inclusion, SaskCulture, says that sitting in on the BAE Program adjudications in February, now two years after the program launch, was “inspiring.”

“People are taking ownership of the process. I learnt much from listening to people from different nationalities, backgrounds and artistic practices, share a deep level of understanding with each other — of their shared experiences and barriers,” Badger Heit says. “That shared understanding leads to applicants supporting each other and supporting the projects that could have a big impact on a community.”

Reid applied to the BAE Program to help bring an idea to reality: a Gospel Choir workshop that blended performance, education and community.

“I was missing gospel music, specifically Black gospel, the kind I grew up with,” she says. “What if we could create something immersive? Just one weekend, full-on music, joy, and celebration.”

In 2024, over 30 singers of all backgrounds came together on a weekend in Saskatoon, many of whom had never sung gospel before. The workshop blended performance and education into a whirlwind two-day experience, which ended with a live performance that left everyone, including Reid, awestruck.

As the population of Saskatchewan continues to grow and change, Reid says that grants such as the BAE Program are a springboard that ensures artists who identify as Black or persons of colour have the tools, resources, and recognition they need to step into the spotlight.

“This is about more than just music,” she says. “It’s about creating spaces where people can come as they are and find joy, expression, and belonging. That’s what the arts are supposed to do.”

The BAE program received 64 applications in 2024 and is on track for increased submissions in 2025.