In this workshop, Lisa Wöhrle, Associate Visual Arts and Craft Officer at the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), will guide us through the OAC Exhibition Assistance program and address frequently asked and perhaps perplexing questions that artists face in preparing grant applications.

Exhibition Assistance is a funding opportunity that supports Ontario artists and artist collectives presenting their work in a public exhibition. The program provides grants of $500 to $2,000 to assist with presentation costs. Grants are made through third-party recommenders (public art galleries, artist-run centres and arts service organizations) throughout the province, including Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre and Agnes Etherington Art Centre. During this workshop, Anne-Sophie Grenier (Executive Director, Modern Fuel) and Sunny Kerr (Curator of Contemporary Art, Agnes) will offer remarks on their perspectives as recommenders.

Please note: Students enrolled full-time at the undergraduate or graduate level are not eligible for OAC Exhibition Assistance during their studies, but this workshop aims to equip all those interested to best prepare for their future applications.

Biography:

Lisa Wöhrle (she/her) is the Associate Visual Arts and Craft Officer at the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), the arts funding agency of Ontario’s Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. In addition to the Exhibition Assistance program, she manages the operating program for Visual Arts Artist-Run Centres, and the Craft Projects, Visual Arts Projects (supports organizations, curators and collectives), and Indigenous Visual Artists Materials grant programs. Lisa has held this position since 2011; from 2001 to 2010 she served as associate officer in visual and media arts.

Now based in Toronto, Lisa grew up in Hamilton and holds a BA in Art and Art History from McMaster University. Before joining OAC, she held positions at the Carnegie Gallery and Visual Arts Ontario and was on the executive board of the Hamilton Artists Inc. Lisa was a member of Hamilton’s Contemporaries artist collective, active in the 90s. Her experiences as an exhibiting artist, as well as her ongoing connections with Ontario artists, curators and organizations inspire her current work at the Ontario Arts Council. Lisa can be reached at lwohrle@arts.on.ca.