Providing seed funding to help creatives bring their project ideas to life.
The Montreal Jewish Museum offers Microgrants for Creative or Cultural Exploration, providing seed funding to help young adults bring their innovative project ideas to life.
This program provides an accessible entry point to connect with Jewish life both for the participant and for the public. By offering this funding, we hope to give applicants the chance to pursue their interests and realize their ideas while encouraging intellectual curiosity and community-building.
Launched in 2019, the Microgrant program provides funding to young adults to transform their ideas into innovative projects related to Jewish culture and identity. This program provides an accessible entry point to connect with Jewish life both for the participant and for the public. Participants benefit from a cohort-based professional development program and mentorship, building new skills and bringing their projects to life.
Microgrants at a glance
Seed
Funding
Providing seed funding to help young adults bring their innovative project ideas to life.
Guidance
& Support
At MJM, we know a little something about creating programs on a micro budget. When you receive funding you also receive guidance on how to make the most of it.
Creative
Ecosystem
When you receive a Microgrant, you become part of a creative ecosystem that is transforming Montreal’s cultural landscape.
Growth
& Momentum
Microgrants go beyond a single project, they give grantees the momentum, confidence, and connections to bring their creative practice to the next level.
Our Programs
Independent Projects
1 – 3 months of project development time
Work independently at your own pace
You’ll be matched with an MJM Liaison for support
Up to $1250 in project funding
Cohort Program
1 – 3 months of project development time
Work independently at your own pace
You’ll be matched with an MJM Liaison for support
Up to $1250 in project funding
How to Apply
Applications to our Microgrant Program are currently closed. Our next call will be posted in Summer 2026.
Who can apply?
All applicants currently living in Montreal are invited to apply as individuals or in small groups (up to 3 people) for creative projects at any stage of development. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, however proposed projects must relate to Jewish culture or identity.
Applicants of all ages are welcome to apply. Priority consideration will be given to those aged 18-35 with multifaceted and intersectional identities (these could include, but are in no way limited to: members of racialized communities, newcomers, those from interfaith backgrounds, people with disabilities, LGBTQ2+, and gender non-conforming persons).
We do not accept project proposals towards: 1) an academic course or class credit, 2) the applicant’s workplace or other organization in which the applicant is involved, 3) operational funding for a business or organization, or 4) charitable organizations.
What kind of projects can be proposed?
Microgrant projects may include a live event component, or may be produced without the intention of hosting a public-facing event. Projects without a live event component should ideally engage with the community in some way during the project’s development (i.e., discussion groups, reading circles, interviews). In the application form, applicants will be asked to select whether their project will be presented as an event or non-event.
All participants will receive development and production support from Museum staff.
We are looking for projects from each of the following areas: food, art, and culture/heritage.
Though not limited to the following, projects may include:
- Small printed publications/zines/chapbooks
- Research project or article
- Hands-on workshop
- Presentation: book reading, lecture, concert, performance
- A website, blog or social media account (Instagram, TikTok)
- A personal/family exploration project, to be presented in a format of choice
- A project focused on community-building through an experimental activity
When to apply?
Our annual call for applications opens each fall. The application deadline for the 2025–2026 Microgrants for Creative or Cultural Exploration is October 12, 2025.
Applications to our Microgrant Program are currently closed. Our next call will be posted in Summer 2026.
Where do I send my application?
Click here to view the 2025-2026 application form
Click here to view the call for applications
Applications are due no later than Sunday, October 12th 2025 at 11:59pm
Meet Our Micrograntees
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Event Link
An interdisciplinary artist based in Tiohtià:ke / Mooniyang (Montréal), Levana holds a BFA in Painting and Drawing from Concordia University. Levana creates multimedia installations, primarily working across material processes such as drawing, printmaking, and fibre arts. She has participated in artist residencies across Canada. As a part of the Microgrant Program, Levana is creating an artist book that will culminate in a creative workshop.
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A music producer, songwriter, and performer based in Montreal, TARANEH received a diploma in Digital Music Production and went on to form Vancouver’s girl group NADUH. As the producer behind all-femme band NADUH, TARANEH helped drive the group’s success, growing its international tour history. Her music has been featured in numerous media outlets, and has served as the sonic backdrop for New York Fashion Week and Vancouver Fashion Week. TARANEH works as an engineer and Ableton educator, helping other musicians learn how to self-produce their music. Her work has recently been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.
As a part of the Microgrant Program, TARANEH will be producing a collection of songs that blend her Moroccan Jewish heritage with contemporary beats.
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A writer, stage manager and emerging filmmaker based in Montreal, Sam holds a diploma in Professional Theatre Production from John Abbott College. His first play Helpful/Positive was developed with Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal and received funding from the Canada Council for the Arts. Sam is pleased to be a member of the Microgrant Cohort this year, where he will be developing a short documentary film on the late Montreal theatre producer Allan Sandler.
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Event Link
Josh Fichman-Goldberg is a multidisciplinary performing artist based in Montreal. Through his showcase events and live performances, he seeks to celebrate and reimagine Jewish cultural expression for contemporary audiences. Passionate about Jewish history and diaspora culture, he is an active member of Montreal’s klezmer music community. He is excited to be exploring new avenues of artistic creation through the Microgrant Program. Josh is also pursuing a career in law, currently working in consumer rights advocacy for a Canadian non-profit organization.
Alex Rand is a Montreal-based musician. He has toured internationally as an independent artist and as a member of groups such as Common Holly, The Weather Holds, and Look Vibrant, recording and releasing albums on record labels such as Paper Bag Records and Jurassic Pop Records.
Together as a part of the Microgrant Program, Josh and Alex will be producing an album that blends historical klezmer music with contemporary hip-hop and rap.
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An emerging illustrator, cartoonist, and animator with a BFA in Film Animation from Concordia University, Micah’s work has been shown throughout the Montreal area. Through ritualistic, roundabout, and meditative processes, Micah creates beautiful, intimate, and dense worlds for the viewer to join her in. Micah is producing a graphic zine on alternative ways to celebrate Jewish holidays with loved ones as a part of the Microgrant Program.
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Event Link
A multidisciplinary artist based in Montreal, Merav received a BFA in Film Animation from Concordia University in 2021. She has work experience in animation as a Production Coordinator at DNEG Animation Studio and has animated multiple freelance music videos for artists in Canada and the United States. Inspired by Marc Chagall and Montreal’s stained glass windows, Merav will be hosting a painting-on-glass workshop as a part of the Microgrant Program.
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An illustrator and community worker based in Montreal, Noa’s debut graphic novel, Ginger Goodwin: A Worker’s Friend is available from Between the Lines Books. As a part of the Microgrant Program, Noa will be developing an illustrated zine on the Jewish holiday Rosh Chodesh, which marks the beginning of each month in the Hebrew calendar.
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Event Link
A Russian-American multidisciplinary artist and puppeteer based in Montreal and the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, Sonya is currently pursuing a DESS in contemporary puppet theatre at UQAM. Her path has also been shaped by studies in sculpture (Maison des Métiers d’Art de Québec) and ecological agriculture (McGill University). Much of her puppetry work has been centered in lambe-lambe, a form of miniature theatre in a box. For the Microgrant Program, Sonya will be co-developing a live puppet show exploring notions of home in the context of artist Marc Chagall’s Yiddish poetry.
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Combining musical performance with storytelling, Alexandra is working on a live performance entitled Song/Book, blending Yiddish folk songs accompanied by handmade artist books.
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Event Link
A researcher and theatre artist, Jen’s project is inspired by the multilayered history of Cinéma L’Amour, and more specifically, its roots as a Yiddish vaudeville venue. Jen will be creating a miniature theatre that explores the legacy of this iconic building, and the histories of Yiddish theatre in Montreal.
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Inspired by Jewish Montreal’s rich culinary history, Sophie and E.B. are collaborating on an illustrated cookbook. Blending comic arts with oral histories, their book will contain anecdotes and recipes from Jewish Montrealers, starting with Sophie’s own family history in Montreal’s Jewish quarter.
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Combining storytelling and illustration, Luke is working on a graphic zine that considers the intersections between Judaism, race, and urban history centring on the etymology of “the ghetto” and its origins in Montreal.
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A researcher, artist, and cultural mediator, naveed’s project blends historical research with community-centred art making. Looking to the “March 1968” expulsion of Jews in Poland from a queer lens, naveed will present their research in conjunction with a creative workshop designed for queer and trans Jews in Montreal.
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An independent researcher, Ted is collecting information on the under-explored life of Myers Solomon, his involvement with Montreal’s Shakespeare Club in the nineteenth century, and how his life intersected with the broader history of Canadian Confederation.
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A multidisciplinary artist and researcher, Madison is creating a series of pocket exhibitions stemming from oral history collections and archival research, which will be presented to the public.
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An actress and singer, Ilana is working towards a performance-presentation centred on her grandmother’s involvement with Montreal’s former Committee for Soviety Jewry.
Program Sponsors
The 2025-26 cohort is generously sponsored by: The Betty Averbach Foundation, CANVAS Emerging Network Grant through The Azrieli Foundation, The Canadian Race Relations Foundation.
More Ways to Engage
Exhibitions
The Museum’s arts programming and exhibitions seek to share Montreal’s diverse Jewish heritage and highlight contemporary issues and questions through innovative approaches.
Events
Our events act as a way to strengthen our audiences’ connections to community and Jewish arts and culture through new experiences.
MJAC
The Montreal Jewish Arts Collaborative (MJAC) brings together three of Canada’s leading Jewish arts organizations to offer artists mentorship, funding, and opportunities to connect.