Art Bursaries & Scholarships

FORUM ART BURSARY FUND

Empowering a New Generation of Artists!

Our bursary program awards free art classes and supplies to teen applicants aged 12 to 16 years old. The objective is to encourage and develop both their skills and interest in pursuing fine art.

Applications are shared through school superintendents, principals, and teachers as well as community organizations throughout the city.

In recent years, our connections with community workers have opened opportunities for refugee and immigrant teens to take part in art classes and create ties with other artistically driven youth from all backgrounds. Participants have been able to develop not only their craft and creativity, but also their confidence and sense of community through art. We look forward to reinforcing our Teen programming thanks to a generous three-year donation gifted by the Lount Foundation.

A Brief History of Forum Art Centre's Bursaries

In 2000 we established our Forum Art Centre Bursary Fund. Mr. Ross Nugent QC, board member at the time, made the first financial donation commitment along with some of his family. This five-year commitment established and helped sustain our bursary award programming for years following.
In addition, we are fortunate to be able to offer two funding opportunities in memory of artists who were committed to the values of Forum Art Centre. The Nikola Bjelajac Scholarship was born out of Nik’s philosophy that we should encourage everyone to be an artist if they so desire. After his passing we continued the tradition of giving away one free art class for each of our 10-week sessions to one adult.
In 2018 the Tom Andrich Memorial Bursary was established following the passing of Tom Andrich, a dedicated instructor who was loved as an artist, art director, and friend of the Forum. This bursary is used to award free or subsidized art classes so that art might be accessible to all.
2021 was the first year of the Quinn Family Manga and Comic Book Art Bursary for Teens and Pre-Teens. We award a minimum of three, ten-week sessions of classes to a teen or pre-teen enrolled in a manga or comic book art class at Forum Art Centre. The Quinn family was first introduced to the Forum Art Centre through a Manga Art Class in 2017. As fans of comics and manga and being especially impressed with the creativity of their classmates, the Quinn’s wanted to ensure that young people could learn more about this medium.

We have awarded:

Bursaries to more than 285 teen students, at a worth of about $39,000
Scholarship, through over 170 free adult art classes worth about $25,500.

Our bursaries depend on the generosity of donors. Because of donors we can work to put our intention of making art education accessible to all community members, into action. Please consider a donation to any of our bursary awards. You will be issued a charitable tax receipt from the Forum Art Institute (Centre) for your donation. Your generosity is most appreciated, and we thank you for your support.

Please contact Shawna at outreach@forumartcentre.com for more information on how to support the Forum’s Bursary and Scholarship programs, or to inquire about bursaries for students or adult access initiatives.

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Forum Art Centre is a proud member of the Manitoba Artist Run Centres Coalition

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Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that we gather on ancestral lands, on Treaty One Territory. These lands are the heartland of the Métis people. We acknowledge that our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation. Forum Art Centre is committed to moving forward in a spirit of gratitude and reconciliation.