Animikiig Creators Unit 2026/2027 – Call for Artists
Deadline: Friday, November 28, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST
APPLICATION FORM LINK HERE
More details:
About the Animikiig Creators Unit
“Animikiig is the Ojibway word for the initial rumblings that tell us of the thunder storm that is to come.”
Entering its 14th iteration, the Animikiig Creators Unit (ACU) is a two-year development program for emerging Indigenous creators. The Animikiig Creators Unit offers Indigenous creators across Turtle Island and beyond who are early in craft and in the emerging stages of theatrical creation the opportunity to develop their craft through individualized development plans and resources under the guidance of professional mentors. The Animikiig Creators Unit will be delivered by the ACU Program Director Irma Villafuerte. The 14th iteration of the Animikiig Creators Unit will run from Spring 2026 to Fall 2027.
The Animikiig Creators Unit is dedicated to supporting the breadth of Indigenous voices on their journeys from creative inception to presentation and artistic expression as performance becomes increasingly cross-disciplinary, incorporating music, theatre, dance, technology, and performance art. The two-year residency will allow emerging creators to deepen their artistic, creative, and research processes with studio time, professional development opportunities, individualized mentorship, administrative support from Native Earth, and opportunities to share their works in process in upcoming Weesageechak Begins to Dance festivals.
Participants selected for the Animikiig Creators Unit will receive an Artist Fee for each year of the program.
Animikiig Creators Unit Artist Call (Click here for a PDF version of this Artist Call)
Please use this as a guide in preparing your submission before filling out the submission form.
The Animikiig Creators Unit provides emerging artists with the chance to develop their craft and project through individualized development plans, resources, mentorship and guidance over the course of two years. Submissions are open until Friday, November 28, 2025. We encourage Indigenous performance artists of all disciplines, in the early and emerging stages of their career, to apply! Please note that for a submission to be eligible, the primary artist (or artists) must identify as Indigenous.
*Native Earth Performing Arts uses the term Indigenous to encompass the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit of Turtle Island (North America). We also include Indigenous peoples from other regions including South and Central America, Australia, New Zealand, and Greenland.
Key dates:
ACU Info Session with Irma Villafuerte (ACU Program Director) and Theresa Cutknife (Animikiig Coordinator): Friday November 14 2025, 6:00 PM EST on Instagram Live
Submission Deadline: Friday, November 28, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST
The ACU Submission Form will ask you:
1. Tell us about yourself and your artistic practice. (500 words max.)
What is currently exciting you and what ideas, questions, and themes are you pursuing and exploring in your art making? How do you approach collaboration and collaborators in your artistic processes? What disciplines (theatre, dance, visual/media arts, sound, etc.) do you work within? Where and how do these intersect?
You will be asked to either submit a CV OR asked to tell us about your past professional experiences, training, etc. (250 words max.)
2. Tell us about the project you plan to develop. (500 words max.)
What inspired this project? What are you interested in exploring and achieving with this project? How do you see this work connecting with audiences or communities outside or traditional performance spaces? What collaborators are already working on this project? Who do you hope to collaborate with on this project as part of the ACU? What are you looking for in collaborators?
You will be asked to submit either an artistic sample of the proposed project OR a project proposal with an outline and summary of your project. (10 pages max. for script excerpts or written material, 3 pages max. for project summaries/outlines, 5 mins max. of non-written support material)
3. Tell us about your personal artistic goals and what you hope to gain or develop through participating in the Animikiig Creators Unit. (250 words max.)
If you require an alternative method for your submission, please contact the ACU Program Director, Irma Villafuerte (irma@nativeearth.ca).
If you have any questions regarding the Animikiig Creators Unit or this submission form, do not hesitate to reach out to the ACU Program Director, Irma Villafuerte (irma@nativeearth.ca) and/or our Artistic Director, Joelle Peters (joelle@nativeearth.ca).