Deadline to submit your application: May 4, 2025
To submit an application, you will need to Register an account with a valid email address to access the Application Portal. (If you created an account previously, you will have to create register a new account.) Once you complete the registration form, you will receive an email with a link that will allow you to enable your account and begin using the Application Portal. If you don’t receive an email, make sure to check your spam folder!
Note: Once you begin filling up your application in one language, please make sure to continue using the Application Portal in that language. If you switch to the other language, you will have to fill the forms again. Thank you for your understanding!
Want to know more about the Application, but don’t want to create an account just yet? Check our our new Application Overview page!
Criteria of Eligibility
To meet the criteria of eligibility for the Plaskett Award, the Candidate has to be:
- a Canadian citizen;
- a visual artist in the field of painting;
- an MFA student in one of the following situations:
- who has been accepted into an MFA program;
- who is currently in an MFA program;
- who has graduated from an MFA program within the last 24 months (Please contact us if you have any questions).
- willing to live, travel, and create artwork abroad for a minimum of one year (for the Plaskett Award).
The Joe Plaskett Foundation is very flexible regarding when the stay abroad will take place. Recipients may choose to take a leave of absence from their university, or they may defer the award for a year.
Note: The Petry Award will not be offered in 2025. Thank you for your understanding!
Application Components
To complete your application, you will have to submit:
- a completed application form, with your contact information, your MFA information, and contact information for your MFA reference;
- a brief artist statement and a description of how you plan to use the Plaskett Award to develop your artistic practice;
- 15 images of recent works (from the past 3 years), including some general views (showing the scale of your work and how it relates to space) and detail views (showing the painting materiality);
- one (1) official document (for example: an official letter from the university registrar) confirming your MFA status;
- one (1) letter of reference. Based on your situation, you should ask the appropriate referee to send their letter of reference directly to the Joe Plaskett Foundation:
- if currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a MFA program: your referee should be your MFA advisor; or an MFA faculty member who is familiar with your work;
- if accepted to an MFA program: your referee should be an art professional who is familiar with your work, or an instructor from your BFA program.
- For more information, head over to the Reference Guidelines page.
Technical Requirements
- While the application portal can be viewed on portable devices such as smart phones and tablets, because documents and images must be submitted, it is recommended to use a laptop or desktop computer to fill in the application.
- For optimal experience, please use an up-to-date web browser (such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Edge) with JavaScript enabled.
- If you are having trouble logging in and/or remaining logged in to the application portal, please make sure to enable Cookies in your browser and/or temporarily disable Private Browsing features in your browser.
- For the submission of your documents and images, a high-speed internet connection is preferable;
If you experience technical difficulties or require assistance, please email application@joeplaskett.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.