MAC MicroGrant Success Stories
MAC’s dynamic and impactful MicroGrant program provides funding for artist-led projects which have a pronounced and impactful connection to the public and bring recognition and increased awareness to the arts across the city.
Testimonials from MicroGrant Winners:
Andrew Gaboury, theatre producer
2022 Theatre in the Park MicroGrant Grant Winner
“This MicroGrant is enabling me to engage artists I admire from a variety of disciplines as mentors and collaborators. It’s helping me realize the full vision of my first full-length theatre in the parks show.” “
Qurat Dar, spoken word artist
2020 Touring Words of Meaning MicroGrant Winner
“Through the grant received by MAC, we have been putting on a series of poetry slams online…We are incredibly thankful to be able to foster community and create safe spaces online for queer and trans folks through MAC’s generous support!”
Tennyson King, musician
2020 Matchmaker MicroGrant Winner & 2020 Musicians as Video Makers MicroGrant Participant
“I learned the value of having great musicians and friends in my community and network to collaborate with. I also have been very appreciative of all the support from organizations such as MAC…especially during these tough times.”
Anna Wojcik, opera singer
2021 & 2022 Matchmaker MicroGrant Grant Winner
“This MicroGrant enabled me to create an accessible and engaging opera production and to perform it for children who may have never been to the opera before. It gave us the chance to share the amazing art of opera to many first-time opera audiences, which is so important to the future of the opera world. “
Susan Ksiezopolski, writer
2021 Matchmaker MicroGrant Winner, 2020 Fusion MicroGrant Winner
“Being able to redesign this program and offer it at no cost to myself and the participants during the pandemic recovery has made a tremendous impact on not only the 15 participants that attended the program but also on myself as an artist. It provided momentum to keep going and renewed my inspiration to keep engaging in this meaningful work needed to help build healthier communities.”
Colleen Snell, dancer
2019 & 2020 MicroGrant Grant Winner
“We are so grateful for this opportunity, and want to thank everyone at MAC for their support of our project. Because of this grant we’ve been able to work, and offer meaningful employment to our artistic network. Thank you!”
Netta Ussyshkin, visual artist
2022 ArtsCare Program Development MicroGrant Winner
“Because of this MAC MicroGrant, I was able to have my dream project come to fruition! The “Pocket Art” therapeutic arts experience saw a team of artists faciitating unique and uplifting activities over the course of six-weeks that was open to adults with limited access to art supplies and resources. Preliminary data suggested an increase in mood and well-being in the participants after just 4 weekly sessions! Thank you MAC!”
Heather Christine, musician
2020 Matchmaker MicroGrant Winner
“I am so grateful for the support of the Mississauga Arts Council’s MicroGrant. Without the support of the grant, it would have been impossible for me to hire a radio tracker during the pandemic. I thank MAC for their support which has helped my career to expand during these challenging times.”
MicroGrant Success Stories:
MicroGrant Success: Cullen McFater 2022
Cullen McFater used his 2022 MicroGrant to update, reshoot, and recut his feature film Daylight Again.
MicroGrant Success: Heather Christine 2020
Heather Christine used her 2020 Matchmaker MicroGrant to record a holiday single and music video. Two years later the song is still decking the halls – featured on 14 playlists!
MicroGrant Success: Anna Yin 2022
Anna Yin used her 2022 MicroGrant to develop a series of workshops incorporating Haiku writing and nature walks. The poetry was combined into an anthology that is free to download!
MicroGrant Success: Za Hughes 2022
Za Hughes used their Theatre in the Park MicroGrant to develop an immersive, site-specific play at J.C. Saddington Park. Ghost Light ran for 3 sold-out shows!
MicroGrant Success: Alison Syer 2021
Alison Syer used her 2021 Matchmaker MicroGrant to tell the story of her garden through images and words.
MicroGrant Success: Anna Wojcik 2022
Anna Wojcik used her 2022 MicroGrant to develop an opera recital held at the Art Gallery of Mississauga in August 2022.
MicroGrant Success: Emily Ryder 2020
Emily Ryder used her 2020 MicroGrant to create Alfie, a 12 minute film.
MicroGrant Success: Feel It! Fusion MicroGrant 2019
In 2021, the Feel It! exhibit (2019 MAC Fusion MicroGrant winning project) was remounted at the Joshua Creek Heritage Arts Centre, and the project continues to delight audiences, and inspire creatives…
MicroGrant Success: Fusion MicroGrant 2021
MAC’s Fusion MicroGrant aimed to grow partnerships between musicians and visual/digital artists or illustrators to collaborate and produce an animated music video. Congratulations to Mauve and Matthew…
MicroGrant Success: Matt Zaddy 2021
Mississauga Musician, Matt Zaddy, received a Matchmaker MicroGrant from MAC for his #TogetherAtHome #OpenMic series. The weekly event was a way for local musicians/music fans to stay connected. #Toget…
MicroGrant Success: Anna Wojcik 2021
Matchmaker MicroGrant winner Anna Wojcik’s group Nóżki Opera successfully put on two garden performances of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro”.
MicroGrant Success: Zachary Seto 2021
Watch MAC’s 2021 Dance MicroGrant Winner, Zachary Seto’s, beautiful choreography and intriguing commentary of moving beyond the COVID pandemic into a new world.
MicroGrant Success: Alex Pollard 2021
Alex Pollard has created the work Next To Me through his 2021 Matchmaker MicroGrant. This piece takes us on the journey of adolescence to adulthood, and what happens to us during that transition.
MicroGrant Success: Frog in Hand 2019
Frog in Hand’s Stories in the Woods featured nearly 20 dancers in a site-specific dance work. It’s success in 2019 led to a remount in 2021.
MicroGrant Success: Susan Ksiezopolski 2020
Thanks to a MAC MicroGrant, Susan Ksiezopolski created this emotional 15 minute documentary highlighting the importance of incorporating the arts into health practices and treatments.
MicroGrant Success: Emily Roman 2020
Emily Roman used her Dance MicroGrant to make a powerful film exploring how it feels as a teen during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
MicroGrant Success: Matt Zaddy 2020
Matt Zaddy pays it forward and shares his MicroGrant experience with others in MAC’s TD Culture Lab webinar.
MicroGrant Success: Musicians as Movie Makers 2020
MAC Music Spotlight is an interview type TV show premiering 10 incredible music videos made by Mississauga musicians thanks to a MAC MicroGrant.
Past MicroGrant Winners:
2022 MAC MicroGrant Winners
MicroGrant Winners (Spring):
Sponsored by RAMA Gaming House & supported by Charitable Gaming at City of Mississauga
- ArtsCare Program Development MicroGrant – Pocket Art (workshops) led by Netta Ussyshkin
- Dance on Film MicroGrant – Voyage by Candance Kumar
- Dramatic Short Film MicroGrant – Mothering by Emily Ryder
- Theatre in the Park MicroGrant – Ghost Light by Za Hughes
Matchmaker MicroGrant Winners (Spring):
Sponsored by MAC
- Anna Wojcik, opera recital
- Anna Yin, Haiku workshops and anthology
- Jayda Hope, Imagine the Pain the Land Must Carry (art exhibition)
- Manahil Bandukwala, A Woman Wide Awake (book project)
- Mauve, Dream State (music video)
- Mississauga Big Band Jazz Ensemble, COVID recovery strategy
- Pilar America, Spanish Guitar Album recording
MicroGrant Winners (Fall):
Sponsored by RAMA Gaming House & supported by Charitable Gaming at City of Mississauga
- Dance on Film MicroGrant – My Carmen by Dora Paszuk
- Music Showcase Event Production MicroGrant – Cheers & Beers Concert Series by Bree Taylor
- Short Documentary Film MicroGrant – Everything Off Balance by Arlene
- Short Documentary Film MicroGrant – KANAKIYOST: Art, Identity, and Belonging by Cathleen MacDonald
- Theatre in the Park MicroGrant – A Pastel-Coloured Land by Andrew Gaboury
- Visual Art Exhibition Curation MicroGrant – Show and Tell Art Exhibition by Fausta Facciponte
Sponsored by MAC
- ArtsCare Program Development MicroGrant – Now I See Me, Now I Don’t (workshops) led by Anna Silgardo
- ArtsCare Program Development MicroGrant – Wellness Art Workshop Series led by Visual Arts Mississauga
Matchmaker MicroGrant Winners (Fall):
Sponsored by RAMA Gaming House & supported by Charitable Gaming at City of Mississauga
- Gladys Lou – Semiotics of Water (multimedia installation)
- Heather Christine – Mentor Magic – new single and video (music)
- Matt Zaddy – New Single and video (music)
Sponsored by MAC
- Anju Malhotra – Food for Thought (film)
- Anna Wojcik – Opera Outreach Program (music/education)
- Cat Bernardi – Mona Lisa (music)
- Cullen McFater – Daylight Again (film)
- Gordon Culley – Everythings Gonna Be Alright (film)
- Jaimie Poon – Between Us Being Album (music)
- Lincoln Blaché – Mykonos (music)
- Radhika Baskar – AMALGAM, A fusion music project (music)
- Sandra Clarke – Build Your Art Business Guied and Workbook (visual art/education)
- THE iDENTiTY CRiSiS – New Single and Video (music)
2021 MAC MicroGrant & Matchmaker MicroGrant Winners
MicroGrant Winners
Sponsored by RAMA Gaming House & supported by Charitable Gaming at City of Mississauga
- Dance on Film MicroGrant – Zachary Seto
- Touring Words of Meaning MicroGrant – Anjula Evans
- MAC Funded Fusion Animated Music Video MicroGrant – Mauve (musician) & Matthew Salisbury (animator)
Matchmaker MicroGrant Winners
Sponsored by MAC
- Alex Pollard – Lost and Found (dance)
- Alison Syer – Drawn In (visual art/literature)
- Anna Wojcik – Outdoor Opera (music production/concerts)
- Arlene – Harmony//Innocence (music recording)
- Karin Elyakim – Sunrises for Darling (film)
- Matt Zaddy – #TogetherAtHome (open mic concerts)
- MAYBE MAY – Still Mine (music recording)
- Rohan Dhupar – Venus & Adonis (dance)
- Susan Ksiezopolski – Creative Resilience, Artful Way to Bounce (multi-genre workshops)
- Tanisha Cunningham – Hair Care (theatre production)
- Zohra Zoberi – The Other I (literature)
Career Development MicroGrant Winners
Sponsored by MAC
- Angela Chao – Colours that Make Mississauga (visual art)
- Heather Christine – Vocal Coaching Mentorship (music)
- Julia Juhas – Film Directing Mentorship (Film)
- Maria Lagarde – Art2Connect Credit Valley Trail (visual art/literature)
2020 MAC MicroGrant & Matchmaker MicroGrant Winners
MicroGrant Winners – Phase One
Sponsored by RAMA Gaming House & supported by Charitable Gaming at City of Mississauga
- Theatre in the Park MicroGrant – Jasmine Sawant
- Artists on Film MicroGrant – Angela Chao
- Touring Words of Meaning MicroGrant – Wali Shah
- Touring Words of Meaning MicroGrant – Qurat Dar
- Musicians as Video Makers MicroGrant – Dimitri Hyacinth, Tennyson King, Justin Moy, Paige Blossom and Danny Lwin, Cmagic5, Shan Fernando, Andrea Arthur, Abhishek (Abby V), Cat Bernardi, & Vivek Mehmi
- Dance as a Movie MicroGrant – Colleen Snell, Co-Founder & Artistic Director of Frog in Hand Productions
- Dance as a Movie MicroGrant – Emily Roman, from Elite Dance Company
MicroGrant Winners – Phase Two
- Mississauga Invitational Fine Arts Show (Date TBC) – Ashley Beerdat, Grace Miah, Jackie Gallagher, Cathy Clark, Debby de Groot, Sandra Robson, Joanna Turlej, Rosemary Broos, Sujata Chander, Shobha Wagley, Adriana Rinaldi, Laura Beaton, Sue Archibald, Gabby Tutak, Sjon de Groot, Noelle Hamlyn, Sofia Berger, & Raheel Patel
MicroGrant Winners – Phase Three
Co-sponsored by Bell
- Art of Wellness (Documentary) – Susan Ksiezopolski
Matchmaker MicroGrant Winners:
- Demetrius Nath, musician and vocalist/guitar player of MAYBE MAY
- Emily Ryder, filmmaker
- Jacelyn Holmes (JACELYN), singer-songwriter
- Matt Zaddy, acclaimed musician and music educator
- Tony Truong, filmmaker
- Heather Christine, award-winning singer-songwriter
- You Made It!, a rising Mississauga-based arts collective
- Tsochoy Go, artist and digital illustrator
- LCI Movement, dance program
- Lisa Alves, lyricist and producer, in collaboration with Jessica Goddard
- Mabrook Entertainment
- Deep Ganguly, bansuri player and educator
- Denise Leslie, jazz songstress
- Tennyson King, international touring musician
- Cat Bernardi, jazz vocalist and composer
Career Development MicroGrant Winners:
- Matt Easter
- Keith Garebian
- Deepa Mahanti
2019 MAC MicroGrant Winners
MicroGrant Winners:
- Frog in Hand – “Stories in the Woods” interactive outdoor dance/theatre production
- Cathleen MacDonald – “Film Incubator Workshop” series
- Khaula Mazhar – “Pollinator’s Paradise” mural at the Mississauga Valley Community Centre
- Angela Chao and Susan Ksiezopolski – “Feel It” Exhibits