INTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES

Internal Opportunities

This page lists paid and structured roles only when there is a real scope, timeline, eligibility route, and point of contact. Include Work Study 2026/27, UofT Student Research Fellowships, CBP Residencies for Cultural Workers, and other funded or paid opportunities as they become active.

If you know of an opportunity we should add, please email blackpoiesis@utoronto.ca.

Work Study Roles (2026-27)

Interested in working with us? Our work study roles for the 2026-27 academic year are posted on Career & Co-Curricular Learning Network (CLNx). Visit CLNx to see what’s currently open and to apply.

UofT Student Research Fellowships

Research Fellow ("Lead")

Coordinates CBP’s operational work, liaises with other fellows, co-organises study groups, supports ongoing projects, and helps shape the lab’s scholarly and creative ethos. Shapes at least one initiative or programme based on their area of research.

6-10 hrs/week

Editorial & Archival Fellow

Supports editorial projects (e.g., Transnational Black Studies, Shared Horizons); maintains CBP’s living archive through documentation, curation, and multimedia storying; contributes to an end-of-year or biannual report on “the State of Black Art” (in Canada or otherwise).

4-6 hrs/week

Community Engagement Fellow

Develops public-facing activities including workshops, performances, Freedom Library, and Letters of Calling; nurtures ties with student organisations, GTA networks, and external or international community partners.

4-6 hrs/week

Outreach & Communications Fellow

Manages newsletters, website updates, and social media presence; contributes to community outreach beyond institutions.

2-3 hrs/week

Curatorial Fellow — Special Projects

Co-develops or leads a one-off curatorial or public programme connected to their practice or a CBP partnership (e.g., BAND Gallery, Spring 2026 Black-Indigenous cabaret at Tranzac).

15-25 hrs total (project-based)

Poet-in-Residence / Artist-in-Residence

Holds space for poetry, performance, sound, or visual art practice within CBP. Access, mutual aid, poetic relation, and radical care guide this role. Past residents have included Kay Ulanday Barrett (Disability Justice & No Body But Ours) and Kadhja Bonet (Black Sound & Community Infrastructures).

10-15 hrs/month (project-based)

Advisory Fellow — Transnational Strategies

Offers guidance on grants, collaborations, and strategy across Black and Indigenous studies, global aesthetics, and decolonial struggle. Anchors projects that foreground Black–Indigenous relationality and transnational solidarities.

5-10 hrs/item

Creative Practice Fellow

Anchors a workshop or “maker-thinker” series about works-in-progress or practice (e.g., in [magnitude + bond], collage, sound, transmedia performance), foregrounding aesthetic experimentation and community study.

5-10 hrs/project

Collaborator

Artists, makers, scholars, and organizers who join specific events or projects (workshops, reading groups, performances) either as audience, participants, or others without ongoing commitments; expand CBP’s creative and intellectual community.

Flexible/public

How to Apply

NOTE: Fellowship availability is announced at the start of each academic year; residencies and collaborative roles are ongoing and can be proposed at any time.

To express interest in a fellowship or residency, please send the following to blackpoiesis@utoronto.ca:

A statement of interest (maximum 500 words) that addresses: why CBP and why now; a proposed project or event idea; relevant skills and experience; your current research or creative practice; and at least one piece of creative work by a Black person that guides your thinking.
A current CV or resume
Your preferred pronouns and any accessibility needs you’d like us to know about.

We will respond within two to three weeks.

Black/Indigenous Grants or Fellowships

University of Toronto (UofT)-based

Faculty of Information (iSchool) — Direct Awards

Faculty of Information Grant for Black or Indigenous Students ($300–$1,700, need-based, Omnibus application)
Inclusive Excellence Admissions Scholarship for Master’s Students ($15,000, thesis-track MI/MMSt, no separate application)
OGS Indigenous Scholar Awards (2–3 reserved seats + automatic entry into Inclusive Excellence competition)

School of Graduate Studies — UofT-Wide Awards

SGS Fellowships & Bursaries for Black and/or Indigenous Students (merit + need, January 30 deadline)
Massey College Junior Fellowship Bursaries (for Black, Indigenous & International students)
SGS Indigenous Graduate Travel Award ($1,000, rolling basis, approved by S.A.G.E.)
SGS Inclusive Excellence Graduate Scholarship (~25 awards, auto-considered via OGS application)

Government-Funded Awards at UofT

CGRS M Black Student Researchers Initiative, Indigenous Scholars Supplements, MINDS Scholarships, and OGS — all with December or April deadlines noted

UofT Postdoctoral Opportunities

Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program ($70,000/year, Black/Indigenous researchers only, Faculty of Information contact included)
UTSC Inclusive Excellence Postdoctoral Fellowship

Funding Opportunity

The Community Aesthetics & Praxis (CAP) Micro-Grant

The Community Aesthetics & Praxis (CAP) Micro-Grant is a new funding initiative designed to support Master’s and PhD students at the University of Toronto (UTSC, UTM, or UTSG). The grant provides rapid-access funding, typically ranging from $250–$500, to supplement research and research-creation expenses such as transcription, translation, community honoraria, local travel, and archival or creative materials.

ANNOUNCED ON A ROLLING BASIS

Eligibility and Priorities:

Applicants must be current Master’s or PhD students with projects at an advanced stage, such as fieldwork, capstones, or final creative production.
Projects must have applied for other institutional funding; the micro-grant is intended to be supplemental.
Priority is given to racialized and underrepresented students, as well as work directly impacting Black and/or Indigenous communities.
Specific funding is earmarked for Indigenous students and practitioners.

Application and Timeline:

The application requires details on project impact, funding status, and a budget supporting statement.
While the initiative has a rolling deadline, priority consideration is given to applications received by March 20th. The absolute deadline for the first cycle is April 1, 2026.
Results are announced in late April.

Administration and Sponsorship

The initiative is administered by the Collaboratory for Black Poiēsis (CBP) in partnership with the Technoscience Research Unit (TRU). It is co-sponsored by the Canada Research Chair in Transdisciplinary Indigenous Arts, the Black Research Network (BRN), and the Critical Refugee and Migration Studies Network. Recipients must acknowledge the CAP micro-grant in any resulting outputs for two years following the award. Successful applicants must also provide a brief summary rationale of expenditures within 90 days of using the funds.

Artist Residencies & Fellowships (External)

MacDowell Fellowship — interdisciplinary arts residency (Peterborough, NH)
Banff Centre — Leighton Studios Artist Residency
VCCA — Virginia Center for the Creative Arts residency
Tin House — workshops and residencies for writers
James Baldwin Fellowship at MacDowell
Ford Foundation — Disabled Futures Fellowship
Creative Capital Awards — socially engaged, experimental, and multimedia arts
Jackman Humanities Institute Research Fellowship (UofT)
Rome Prize — American Academy in Romea

Black Arts & Community Organizations (Canada)

Ontario Black History Society — grants and awards for Black history initiatives
Black Business and Professional Association (BBPA) — scholarships and community awards
Nia Centre for the Arts — artist support, residencies, and public programming grants
Art Gallery of Ontario — community programs and artist grants
BAND Gallery — artist support and project funding

Interested in collaborating with us?

Our multidisciplinary hub for black study and black aesthetic practice welcomes proposals for programs, gatherings, or projects by and for Afro-diasporic, Black Indigenous, African researchers, students, communities, independent culture workers and all our relations.

We welcome proposals for a wide range of events, including but not limited to:

Questions?

Tkaronto, Dish With One Spoon