Resources
CBP produces and curates reading guides and community syllabi for educators, students, artists, and anyone curious about the ideas that animate our work. These are not exhaustive or canonical—they are invitations into inquiry, updated as our thinking evolves. CBP also maintains a curated and regularly updated list of funding opportunities for Black and Indigenous artists, scholars, and cultural workers. This list is produced collaboratively and updated at the start of each academic year.
If you know of an opportunity we should add, please email blackpoiesis@utoronto.ca.
Reading Guides & Community Syllabi
CBP Core Reading List — Black Poiēsis & Black Study
A starter list for anyone new to the intellectual and creative traditions CBP is in conversation with:
- Aimé Césaire — Notebook of a Return to the Native Land
- Audre Lorde — The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action (1977)
- Saidiya Hartman — Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments
- Sylvia Wynter — “Unsettling the Coloniality of Being/Power/Truth/Freedom”
- Fred Moten — In the Break: The Aesthetics of the Black Radical Tradition
- Édouard Glissant — Poetics of Relation
- June Jordan — “The Difficult Miracle of Black Poetry in America”
- Alice Coltrane — Lord of Lords (1973)
Reading List —
Workshop & Courses
[magnitude + bond] Reading Group Syllabus
Each semester, [magnitude + bond] develops a reading list centered on a particular question or thematic thread.
You must register for the event in order to access the reading material.
Black Studies & the Archive — Community Syllabus
A public-facing companion to the graduate course, including foundational readings on archives, custody, Black cultural memory, and diasporic aesthetics.
The reading material is available on the course page.
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
NEW: 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.
TO GET PRIORITY, APPLY BY APRIL 1, 2026!
LINK TO APPLY: HERE
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
Tkaronto, Dish With One Spoon
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