Call for Submissions: 2026 CIBC C² Art Program

2025 Recipient Natia Lemay, The Meeting Place, 2025, oil on canvas, 72 x 120 inches; included in What the Edge Knows. Image by LF Documentation.

Call for Submissions: 2026 CIBC C² Art Program

Submission Deadline: January 18, 2026 at 11:59pm EST

CIBC’s C² Art Program (C² Art) is a Canadian national art competition designed to help emerging artists make their ambitions a reality with a unique paid opportunity to create and curate their art. The completed artwork will then be exhibited for four months at CIBC’s headquarters, CIBC Square, in Toronto, ON.

A selection committee including members of the art community will select the award recipients based on the quality of their submissions.

Each of the two recipients are awarded $25,000, paid out over a period of six months. Each artist will create a body of work and curate it for display in a solo exhibition in one of the gallery spaces at CIBC Square. The CIBC art team will collaborate with each artist throughout this process, funding all exhibition materials including framing, plinths, shipping and installation.

Recipients will also be invited to attend all-expenses paid trip to Toronto to attend an exhibition opening reception at CIBC Square.

Last year’s recipients, Delali Cofie and Natia Lemay, debuted their solo exhibitions: …The Candle Whispered Them Here and What the Edge Knows in October 2025 and they will remain on view until January 2026 at CIBC Square. To read more about these exhibitions and past recipients, please visit the C² Art Program website.

2025 Recipient Delali Cofie, Installation view of …The Candle Whispered Them Here. Image by LF Documentation.

Program Overview:

• Open to Canadian artists with two to ten years of professional experience.
• Two artists will each receive a $25,000 award, plus an additional $5,000 for material costs, over a six-month period.
• Artists will develop a body of work for a solo exhibition at CIBC Square, showcased for four months.
• All selected artists will be invited to Toronto for a paid trip to attend the opening reception.
• CIBC will fund all exhibition materials, including framing, shipping, and installation; all works will be returned to artists after the exhibition.

Submission Deadline: January 18, 2026, 11:59pm EST

To learn more about the Program and to submit your application, please visit here.

For additional information or questions, please contact:
Mailbox.C2Art@cibc.com

About CIBC

CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with 14 million personal banking, business, public sector and institutional clients. Across Personal and Business Banking, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, and Capital Markets and Direct Financial Services businesses, CIBC offers a full range of advice, solutions and services through its leading digital banking network, and locations across Canada, in the United States and around the world. Ongoing news releases and more information about CIBC can be found here.

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