Manitoba Music Partners with Balancing Act Canada to Support Music Worker-Caregivers Accessing New Markets

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Pilot Project Creates Financial Support via the Market Access Fund for 2025-26


Artists and music industry professionals growing their business activities in export markets can now access limited financial resources for caregiving expenses through Manitoba Music’s Market Access Fund via a pilot project for the 2025-26 fiscal year. 

The caregiver stipend within the Market Access Fund is supported in part by Balancing Act Canada and Women in Music Canada as part of the Level UP! Initiative. Balancing Act supports artist parents and caregivers in Canada, by advocating for greater equality, accessibility, and inclusion within the arts workforce.

The Market Access Fund exists to support export development through showcases at music industry conferences and showcase festivals, targeted and confirmed business meetings, and collaborative songwriting trips. The fund is made possible by the financial support of the Government of Canada, the Manitoba Government, and Manitoba Film & Music.

“Support for caregivers and parents working in music is so critical to the long-term development and health of our sector,” says Vanessa Kuzina, Manitoba Music’s executive director. “As a parent, I have experienced first-hand the career impacts of nonexistent practical and financial support for caregivers during my career, both as an artist and an industry worker. We are so grateful to Balancing Act for creating this unique opportunity to offer a small contribution to caregivers working in music here in Manitoba, so they can face fewer barriers to building their business.”

Balancing Act was founded in 2019 by Lisa Marie DiLiberto, Artistic Director of Theatre Direct, to effect change and increase access to employment for parents and caregivers working in the arts. Balancing Act collaborates with artists, arts workers, and arts organizations to develop pathways for change at an individual, organizational, and systemic level. Women in Music Canada is the Level UP! sector lead in music, through its executive director, Robyn Stewart. 

“I applaud Manitoba Music for their work on this initiative,” says Stewart. “In introducing the initiative, they are showing that they see caregivers, and are working to break down the unique barriers to career success that cone from caring for another dependent while working in an industry that is not always a traditional 9-5 working situation. It is projects like this that will support movement toward a more equitable music industry.

“Artists and arts workers often have to turn down opportunities because of conflicting caregiving responsibilities and financial barriers to childcare,” Balancing Act notes in its resource materials. “Outdated models of arts production, coupled with limited awareness and stigma, contribute to the exclusion of caregivers at decision-making tables, and within the arts in general.” Download Balancing Act’s sector data PDF

For more information about the Market Access Fund, including guidelines and the application process, please visit www.manitobamusic.com/market-access.

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