Nova Scotia / Nouveau - Brunswick / Prince Edward Island
Nouvelle-Écosse / New Brunswick / Île du Prince Édouard

About CARFAC

CARFAC Maritimes was established in 2003, as an aggregate of former affiliates in the three Maritime provinces.

We share the mandate and goals of CARFAC, bringing support and services to Maritime visual artists from our headquarters in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Our mandate

CARFAC (Canadian Artists' Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens) is incorporated federally as a non-profit corporation that is the national voice of Canada's professional visual artists.

As a non-profit association and a National Art Service Organization, our mandate is to promote the visual arts in Canada, to promote a socio-economic climate that is conducive to the production of visual arts in Canada, and to conduct research and engage in public education for these purposes.

CARFAC was established by artists in 1968 and has been recognized by the Status of the Artist legislation. CARFAC is guided by an active Board, elected by the membership.

We believe that artists, like professionals in other fields, should be paid for their work and share equitably in profits from their work. As the national voice of Canada's professional visual artists, CARFAC defends artists' economic and legal rights and educates the public on fair dealing with artists. In doing so, CARFAC promotes a socio-economic climate conducive to the production of visual arts. CARFAC engages actively in advocacy, lobbying, research and public education on behalf of artists in Canada.

Our history

"No one is more qualified to speak on behalf of artists than artists themselves"

- Jack Chambers, CARFAC founder

1968: Canadian Artists' Representation is founded in London, Ontario when a group of artists, headed by Jack Chambers, organize themselves collectively to demand the recognition of artists' copyright. They begin issuing minimum copyright fee schedules and continue to produce them regularly.

1971: Members form Canadian Artists' Representation/le Front des artistes canadinens to advocate at the federal level.

1976: Canada becomes the first country to pay exhibition fees to artists, after successful lobbying by CARFAC. Based on CARFAC's minimum copyright fee schedule, the Canada Council makes the payment of fees to living Canadian artists a requirement for eligibility for Program Assistance Grants to Public Art Galleries.

1988: CARFAC's lobbying results in the federal Copyright Act Amendment. The Act recognizes artists as the primary producers of culture, and gives artists legal entitlement to exhibition and other fees.

1999: CARFAC is certified by the Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal as the collective bargaining representative for visual and media artists in Canada, as recognized by the federal Status of the Artist legislation.

2000: Le RAAV, le Regroupment des artistes en visuels du Quebec, and CARFAC sign a joint Memorandum of Understanding that facilitates the membership of RAAV in CARFAC.

2003: CARFAC begins to expand its services in the northern territories, with offices opening in 2005 in Nunavut, and the Yukon in 2006.

2007: A new agreement on a fair level of payment for artist fees was struck between CARFAC, RAAV, CAMDO and the CMA. The four organizations agreed to form a joint committee to pursue common goals.