Submitting Work

NEW SUBMISSIONS TO VTAPE: Updated December 2025

For over 40 years, Vtape has been distributing works by video artists and filmmakers, with a steadily expanding collection now representing over 1,600 artists and several thousand titles. In order to uphold the standards and values of our service as a non-profit artist-run centre with a small but mighty team, it has become necessary to re-evaluate the submissions process and criteria. Refocusing our submissions criteria enables us to best serve our current artists while continuing to grow our collection in line with our organizational mandate. 

Moving forward, Vtape will consider:

  • Canadian artists (international artists are accepted solely by invitation);
  • submissions that are not represented by other Canadian distributors;
  • artists/filmmakers with two or more independently produced works created outside of an undergraduate educational context, preferably completed recently (within the past two years). 

Please contact collections@vtape.org with submission inquiries.

Once an artist’s work has been accepted for distribution at Vtape, new works are acquired for the catalogue as they are produced, and needn’t go through the same submission process.

As a reminder: The Vtape distribution collection is known for video art, works that push form and content through experimental approaches, social and political issue-based documentaries, and works originating from underrepresented communities. Projects of a conventional nature, for example, dramatic shorts or calling card films, are generally not well-served by the focus of this collection.

Please explore the Video Catalogue for a broader understanding of the kinds of work Vtape represents.

ARTISTS ALREADY IN DISTRIBUTION

INVENTORY REQUIREMENTS ONCE THE ARTIST IS IN DISTRIBUTION

Vtape requires the following materials before a video can be brought into distribution.

DELIVERABLES:

  • a 422 ProRes .mov, to be used as your digital sub-master. Digital files are used for exhibition, password-protected online previews, and Blu-Ray discs/DVDs are produced when needed.
  • 2-3 high-resolution stills (in both .tiff and .jpg format)
  • All artists are asked to provide their own hard drives for the storage of their digital content at Vtape. (For detailed technical information regarding digital file submission, see appendix below.)
  • Completed Credit Specifications form
  • Completed Distribution Agreement

DIRECTIONS FOR VIDEO FILES:

• No bars and tones, slates, or countdown on digital files. Your file should be ready to be exhibited as-is.

• HD video should NOT be anamorphic. HD videos should be resolutions of 1920 x 1080 ProRes 422 with square pixel aspect ratios. 4K videos should be ProRes 422. Do not use resolutions like 1440 x 1080 with anamorphic pixel sizes.

• PAL vs NTSC files: PAL files are suitable for exhibition; however, Vtape will convert to NTSC if/when required. For this, we request that artists working in PAL environments also provide an NTSC version.