Arts councils in Ontario and Quebec are hoping to spark cross-border arts exchanges with a new joint artistic residency program, announced in Montreal Monday.

The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Ontario Arts Council have teamed up for the new initiative, in which artists and writers can apply for a grant of up to $9,000 to live and work in the neighbouring province on a specific endeavour.

The new program "will foster exchanges and help forge ties between the arts communities in both provinces," Ontario Arts Council chair Martha Durdin said in a statement.

Yvan Gauthier, president and CEO of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, added that the grant "affords artists an opportunity to broaden their circle of partners, engage in discussions with their peers and meet new audiences."

The residency program is open to individual writers and artists in any discipline in either province.

Interested artists must apply to their respective council and will be evaluated on a variety of factors, including the quality of their artistic output to date and the influence their art has had on their own arts communities.