£20 million is being made available to individuals working in the cultural sector, including artists, creative practitioners and freelancers.
Arts Council England (ACE) announced this week that the fund will allow individuals to apply for grants of up to £2,500 if they have a track record in publicly funded culture.
In the announcement post, ACE wrote “We understand the impact the Covid-19 crisis is having on all parts of the cultural workforce, so we’re looking to provide £4 million from this £20 million budget for grants to benevolent funds targeted at other cultural workers. More information on this will be shared soon.”
Who is eligible to apply for this fund?
Creative practitioners whose main work is focused on these artforms and disciplines:
Music
Theatre
Dance
Visual Arts
Literature
Combined Arts
Museums practice
This work includes: choreographers, writers, translators, producers, editors, freelance educators in the disciplines and artforms they support, composers, directors, designers, artists, craft makers and curators.
Magicians and comedians can apply to this fund, as long as they have a track record of receiving public funding for their work.
ACE are also exploring reasonable adjustments that will ensure applicants with access requirements have an equal chance of benefiting from this fund. This would include anyone ill due to Covid-19
Full application details will follow soon.
When do applications open?
ACE has said that they will publish guidance for applicants – including the detailed timetable for this fund – on 30 March. Potential applicants will need to register on ACE’s application portal Grantium by Friday 3 April. There will be support for people to do this.
Where has this investment come from?
This is one of three emergency response funds that Arts Council England are launching. This funding has come from reallocation of National Lottery Project Grants, Developing Your Creative Practice, and their Development Funds for the 2020-21 period, and uses up almost all of their reserves.
Is there any other support we should be made aware of?
The Chancellor has announced support for organisations and individuals during the Covid-19 crisis. Go here for more guidance.
You can also find out more about the decisions they've made in developing this fund here.
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