We recognise the power of culture to bring communities together and give opportunity and visibility to people who may otherwise be marginalised. We want to support the artistic and financial sustainability of the sector and make sure that the widest range of people can participate.
Below, you can find information about our funding priorities for the Arts.
Please note this information relates to our priorities under our 2015-2019 strategy. You can find information on our current priorities in our latest strategy and under our work.
Art with a social impact
- We support work that:
- Uses a creative approach to address difficult social or environmental issues, or
- Builds engagement with culture in areas where there is low provision.
- Applicants must:
- Offer both artistic excellence and long-term social impact, and
- Put people at the centre of the creative process, and have a defined pathway of support or progression for them after the work ends.
- We want our funding to:
Support learning between organisations and enable the broadest possible participation in the arts.
Supporting emerging talent
- We support work that:
- Opens up access to a career in the arts, or supports development within a career in the arts, for those who are currently missing out, or
- Equips the next generation of professional artists to manage sustainable careers..
- Applicants must:
- Build their talent support programmes around an accessible recruitment process that works to tackle potential barriers for applicants, and
- Offer strong signposting to further opportunities, and progression routes for participants.
- We want our funding to:
- Enable the arts sector to support a more diverse range of arts professionals towards sustainable careers.
Organisations at a pivotal point
- We support:
- Strong organisations to make a transition to, or test out, a new business model or new artistic programme, with a clear and realistic plan to exit from our funding.
- Collaborations and partnerships, or local and regional networks, which establish new ways of working, develop diverse audiences, or nurture emerging companies or new artistic practice.
- Applicants must:
- Show that their new models or collaborations will result in a better experience for artists, audiences and participants.
- We want our funding to:
- Encourage the broader sector to adopt new models or improved ways of working which are informed by the learning from this work.