Untitled by Vicken Parsons Arts Council Collection, Hayward Gallery, London

Grants for the arts Individuals and organisations 17/10/2007 Susana Lages Pina, Assistant Officer, Resource Development Huttson Lo, Officer, Diversity

Arts Council England is the national development agency for the arts. We believe in the transforming power of the arts to change the lives of people throughout the country. We invest in the arts through Grants for the arts, which was launched in April 2003.

Grants for the arts aims Our ambition for is to put the arts at the heart of national life and people at the heart of the arts. Grants for the arts will help us achieve this ambition. The aims for the programme are to:  help more people take part in the arts  provide creative opportunities for children and young people  help the development of artists, arts organisations and the creative economy

Grants for the arts aims  involve the arts and artists in creating vibrant communities  allow artists from this country to work internationally, international artists to work in England, and artists from here and abroad to work with each other  create opportunities and celebrate diversity  improve the performance and productivity of arts organisations and the arts sector

Who can apply? Our grants are for individuals, arts organisations and other people who use the arts in their work. They are for time limited activities that benefit people in England or that help artists and arts organisations in England to carry out their work.

What you can apply for The types of activity we fund We have designed Grants for the arts to encourage you to develop ideas, linked to your artistic needs and future plans. Activities that we can fund include: Projects and events Commissions and productions Research and development Activities for people to take part in Audience development Buying assets Education activities Marketing activities Refurbishing, improving and buying buildings to be used for the arts Training and professional development Organisation development Touring National activities Doing feasibility studies Public art

What you can apply for National Activities  National touring projects  Important large-scale national events such as conferences, presentations or exhibitions  Activities which take place in more then one region and develop good relationships in each region  Activities that are the result of joint working between artists and arts organisations from across England  Grants normally range from £5,000 up to a maximum of £200,000  The average grant for a national activity in 2005/06 was £41,150

How we assess your application The five assessment criteria  the artistic quality of the activity or its on-going effect on artistic practice (or both)  how the activity will be managed and its on-going effect on you  how realistic the activity is financially, and its future effect  how the public will benefit from the activity, immediately or in the longer term, and  the contribution of the activity to meeting our ambitions for the arts

Your proposal (headings) 1.You and your work 2.Making it happen 3.Your budget 4.Benefit to you and the public 5.Meeting our aims for Grants for the arts 6.Evaluation

Other income for your activity We want to make our funding go further and expect you to make the most of other sources of funding available to you. We expect you to find at least 10% of the total cost of your activity from other income sources. In special circumstances we can provide a grant for the total cost. If you apply to us for the total cost of the activity you must tell us in your written proposal what your special circumstances are.

How we assess your application Priorities There is a high demand for our grants and we do have to make difficult choices about which applicants to support. We use priorities to help us make decisions:  is the application from an individual or organisation that has not received funding from us before?  will the application: − develop the arts in areas with limited arts facilities and activities or limited opportunities for artists and arts organisations? −benefit areas of the country and increase participation and attendance by communities which face social or economic problems, benefit communities at risk of 'social exclusion'? −will help people to use the arts in new places, contexts and formats?  is the activity of strategic importance?

Awards for All If you have a general enquiry or want an application form, please contact them on one of the following:  Telephone  Website - 

  Youth Music -  Big Lottery Fund -  Heritage Lottery Fund -  NESTA -  UK Film Council -  Sport England and UK Sport Other lottery funders

Getting advice  Website −Information sheets −Download the application pack −FAQs  Enquiries team − −phone −Textphone  Staff at Arts Council England, East  Local authorities  Business Link − −phone

The Moving Figure, Holme Hall Primary School, Derbyshire Credit: Artworks