A large number of scholarships and bursaries are awarded by the respective Arts Councils. The Arts Council of Wales administers grants, bursaries, commissions and further training for artists and arts practitioners in the fields of dance, drama, literature, translation, music, opera, visual arts, photography, video, etc. Arts Council England provides much of this funding through a national funding scheme called Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants, which replaced Grants for the Arts. The Crafts Council provides support for crafts people and the British Film Institute supports filmmakers.
In addition, there are a number of foundations that support arts projects and some of those support individual artists, e.g. thePRS Foundation for New Music assists a wide range of music activity including residencies and commissions for music creators. A number of smaller trusts, especially in the music field, provide financial assistance, primarily to young people under 25, e.g. to purchase, music instruments or to support further training (see also chapter 7.2.1). Due to the amount of awards, scholarships and bursaries, many of them only cater to a specific art form or demographic or to artists and creatives at a particular point in their careers. Arts Council England provides some guidance as to different funding options on its website, but this information cannot be regarded as exhaustive.
Artists at the beginning of their careers are especially in need of funding in order to be able to establish themselves in their chosen field. For this reason, there are a number of scholarshipsand bursaries aimed at young artists and start-ups. NESTA, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, is working to transform the UK’s capacity for innovation. It invests in early-stage companies, informs and shapes policy, and delivers practical programmes that inspire others to solve the big challenges of the future. This has included support for individual creators and projects.
When it comes to scholarships for further training, two key initiatives have sought to help train and develop a new generation of leaders for the cultural sector in the UK: the Cultural Leadership Programme and the Clore Leadership Programme. The former was a two-year Treasury funded investment in excellence in leadership across the creative and cultural industries, and the latter, a Clore Duffield Foundation initiative with a fellowship programme and short courses.
The British Council offers different travel bursaries and residencies for artists and cultural workers all over the globe. Furthermore, there is a range of international and European scholarship programmes which accept applications from UK-based artists. Such opportunities can be found in Fund-Finder: Guide to funding opportunities for arts and culture in Europe, beyond Creative Europe.
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