Autumn Round Up: Resources For Creatives
© Close up of Claudine’s Desk
Autumn is officially upon us and as we enter the last few months of what has been a challenging year for many, we thought this would be a good opportunity to round up a selection of resources that may be useful for creatives right now. These include funding, opportunities, training and places to find inspiration. This is not an exhaustive list and we hope to add to and update this over the coming months 😊
Funding
The Arts Council are probably the most well known funder of the Arts in the UK, which whilst this makes the application process highly competitive is definitely a great first port of call. Currently funding program which are open for applications are;
The National Lottery Project Grants program, with no deadline you can apply for grants of £1,000 - £100,000. National Lottery Project Grants supports thousands of individual artists, community and cultural organisations. Until April 2021, the fund will focus on the needs of smaller independent organisations and individual practitioners.
Support for Freelance Workers The Arts Council are investing £2 million in funds that have been set up to help freelance workers in the arts and culture community, such as technicians, stage managers, artists and performers. Some of the deadlines may of past, please click the link for more information
Coming soon in Autumn 2020 Developing Your Creative Practice aimed at helping artists and creatives take their work to the next level.
Community Southwark are the local Council for Voluntary Services (CVS) - umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in Southwark. They have two pages dedicated to funding opportunities one for funding with deadlines and funding without deadlines whilst there focus is on the voluntary and community sector, there may be some cross over with your creative project, please check the individual funding briefs to see how your project may fit.
Cockpit Arts have three awards open for application, all with the deadline of 5th October 2020. The Cockpit Arts / Leathersellers’ Award is for talented makers working with leather who are seeking business development support to take their creative business to the next level. The Cockpit Arts / Clear Insurance Award aims to support professional makers who have been in business for less than three years. The Cockpit Arts / The Worshipful Company of Basketmakers’ Award aims to assist a basketmaker to start up and grow as an independent maker and business owner.
Art Fund have for over 110 years we have supported museums and galleries, and helped them to buy and display great works of art for everyone to enjoy. Their Respond and Reimagine Grants aimed to help museums, galleries and cultural organisations respond to immediate challenges connected to the Covid-19 crisis. Grants available of £10,000 - £50,000 and the deadline is 12th October 2020.
The Mayor of London has announced a £1million Resilience Fund to support London’s businesses and community groups to emerge stronger from the current coronavirus crisis and to ensure the capital is better prepared for future emergencies. Grants of up to £30,000 will be available to support the design and testing of tech-based innovations that help boost London’s resilience. Apply here.
The Government launched their Winter Economy Plan in a response to the on going Coronavirus pandemic. This includes a Job Support Scheme from 1 November 2020, to top up the salaries of employees working part time by up to £697.92 per month. The extension of the Self Employment Income Support Scheme to cover two further grants, from November 2020 to April 2021, as many in the arts and creative sector are self employed this will be very welcome.
Other changes include:
Changes to repayment terms of Bounce Back Loans and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans to extend up to ten years. Interest-only periods of up to six months and payment holidays are also now available to businesses.
Flexible payments for Self-Assessment and deferred VAT payments in 2021
Extending the 5% VAT rate until 31 March 2021
Opportunities
The Crafts Council's goal is to make the UK the best place to make, see, collect and learn about contemporary craft. It has a long list of current opportunities for makers on their website, including awards, prizes, residencies, studio spaces and job.
Crafty Fox Market supports emerging designer makers and artists with opportunities to showcase and sell their work. Applications are now open for November and December online markets. Deadline for applications is 10th October 2020.
Arts Jobs & Arts News list adverts for a range of job opportunities within the art and culture sector. You can search or submit jobs below, or use Arts News to announce arts-related events, news and call-outs for exhibitions. Read the listings here.
The Dots is “the professional network for people who don’t wear suits to work” here you can find jobs, create a profile and connect with others working in the creative industries plus events listings and portfolio masterclasses.
Tech London is a comprehensive online platform connecting and supporting London’s expanding entrepreneurship ecosystem. It includes all the latest information and resources that people in London need to access opportunities in the tech sector, connect with each other, and grow their businesses. Read more here.
Training
The Design Trust is an online business school for designers, makers and professional creatives. They have a wealth of resources and online training course, plus every year the produce a super useful Dream Plan Do diary planner for creative businesses, get your hands on the 2021 version when their online shop opens in early November 2020.
General Assembly is a pioneer in education and career transformation, specialising in today’s most in-demand skills. All their course are currently being offered online and they have everything from free events to part time courses in digital marketing and full time courses in software engineering.
Inspiration
Creative Morning is a world-wide community of creatives, which organise monthly breakfast talk series (which are now happening online). This has also grown to include a membership based online network and you can find lots of interesting talks to watch any time here.
The Art Newspaper is a monthly print publication, with daily updates online see here, founded in 1990 and based in London and New York City. It covers news of the visual arts as they are affected by international politics and economics, developments in law, tax, the art market, the environment and official cultural policy.
Vest Pod founded by Emilie Bellet, her mission is to change the conversation about money and empower women financially. Vestpod is a digital platform with a popular weekly newsletter as well as personal finance workshops and networking events. Follow Vest Pod on Instagram for regular content that will inspire you to manage your money better.
The Great Women Artists is an Instagram account, website and podcast run by Katy Hessel who’s goal is to readdress the gender imbalance in the art world by reinserting women of all backgrounds back into the canon of art history.