During 2020/21 much of that funding was directed to emergency funding schemes operated by the Arts Council . £7.5m was made available to support individual artists and arts organisations at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Arts Council also distributed £20.5m of urgent support through the Welsh Government’s Cultural Recovery Fund.
During the coming financial year (April 2021 to March 2022) the Arts Council of Wales intends to distribute over £20million of National Lottery funding to support the arts sector – with funding opportunities for both individuals and organisations. This will be made available through a rolling programme of support and will include both small and large grants. There will be an ongoing programme of small grant funding which will be looked at on a six-weekly cycle, as well as large grants of up to £150,000.
Lottery funding programmes support the priorities set out in the Arts Council’s corporate plan “for the Benefit of All”. At the heart of these priorities is a commitment to increase opportunities in the Welsh Language and for people from culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds and Deaf and Disabled people to enjoy, take part and work in the arts.
Nick Capaldi, Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Wales said:
“Thanks to National Lottery players, £30 million is raised every week on average for projects big and small across the UK. As a National Lottery distributor, we are delighted to be able to use this money, to support and develop the arts. Our intention is that up to £20million should be directed to the arts in Wales as we begin to emerge from the effects of the Covid-19 related lockdown.
“During the past few months we’ve already been able to start releasing National Lottery funds to the arts through our innovative Connect and Flourish fund which provides funding for collaborative projects between organisations, communities and artists.
“Our funding will need to react quickly to any changes in Government Covid restrictions, so we’ll be keeping the roll-out of future programmes under close review. However, our hope and intention is to open further funds during the months ahead to support individual artists and organisations as they emerge from the effects of this past year’s lockdown.”
Future funding programmes include:
- small grant capital funding for venues to make changes that will help them to re-open and to invest in social distancing or other measures;
- funding for projects that address current health and well-being challenges through the arts;
- funding for organisations to create new work and to build back audiences for venues and festivals – there'll also be support for business development to help increase organisations’ resilience;
- funding for individuals to create new work, invest in research and development, and support training and professional development;
- funding that encourages schools to place creativity at the heart of the curriculum;
- funding for organisations and artists bringing the work of new voices and underrepresented communities to the attention of audiences in Wales;
- funding to support Welsh organisations and artists to connect and work internationally.
The dates currently proposed are subject to change. You can check the most up-to-date information by visiting the Arts Council of Wales website.
Connect and Flourish - The current round of this funding is available until 17 March 2021.
Arts and Health - This programme will open to applications on 7 April 2021 with a closing date of 28 April 2021. A second round of funding will open to applications on 6 October 2021 with a closing date of 27 October 2021.
Create: Small Grants. This is a rolling programme. It will open for applications in June 2021
Create: Large Grants. This programme opens to application on 12 April 2021 with two further rounds opening on 26 July 2021 and 6 December 2021
Capital: Small Grants. This programme opens to application on 1 June 2021 and closes on 14 July 2021.
We will also be accepting applications for our Creative Steps programme for organisations and individuals, and through the Creative learning through the arts programme. Further funding will be available through our International Opportunities Fund and the Wales in Edinburgh programme (with further details on this to be published in April). Further details will be published in due course, as the ongoing impact of the pandemic and its related restrictions become clearer.
END Monday 8 March 2021