12 March 2018
Arts Council England Invites Applications to New National Lottery Project Grants
Arts Council England has launched a new £97.3 million a year open access programme for arts and museum projects, and for arts projects in and with libraries.
The new National Lottery Project Grants programme has replaced the Arts Council’s Grants for the Arts as well as absorbed some elements of other Arts Council England funds, which have now closed to applications. The new Project Grants has been designed to be more open to supporting those working in creative and digital media than the previous Grants for the Arts.
Under the new programme, community and cultural organisations, museums and libraries and individual artists can apply for grants of between £1,000 and £100,000 to support a wide range of arts projects as well as creative and digital media projects. The funding can support projects lasting up to a maximum of three years.
Applications must meet the programme’s four criteria of quality, public engagement, finance and management as well as focus on at least one of these areas: music, theatre, dance, visual arts, literature, combined arts, museum practice (accredited museums only), or libraries (arts-focused projects only).
The budget of £97.3 million per year is intended to further support the integration of museums and libraries into the Arts Council’s total investment approach. Some aspects of the Strategic Touring and Ambition for Excellence funds will be absorbed into Project Grants, with £14 million per year reserved to support nationally significant and national touring projects of over £100,000. National Portfolio Organisations will be able to apply for some of the national activity previously supported by Strategic Touring and Ambition for Excellence.
The following funds closed on 1 March:
- Grants for the Arts
- Strategic Touring fund
- Ambition for Excellence fund
- PRISM Grant Fund
- Grants for the Arts Libraries fund
There are no deadlines as applications can be submitted at any time.