Arts Council England - Funding Research

Funding opportunities for film-making mostly comes from two main sources, The Arts Council and The British Film Institute. As I would like to apply for funding for an exhibition based piece of work, The Arts Council is the main organisation aimed at fine art type projects whilst the British Film Institute focuses more on traditional film-making projects such as features and shorts. The Arts Council England's mission is 'Great art and culture for everyone' meaning that they aim to create and fund works that will benefit everybody from all walks of life. They have a variety of different funding opportunities, not only for artists but also for museums, galleries and new creative businesses. The primary funding opportunity I would like to look at is know as a grant for the arts, The Arts Council describes this type of funding as "our Lottery-funded grant programme for individuals, arts organisations and other people who use the arts in their work. Grants are available for activities carried out over a set period and which engage people in England in arts activities and help artists and art organisations in England carry out their work". (Arts Council. (2013). Grants for the Arts. Available: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/grants-arts/. Last accessed 20th April 2014.) This particular grant has helped many emerging artists with their work and allows for up to fifteen thousand pounds for each successful application. You can also apply for a grant of up to one hundred thousand pounds but I do not feel I would need anywhere near that kind of money. the national Lottery website has some more information about this grant and states that "It is used to allow artists from this country work internationally, international artists to work in England, and artists from here and abroad to work with each other". (The National Lottery. (2014). Grants for the Arts. Available: http://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/funding/grants-arts. Last accessed 20th April 2014.) This is particularly interesting to me as I definitely want to work internationally and may find the opportunity whilst travelling to work alongside other artists from around the world. It is important for me to find a funding opportunity which suits my idea and allows me the time to spend travelling whilst creating the exhibition work.