The New Year presents the perfect opportunity to reflect on the successes and challenges faced in 2021, and look forward to the year ahead with a renewed sense of optimism and direction in terms of your artistry and career in the creative industries.
With this in mind, we have compiled a handful of funding and creative development opportunities for you to check out over the festive period, as you begin to think about your next steps.
We hope you find them helpful!
NB: We have tried where possible to ensure that the content provided is as up to date as possible, but naturally deadlines and other information are subject to change.
Undergraduate Funding
Upcoming
- PRS Foundation: The International Showcase Fund (ISF), offers vital export support for UK-based artists, bands, songwriters and producers who have been invited to perform or create new music at international showcasing festivals or conferences. (31 Dec, 2021)
- Creative Scotland: Open Fund: Sustaining Creative Development, aims to enable individuals and organisations to explore ways of working that will help them to adapt and respond to the current changing circumstances. Funding is available for between £1,000 and £100,000. (31 Dec, 2021)
- The Royal Philharmonic Society: Study Abroad: RPS Julius Isserlis Scholarship. This year, the RPS Julius Isserlis Scholarship expects to offer a total of £30,000 to young instrumentalists to study abroad for up to two years. This will be split between a number of musicians, as decided by the panel. Typical grants can range from as little as £500 up to £10,000. This opportunity is open to all classical instrumentalists of any nationality between the ages of 15 and 25, who are permanently resident in the UK. (01 Feb, 2022)
Ongoing
- Arts Council England: Project Grants, £1,000 - £100,000: the fund will prioritise independent organisations, creative practitioners and freelancers until August 2021. There have been some changes since previous iterations of this funding. Find out more here (Ongoing)
- Grand Plan: Open Grants, £1,000 (3 grants available each month), for people of colour based in the UK who want to make a new creative project (Ongoing)
- Help Musicians: Do It Differently Fund, apply for financial support of up to £3,000 towards recording and releasing music; helping to build creative portfolios and get music out into the world (Ongoing)
- Help Musicians: MOBO Help Musicians Fund, apply for financial support of up to £3,000 towards recording and releasing music; helping to build creative portfolios and get music out into the world. The MOBO Fund exists to facilitate these opportunities for musicians making Hip Hop, Grime, Soul, music of African origin, Reggae, Jazz and Gospel (Ongoing)
- Help Musicians: Transmission Fund, apply for financial support of up to £1,500 to help you take advantage of opportunities that enhance your skills or artistic practice - e.g. virtual conference, online course, coaching, masterclasses (Ongoing)
- Help Musicians: Fusion Fund, musicians can apply for financial support of up to £5,000 to undertake a UK-based collaboration between themselves and another non-music artist - e.g. storytellers, lighting designers, choreographers, technologists, scientists, gaming designers (Ongoing)
- Leeds Inspired: Small Grants, apply for small grants of £100 - £1200 for creative projects (Ongoing)
- The Cooper Collection: Albert Cooper Music Charitable Trust provides funds for tuition, help towards the purchase of an instrument, some living expenses incurred whilst in full time or postgraduate education/studies at a recognised music college/university in the U.K. Supports students from 18-21 years of age. (Ongoing)
- Youth Music: The Youth Music NextGen Fund offers young creatives grants of up to £2,500 to make their ideas happen. (Ongoing)
- Girls I Rate: #GIRAMY provides support and funding for Black women aged 16-30 in music and the creative sector. (Ongoing)
Need a review or some assistance with a funding application? Email alumni@lcm.ac.uk and we will try to help!
Postgraduate Funding Opportunities
Thinking about continuing your studies in music or the performing arts and wanting to know about the funding opportunities on offer? Look no further.
- Yorkshire Ladies Council of Education: YLCE Awards. Female postgraduate students who are eligible to pay Home fees can apply for an award directly to this local charity to help with study costs. Applications are assessed in September, March and June. Completed forms must be received by the first day of the relevant month.
- The Countess of Munster Musical Trust: The Munster Trust Study Awards offer awards of between £2,000 and £4,000 towards postgraduate study. This programme is open to classical and jazz performers, and composers, who are looking to begin a postgraduate course in September. (10 Feb, 2022)
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RVW Trust: Vaughan Williams Bursaries. Up to five Vaughan Williams Bursaries, of £4,000 each, are awarded each year. The bursaries support those who have been accepted on taught Masters’ courses in composition at British universities or conservatoires. Unfortunately they cannot support courses in TV/film composition, electroacoustic music, performance courses, research courses, PhDs or courses which are based outside of the UK. (14 April 2022)
Artist and Business Development Opportunities
If you’re considering the next steps for your artistry or career development, check out some of the existing opportunities across the sector below.
- Creative Youth: FUSE International (formerly International Youth Arts Festival) has been a platform for artists aged 5-26 for the past 13 years, and things are only becoming more ambitious every year. This year's festival takes place from 1–10 July 2022, and applications are NOW OPEN via Eventotron. (Kingston, 9 Jan)
- Long Division Festival: Long Division Festival 2022. Applications are now open to be involved in Long Division Festival 2022 and a range of other activities they will be presenting in 2022. The festival takes place in Wakefield on June 11th 2022, with a few fringe events on dates either side as well as a series of monthly gigs leading up to the festival weekend.
Places To Keep In The Loop
Make sure you subscribe and check out the organisations listed below, as they provide a helpful and informative source for upcoming opportunities which are not covered in this article:
Funding
COVID-19 Support
Help Musicians: Corona Advice for Musicians
Incorporated Society of Musicians: COVID-19 Advice for Musicians
Musicians’ Union: Coronavirus Guidance
Artist and Career Development
Sound and Music - Opportunities Board
Sound and Music, the UK's national organisation for new music, provide a list of opportunities for composers, young people and educators, submitted by their own network of partners. Their Opportunities Board is well worth keeping an eye on.
Music:Leeds - Opportunities Board
Our friends over at Music:Leeds do a fantastic job keeping up to date with the latest jobs, funding opportunities and events going on in the region, and further afield. Learn more here or sign-up to their mailing list
Youth Music - Opportunities Board
A fantastic resource provided by Youth Music, their opportunities board is the place for young people developing careers in the music industries to develop skills and gain experience. Discover more here
Wired4Music - Opportunities Board
If you're aged 16 - 25 and usually based in or around London, Wired4Music are a great organisation to know. They offer a network and community for those working in music and the wider creative industries. Discover more here
The Route - Jobs and Opportunities Round Up
The Route's aim is to demystify the pathways to job roles within the industry, and inspire young people from marginalised backgrounds to pursue a career in the music industry. Discover more here
ArtsJobs - Jobs
Whilst primarily a jobs vacancy website, ArtsJobs does occasionally provide artist development and commissioning opportunities. Discover more here
