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Grants to experiment or research new work are less evident than the money offered to artists' for projects which have a direct public benefit.
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Public expectations
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Over recent years in the UK regardless of the complexion of government, public funding for the arts has come to be put towards organisations, projects and schemes which have a noticeable benefit for the public - things like galleries and exhibitions, educational events, arts festivals, open studios and so on.
This is because these activities not only fulfil the expectation that more people are being given access to the arts and thus that audiences are being 'developed', but also because arts organisers stand the chance of matching any public funding with money from other sources: sponsorship, trusts and foundations, etc. The argument often used is that this approach maximises what is otherwise a limited amount of public money available specifically for the arts.
The catch is that this philosophy rarely or barely supports innovation or risk or the notion that individual artists need to be able to 'buy time' for artistic refreshment, product development or 'blue skies imagineering' all of which are essential for the future production of quality visual and applied arts.
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| Developing ideas
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But the need for artists to 'buy time' for artistic development is not entirely ignored within the spectrum of funding opportunities, although locating the funding or resources to do so involves careful research into which sources suit a specific person's needs and circumstances. It's important to note that as not all award schemes are openly advertised, it can sometimes be a case of getting your work noticed by the people who are nominating artists.
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| NESTA
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Advertised schemes include NESTA (The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) funded through the National Lottery whose role is to 'help ideas, as great ideas need the chance to walk before they can run. If you've got an innovative idea in the field of science, technology or the arts, NESTA can help'.
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| Opportunities
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There are also opportunities like Tate Liverpool's annual MOMART Fellow, a scheme intended to 'allow the selected artist time and space over six months to develop new ideas and directions', with a £8,000 bursary, studio space and support from gallery staff. Bursaries of £500-£4,000 given as a combination of fees, materials, studio space and video facilities by London-based Artsadmin are for live or time-based media artists and 'offer time to experiment with new ways of working, to research or take an idea further or continue the creative process without the pressure of having to realise a final outcome or project'.
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Related site |
National Endowments for Science, Technology and the Arts: www.nesta.org.uk
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