Announcing the first grantholders from our refreshed Arts Fund

Emma, Grants Manager: ​“Their vision is based on the principle that sharing power doesn’t divide power, it multiplies it, and this is evident from previous work they’ve undertaken with organisations including Barbican, What Next and Tate Plus. We think this is incredibly interesting work and our support will allow Alleyne & to explore how a longer-term approach can create substantial social change.”

Sonia, Grants Manager: ​“We found ArtsEkta to be an exemplary model of inclusive culturally diverse practice. Based in Belfast, they foreground diverse arts practices to communicate and nurture joy through year-round engagement in various settings, including residencies in schools, artist develpment, and creating training programmes for deaf, disabled and neurodiverse artists from culturally diverse backgrounds.”

Sonia, Grants Manager: ​“Since their inception and to date, Autograph have lived up to their values in supporting Global majority artists to be represented through the intersections of colonialism, climate change and social justice through the medium of photography and film. In the near three decades since they began, Autograph have created a solid home for marginalised communities and acted as a safe haven for artists exploring their photographic journeys.”

Shoubhik, Head of Programme – Arts: ​“Candoco bring with them a contemporary understanding of intersectionality and disability justice, and are exploring how they can use their brand, resources and reputation today to work towards change for all disabled people. We saw in their work the exploration of alternatives to existing models which exclude disabled dancers and cause harm. This includes increased access support across their work, paid rest days in rehearsal schedules and advocating for change within larger dance organisations.”

Shuet-Kei, Grants Manager: ​“Citrus Arts are ambitious to put the Rhondda Valley on the map as a national centre of excellence in circus practice through making high-quality distinctive circus productions and delivering a comprehensive talent development programme. Their work represents a creative pilot light to reignite hope, joy and a richer life for their community through circus.”

Emma, Grants Manager: ​“We are impressed by Company Three’s ​‘radical consistency’ framework which enables them to build meaningful relationships with young people and consistent engagement with resident artists, developing a basis of trust that allows for the creation of radical work. Their impact on young people’s creativity is evident – alumni have gone on to leadership roles at Tara Theatre and Trybe House Theatre – but more significantly, members have gained the confidence and agency to speak up on inequity at school, in their communities and in other change-making spaces.”

Shuet-Kei, Grants Manager: ​“Far From The Norm’s work explores and addresses issues affecting Black working-class urban communities such as the legacy of adverse childhood experiences and adult depression, growing up and personal responsibility, and the hope of making choices and shaping futures. We hope our support can help them realise their ambition to bring in people who are excluded through multiple barriers from the dance sector and speaks to the barriers overcome by the existing leadership of Far From The Norm.”

Sonia, Grants Manager: ​“We found it compelling that an organisation that has been around for nearly four decades remains grassroots and co-operative in it values and approach and yet has a large impact on the changing cultural landscape of Liverpool with young people at the heart of its programmes. The young people lead the way in which First Take develop their film and digital programmes and the organisation in turn holds a safe space for their development in the sector through their connections.”

Emma, Grants Manager: ​“Community voice is very much at the heart of Glasgow Zine Library’s work, with community-led events forming a large part of their programming. By its nature, zine-making democratises the arts – it provides a vehicle for the political and personal views of marginalised communities and subcultures, supporting a broad exploration of social justice issues. Glasgow Zine Library retain this legacy of DIY culture, and we feel they strongly align with the Fund.”

Shoubhik, Head of Programme – Arts: ​“It was clear from our visit to Grand Union just how embedded they are in the area as a key local infrastructure organisation for the future of Digbeth and for Birmingham’s cultural life. They have a clear interest in alternative cultural infrastructures and critically engage with the development of the city and its potential impacts on local people.”

Sonia, Grants Manager: ​“Hackney Showroom sits at the heart of intersectional arts practice and social justice. Having relocated in 2019 to the Kings Crescent Estate, North London, they are firmly placed in the heart of the community to co-curate theatre that tells their stories and be a generative creative space for the community to be inspired by. Their work with communities both on the Kings Crescent Estate and further afield offers a holistic approach with a diverse range of artists and activists.”

Emma, Grants Manager: ​“Their work is distinctly local but echoes global systems of oppression, drawing parallels between violence against women and violence against land and the environment. Idle Women have claimed a space for women that they intend to exist beyond the organisation’s lifespan, developing an environment where their community do not need to manage their safety and are given the freedom to look beyond the horizon.”

Tara, Grants Manager: ​“International Curators Forum advocates for systemic change through active, expansive engagement with ​‘diaspora’ as a critical lens/​framework through which to address and explore complicated notions of identity, new curatorial models, and create space for creative and discursive interventions into historical narratives and systems of representation. At its core, they are responsive, led by people who love the work, and grounded in the needs of creative practitioners.”

Shuet-Kei, Grants Manager: ​“Metal build capacity and resources for culture locally in cultural coldspots by supporting artist development and making opportunities for creative people in those communities who are yet to identify as artists. They to leave behind a stronger independent infrastructure in each of the places they work in through having an embedded local team in place to respond to local contexts and needs on the ground.”

Tara, Grants Manager: ​“It was clear from our visit and conversation that Metroland Cultures’ core strengths are the connections they initiate and the relationships they hold and nurture with artists, community activists, residents’ organisations and individuals, and the role they play in working at the intersection of arts and social change.”

Sonia, Grants Manager: ​“Amongst other work, Outburst have developed and embedded a highly-acclaimed and widely anticipated annual queer festival across 10 days in the centre of Belfast. Their work centres a feminist and queer approach drawing on feminist ideology past and present. We hope our support helps Outburst provide space for a new generation of queer artists to develop.”

Shoubhik, Head of Programme – Arts: ​“Radical Ecology weave many of the threads that we have been exploring in the first round of the Arts Fund – place-based work and anti-racist approaches leading to a deep engagement with environmental justice. Their work reaches far beyond awareness raising or campaigning and instead uses arts practice to imagine new worlds with environmental justice at their heart, both at a regional South West-level and in national conversations.”

Shoubhik, Head of Programme – Arts: ​“Drawing on their experiences of gentrification and community erosion in south London, RESOLVE Collective use their practice to uphold local knowledge, build agency within communities and celebrate the unique qualities of places made by and for local people. We were impressed by the ​‘translocal’ framing of their work, connecting places as diverse as Brixton, Liverpool, Ramallah and Malmo through their projects and long-term relationships.”

Emma, Grants Manager: ​“Rising Arts Agency’s work is distinctive and spans creative outputs, influencing and sector change. Creative projects include youth-led decolonisation work on Bristol Museum’s wildlife collection, a city-wide billboard campaign #WhoseFuture, and an exhibition Be[loved] featuring artists from their community resulting from a creative residency at Arnolfini. They stand out for their holistic, values-driven approach that models the kind of transformative change they want to see in the cultural landscape.”

Sonia, Grants Manager: ​“Skaped is a community-centred organisation, made up of predominantly female and non-binary ​‘artivists’ who have migrated from international conflict zones. They have a collaborative approach through their projects, building long-term partnerships with the agencies they work with, often bringing a fresh approach to working with young people and their desires for the future.”

Shoubhik, Head of Programme – Arts: ​“Through their own creative output – commissioning authors and journalists from marginalised backgrounds to create long-form, thematic publications – they have a sustainable and ongoing practice, and the examples of work that we have seen of this work are high-quality in both the aesthetics and literature. What really shines through in these publications is the choice of themes, for example Play, Movement and Food, each of which have allowed for rich exploration, centring the lived experiences of the writers in nuanced, critical and hopeful narratives.”

Emma, Grants Manager: ​“Sound Connections are a well-established organisation who have championed inclusion, equity and social justice with young people in the music sector for over 20 years. They clearly model their values – their national sector support work and training is co-designed and co-facilitated by young people, and there are myriad examples of them directly influencing youth-centred approaches in music organisations across the UK.”

Tara, Grants Manager: ​“It is clear from our conversation that Strange Field’s combination of a focus on marginalised artists and communities, radical governance, and embedded care made them a compelling fit for the Arts Fund. With a strong curatorial focus on care, Strange Field has embedded processes that provide strong developmental opportunities for emerging artists.”

Shuet-Kei, Grants Manager: ​“Stuart Hall Foundation want to support wider society to think critically about culture and social justice. Their work builds community for artists, academics and activists so they are able to engage in dialogue with each other, collaborate and find new ways to understand and confront major social justice issues.”

Tara, Grants Manager: ​“It is clear that Take Me Somewhere’s commitment of care is attuned to their artists, supporting individuals and audiences, enabling them to feel safe, supported and unreserved in their practice. Their work in creating the safer conditions for artists to thrive is very person-centred to ensure the right conditions are created for artists to be vulnerable and be able to put on that performance of their dreams.”

Tara, Grants Manager: ​“As a rurally-based museum and arts space in the village of Helmsdale (population 848), Timespan defies expectations of what is possible in a small remote community, especially in how it connects hyperlocal issues with regional, national and the global. Their work is multi-stranded and situated within the lenses of climate justice, exploitation, gender inequality, anti-racism and within its core is a commitment to supporting sustainable cultural communities.”

Shuet-Kei, Grants Manager: ​“Tomorrow’s Warriors act as a resource and promoter for young jazz musicians at the intersections of multiple barriers whose needs are not being met by the conservatoire system. Their work addresses the systemic exclusion of Black people from what was historically a Black musical form, as well as dismantling barriers for others who are systemically excluded from the conservatoire system.”

Shuet-Kei, Grants Manager: ​“William Morris Gallery is a historic house with grounds which were donated to the people of Walthamstow. Through their work, they are reframing the social activism and work of William Morris to showcase his connections to Global Majority cultures and communities and issues such as economic inequality, the climate crisis and sustainability.”

Tara, Grants Manager: ​“A real strength of the organisation is its established track record and the authentic way it nurtures and champions the voices of the young people it works with, who are predominantly people who are experiencing racism, poverty and those identifying as LGBTQIA+ &/or working class. They create environments which enable young people to share their ideas fearlessly and honestly, whilst also developing the creative skills and confidence to express them.”