The Visual Artist and Craft Makers Awards (VACMA) are a programme of small grants schemes with a range of local authorities and art agencies across Scotland to support Scotland-based visual artists and craft makers in their creative and professional development.
Established by Creative Scotland, these partnerships give support at a local level and work with local panels to offer funds to support practitioners at all stages of their career who have demonstrated a commitment to their work and in developing their practice through new work, new skills or new opportunities.
Awards of £500 and £750 are available.
Our next deadlines are:
We are currently working with partners in 25 local authorities across Scotland. We are always looking to expand our network of Local Authority partners. If you are interested in developing a local scheme please contact Stephen.Palmer@creativescotland.com.
Free, online information sessions about the Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards will be held on Thursday 15 and Tuesday 27 October from 10am to 11am.
Hosted by local partner representatives and members of Creative Scotland’s Visual Arts Team, the sessions will include an overview of the scheme, followed by a panel discussion and Q+A.
Booking is required to take part in the sessions:
View and download a transcript of the Q&A from the first session on 15 October in PDF format (opens in a new window).
See the links below for further information about local schemes in your area. Please note, the dates you can apply from may vary across local authorities.
| Local Authority | Status and next deadline |
|---|---|
| Aberdeen City | 5pm, Tuesday 10 November 2020 |
| Aberdeenshire | 5pm, Tuesday 2 February 2021 |
| Angus | 5pm, Tuesday 10 November 2020 |
| Argyll and Bute | 5pm, Tuesday 2 February 2021 |
| Ayrshire | 5pm, Tuesday 10 November 2020 |
| Dundee | 5pm, Tuesday 10 November 2020 |
| East Lothian | 5pm, Tuesday 10 November 2020 |
| Edinburgh | 5pm, Tuesday 10 November 2020 |
| Fife and Perth & Kinross | 5pm, Tuesday 2 February 2021 |
| Forth Valley and West Lothian | 5pm, Tuesday 2 February 2021 |
| Glasgow | 5pm, Tuesday 2 February 2021 |
| Highlands and Western Isles | 5pm, Tuesday 10 November 2020 |
| North Lanarkshire | 5pm, Tuesday 2 February 2021 |
| Orkney | 5pm, Tuesday 2 February 2021 |
| Renfrewshire | 5pm, Tuesday 10 November 2020 |
| Shetland Islands | 5pm, Tuesday 10 November 2020 |
| South of Scotland | 5pm, Tuesday 2 February 2021 |
Whenever schemes are launched or deadlines are imminent, these will also be posted on Creative Scotland’s Opportunities website. Also follow the Twitter hashtag #VACMAScotland for the latest announcements.
These schemes run alongside our support for individual artists, available through the Open Project Fund.
