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 between £500 and £1,500 are available. We hold deadlines in October and February.
We have introduced a £500 bursary for recent graduates/emerging artists and Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow also run a Development/Mentoring Bursary of £1500 with added support through the year.
See the links below for further information about local schemes in your area. Each partner is holding drop-in information sessions ahead of the October deadline.
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.
| Local Authority | Status and next deadline |
|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Aberdeenshire | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Angus | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Argyll and Bute | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Ayrshire (North, South and East) | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| City of Edinburgh | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Dundee | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| East Lothian | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Fife | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Forth Valley & West Lothian | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Glasgow | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Highlands and Moray | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| North Lanarkshire | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Orkney | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Perth and Kinross | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Renfrewshire | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Scottish Borders | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
| Shetland Islands | Tuesday 4 February 2020 |
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.
