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 with the next deadline for most schemes is 8 October 2019. An extra deadline has been added for a few areas on Tuesday 4 June 2019.
Many of the VACMA schemes also provide mentoring opportunities. Please see the relevant local guidelines for further details.
Whilst each devolved award is tailored to the needs of local artists and makers, we have some overall guiding principles and information to help you with your application.
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 21 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 deadline |
|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Deadline passed |
| Aberdeenshire | Deadline passed |
| Ayrshire (North, South and East) | Next Deadline: 4 June 2019 |
| City of Edinburgh | Deadline passed |
| Dundee | Deadline passed |
| Dumfries and Galloway | Next Deadline: 4 June 2019 |
| East Lothian | Deadline passed |
| Fife | Deadline passed |
| Forth Valley & West Lothian | Deadline passed |
| Glasgow | Deadline passed |
| Highlands and Moray | Deadline passed |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | Deadline passed |
| Orkney | Deadline passed |
| Perth and Kinross | Deadline passed |
| Renfrewshire | Next Deadline: 4 June 2019 |
| Scottish Borders | Next Deadline: 4 June 2019 |
| Shetland Islands | Next Deadline: 4 June 2019 |
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.
