Published: 05 Sep 2023
#VACMAScotland
Bursaries of £500 and £750 available
Deadlines: Tuesday 24 October 2023 (5pm) and Tuesday 6 February 2024 (5pm)
Visual Artists and Craft Makers across the country are invited to apply for bursaries of up to £750 for their creative development.
Funded by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland in partnership with a range of local authorities and arts agencies across Scotland, the Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA) will support artists at all stages of their career to develop their creative practice. This can include researching a new body of work, experimenting with new materials, attending courses, artistic mentoring, masterclasses and residencies, among other activities.
The VACMA programme offers fixed bursaries of £500 for early-career applicants who have less than 5 years’ experience and £750 for applicants that have been practicing for over 5 years. The bursary schemes are managed locally by the VACMA partners. This year there are 17 schemes covering 26 Local Authority areas.
Amanda Catto, Head of Visual Arts at Creative Scotland said:
“VACMA offers essential support to artists and craft makers at every stage in their practice. This funding will enable artists and makers to test new ideas, develop their skills and make new work.
VACMA is made possible through partnership working and the skill and dedication of our partners who are committed to supporting artists and makers in their local area. These awards generate long-lasting impacts and make an important contribution to the cultural ecology of the local area.”
Applications should be made through the local schemes. For guidance and further information please visit: https://www.creativescotland.com/vacma
The VACMA scheme is administered locally by partners and covers the following 26 local authority areas: Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Ayrshire (North, South and East), City of Edinburgh, Dundee, East Lothian, Fife (including Perth and Kinross), Forth Valley (Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire), Glasgow, Highlands (including Moray and Western Isles), North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Renfrewshire, South of Scotland (Borders and Dumfries & Galloway), Shetland Islands and West Dunbartonshire. Local Authorities interested in developing a local scheme, are invited to contact: visualarts@creativescotland.com
Full eligibility criteria and a list of participating partners through which applications can be made, is available on the Creative Scotland website.
The deadlines for applications are:
Not all VACMA partners run both deadlines, some will only have one deadline a year. Applicants should check with their local scheme to see which deadline(s) they are running.
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot
Sophie Bambrough. Media Relations and PR Officer, Creative Scotland
Tel: +44 (0) 7747 606 146
