SMALL GRANTS CALL FOR LOCAL ARTISTS AND MAKERS

Written By Kevin Harrison

VACMA Scotland banner

The Visual Artist and Craft Makers Awards (VACMA) scheme offers small grants to visual artists and craft makers for their creative development at all stages of their career. These awards are supported by Creative Scotland through funding from the National Lottery in partnership with Stirling Council, and Falkirk Community Trust.  The Forth Valley VACMA awards will include Stirling and Falkirk.  This year we will continue to offer fixed bursaries in recognition of the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on individual artists and makers. The VACMA scheme offers two levels of bursaries:

Bursaries of £750

Early-career bursaries of £500 (For applicants that have less than 5 years’ experience outside of education/training, graduated in 2016 or later, or that have not studied art formally but have been practising as an artist for up to 5 years).

The fund is open to visual artists and craft makers who can demonstrate a commitment to developing their creative practice and who are living or working or maintaining a studio space within the Local Authority area to which they are applying.

The next deadline will be 4th February 2025.

For guidance and application forms click the links below.

NEXT DEADLINE – 4TH FEBRUARY 2025 @5PM

VACMA application form 2024-25

Forth Valley VACMA Equalities Monitoring Form

VACMA Guidance 24-25 D3

VACMA FAQ

Kevin Harrison
Kevin Harrison is the Director of Artlink Central, a charity and social enterprise designing creative experiences in conjunction with artists, public bodies and led by disadvantaged or marginalised people particularly in health, social care or criminal justice contexts. . Kevin joined the organisation five years ago and was previously Arts and Wellbeing Manager with Sense Scotland since 2006, supporting a Scotland-wide participation in the arts for disabled people with communication needs. Kevin managed the development of a range of arts projects including Threads and Found in Translation, projects exploring cultural diversity and disability, and Leaving New Craigs, a life history project in Inverness for people leaving the last long stay hospital in Scotland. He managed a national arts and wellbeing team and supported the establishment of a strong creative programme in the TouchBase, a new inclusive base for people and communities supported by Sense Scotland in the south side of Glasgow. Kevin who has a degree in theatre and film from Roehampton University and who undertook postgraduate studies in Arts Management and Policy at Birkbeck University of London is also a trustee for Scottish Prison Arts Network, chair of Dementia Friendly Forth Valley as part of a Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) programme. Previous posts include freelance editor and administration roles with key national disability arts organisation, Shape Arts and public sector roles in Arts Development and as Business Manager, Creative Academy, Slough Borough Council, supporting a multi-million pound EQUAL creative industries inclusion programme . He also has experience of managing Music 4 Slough, a Youth Music Action Zone.
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