The consortium a-n, Axisweb and Artquest, in association with DACS (Design and Artists Copyright Society), is one of 17 in the visual arts to receive funding from Arts Council England’s £7m Catalyst Arts: building fundraising capacity programme.
Formed over 18 months ago to collectively champion and support opportunities and professional development for artists across the UK, the consortium will receive £129,843 to explore the creation of small grants to allow artists the space to further their practice and develop new work and ideas.
Cluny Macpherson, Regional Director, Arts Council England, said: “The Catalyst programme helps arts organisations to build their fundraising capacity which is particularly important in today’s challenging climate. I’m delighted that this project has been awarded funding. It will help visual artists develop new work by creating a conduit for philanthropic giving to individual artists.”
The consortium includes artists Joseph Young (AIR Council) and Sally Sheinman, with consultants Counterculture commissioned to develop a business case for the fund.
Other Catalyst consortia
Visual arts consortia have been awarded a total of £1,937,625 in this final Catalyst funding round. The 52 visual arts organisations include Site Gallery, Locus +, Fabrica, Furtherfield, The Arts Catalyst and Devon Guild of Craftsmen.
The Contemporary Glass Society and International Festival of Glass in Stourbridge, have received £79,900. This will help grow their audience and membership and develop new benefits for their members. “There’ll be improvements to the website, training for staff and more time to focus on fundraising – something that’s really needed if we’re to champion glass art in the years to come,” said Victoria Scholes, Chair of Contemporary Glass Society.
In Bristol, a consortium consisting of Spike Island, Situations and Arnolfini has secured £150,00 to establish Bristol Patrons of New Art, to be launched this summer. Working in association with Simon Morrisey, Director of Works|Projects gallery, they will use this seed funding for a long-term strategy to build patronage for the visual arts in city.
New Art Exchange in Nottingham, together with Darbar Arts Culture Heritage trust, have secured £79,761. New Art Exchange CEO Skinder Hundal said: “It will support us to build the capacity and understanding of philanthropy and private giving that we really need – above all, it will help us to get out there and make ‘the ask’.”
The WITH Consortium (Bedford Creative Arts, Stour Valley Arts, Ultimate Holding Company, Wunderbar Festival) gets £148,034 to further work with audiences by sharing their knowledge of communications and brand development, reaching individuals in the commercial world, and corporate social responsibility.
“We need the corporate world to show us how to think from their perspective,” Dawn Giles, Chief Executive of Bedford Creative Arts explained. “We want to develop more fit-for-purpose, effective business models that can talk in a language that is both commercial and values driven. We want to think beyond the usual suspects and expand the pool of individuals and businesses that support the arts.”
Paul Herrmann, Director of Redeye, Manchester (lead partner in a consortium of six publicly-funded photography organisations in North England), described the £149,691 awarded as “fabulous news for photography.”
The consortium – which includes Amber Collective and Side Gallery Newcastle; Impressions Gallery Bradford; LOOK: Liverpool International Photography Festival; North East Photography Network (NEPN); and Open Eye Gallery Liverpool – sees the award as an opportunity to think radically about fundraising. Herrmann added: “We want to make it as easy and appealing as possible for anyone to be able to support photography, both as a whole and for the specific activities of the partner organisations.”
The Catalyst fund has been developed by Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Arts Council England and The Heritage Lottery Foundation, to boost philanthropic giving to the arts. The £7m awarded is the third and final strand from a £110m pot.
More on www.a-n.co.uk:
Endowment funding – a catalyst for conformity?
ACE funds Catalyst for development
Artists lose out in funding squeeze
