How to secure a creative grant (according to those who've done it)

Creative grants: those things you've heard about, but which have always felt mysteriously out of reach? No more. We spoke to a handful of successful creative grantees to get the lowdown on the application process and how it's changed their practice.

Heritage Crafts Training Bursary

Heritage Crafts Training Bursary offers training bursaries of up to £4,000, available for new entrants and early-career practitioners in the UK who require financial support to start training or develop skills in a heritage craft.

Amanda Boachie

Secured by bookmaker Amanda Boachie

The grant:
I received funding from Heritage Crafts, who can provide up to £4,000 towards craft training and skills development. I used the funding to undertake a series of bookbinding courses at City Lit, where the tutors are practising makers working within the industry, alongside one-to-one sessions with a maker, travel and materials. The bursary helped me formalise my learning as a self-taught maker and deepen my understanding of making techniques, tools and structures.

How I heard about it:
I found the grant through online research. I was looking for opportunities that supported emerging makers and skills development within craft.

The application process:
The application process asked me to reflect on my relationship to craft, the kind of training I wanted to pursue and how the bursary would support my long-term development. I already had a very clear sense of what I wanted from the training and how it connected to my wider practice, so the process became about articulating that clearly and demonstrating how the opportunity would support my development as a maker.

How it’s changed my creative practice:
As someone who sees the book as both a craft object and an artistic medium, it was valuable to learn traditional techniques while also thinking critically about what I wanted to adopt, reinterpret, or reject within my own practice. It’s also been eye-opening to meet people working across the field, particularly as someone who is often the only Black person in the room, and to encounter different approaches to craft.

My advice for creatives applying for grant funding:
Be clear about why you want to do what you want to do and how the opportunity will support your practice beyond the funding period itself. Having a strong sense of direction makes it much easier to communicate why the funding matters.

Black Artist Grant

The Black Artists Grant offered by Creative Debuts is a no-strings-attached financial support for Black artists. Recipients can spend the grant on whatever they want, be that equipment or materials, travel, research, or even just to cover some life expenses.

Kiara Ama Jade

Secured by interdisciplinary artist Kiara Ama Jade

The grant:
I secured the Black Artist Grant, awarded by Creative Debuts, of £500. I used that to cover my studio rent for the month, which freed up money I would have spent on overhead for materials for the next sculptural wall pieces in my Cypher series. Having that breathing room at the right moment meant I could actually begin something I'd been holding back on. 

How I heard about it:
I came across it on Instagram a few years ago and forgot to save it. A friend reminded me about it recently and kept nudging me until I actually did something about it. Honestly, I needed that push. It's the kind of grant that felt written for me, and I kept finding reasons not to apply.

The application process:
The process was a portfolio submission and a form that I had to fill out to contextualise my art and who I am outside of my creative practice. To be honest, the most challenging part was getting started and overriding the negative self-talk. The voice that tells you you're not going to get it, or you're not worth it, or your art isn't good enough. I had to remind myself that the worst they could say is 'no' and that the chances of success are 100% less if you don't put yourself out there. 

After procrastinating for so long, I wish I had known that the process would be beneficial regardless of the outcome – writing about my practice in that way was actually long overdue and a really helpful exercise.

How it’s changed my creative practice:
It made me take funding more seriously as a tool rather than a lucky bonus. Before, I think I half-believed that grants were for other people, like more established artists and people with bigger profiles. Getting this one shifted something. 

The visibility from the grant announcement has also led to further opportunities and I plan to build on that momentum. I'm now trying to be more deliberate about how I document and contextualise my practice and where I showcase my work, because I can see how that work pays off.

My advice for creatives applying for grant funding:
Apply before you feel ready. Most people are waiting until their portfolio feels finished, their statement feels polished, their practice feels legitimate enough. It never will, and that's not how creativity works. Submit the application you can make today, not the one you imagine making in six months.

Arts Council England, Developing Your Creative Practice

Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) is a funding programme that supports individual creatives and cultural practitioners to focus on development, via learning, innovation and creative risk-taking.

Kinnari Saraiya

Secured by artist & curator Kinnari Saraiya

The grant:
I secured an Arts Council England DYCP grant of around £10k. I used it to research traveling cinemas in India, collaborate with artists and technologists, and develop skills in immersive storytelling and digital media.

How I heard about it:
I heard about DYCP through artist networks and peers who had previously applied for the fund. It was frequently recommended as a strong opportunity for developmental and research-based practices.

The application process:
The application process is relatively straightforward, but I think I was intimidated by it and avoided applying for years. The most challenging part was articulating why this research direction was important for my practice and how I aimed to translate these community-led storytelling practices into the UK cultural ecosystem through contemporary digital media.

How it’s changed my creative practice:
The grant helped me take research, interdisciplinary experimentation and collaboration with communities more seriously within my practice. It's often the unpaid and unappreciated part of an artist's work; it's good that this funding changed that.

My advice for creatives applying for grant funding:
Be clear and honest about why this opportunity matters to your development right now. And as it says on the tin, don't worry about producing – this grant is for research and reflection as much as development.

The White Pube Creatives Grant

The White Pube Creatives Grant is a one-off £500 grant given to a different working-class, UK-based creative practitioner every month. The no-strings-attached financial support can be used for whatever they like – be that money to cover time to make, to fund materials, equipment, travel, or even rent and bills. The grant is open to anybody who makes stuff.

James McColl

Secured by artist, writer & researcher James McColl

The grant:
I secured the £500 Creative Grant from The White Pube in 2023. It’s a no-strings-attached grant for working-class creatives. I personally used the fund to print a run of text-game-based zines, as well as paying for printing for a (as yet unfinished) project. This also awarded me the use of The White Pube’s website to showcase any work I wanted.

How I heard about it:
I heard about the grant through The White Pube's social media.

The application process:
It’s probably the best application process I’ve experienced. Firstly, the fact that it’s no-strings-attached is pretty important, as it doesn’t feel like you have to justify what you need the funds for. The questions were very simple and straightforward.

Once I was selected, Zarina from The White Pube was so helpful in making sure the money was paid promptly and without issue. She also went above and beyond to host a slightly tricky text game on the website. The communication was fantastic and the best I’ve personally experienced in the arts. Considering the amount of other projects that The White Pube are a part of, it’s frustrating to see how poor other funding bodies are when it comes to this process.

How it’s changed my creative practice:
It was a fairly small amount of money in terms of funding applications, so I wouldn’t say it’s changed my practice or how I think about funding. I would say, though, that it made me think more about how to work with other creatives, how to treat them and what is possible through good practices.

My advice for creatives applying for grant funding:
I think knowing who is going to read it helps: for this, I wrote a slightly different and less formal application. I remember The White Pube saying they liked my website: keep in mind that it’s not only the work people see but everything online.

New Contemporaries Studio Residency

New Contemporaries Artist Residency programmes offer fully-funded residencies that provide the space, time and support artists need to experiment, grow and connect.

The New Contemporaries Studio Residency at FormaHQ is a 12-month studio residency for artists working in live and time-based practices, including performance, moving image and sound.

James Jordan Johnson

Secured by artist James Jordan Johnson

The opportunity:
New Contemporaries Studio Programme, a fully funded studio space for 12 months in Bermondsey.

How I heard about it:
Through social media.

The application process:
The application process involved submitting reasons why a studio programme would be beneficial to your practice and how it might help develop new forms of making. Having very limited studio experiences and a film and performance-based practice (which they were looking for), I think this helped inform the outcome of my application.

From James' performance 'Something is Trying to Disappear Me'