Developing Artists Fund FAQ

Any kind of incorporated, not for profit organisation with a strong track record of working in the arts with early-career artists, curators and/or producers can apply. We are unlikely to take forward EOIs from arts organisations and/or programme proposals that:

• are too small to provide the stability and consistency that artists need to feel safe and thrive
• are too big to provide the relational and bespoke programme that artists need to feel safe and thrive
• do not currently have any organisational or individual staff experience of running successful development programmes to identify, nurture and promote early-career artists in their discipline/artform
• do not demonstrate equitable working practices with artists (i.e. fair pay, favourable working conditions and input into their experience on the programme)
• do not have a positive reputation within their artist communities for supporting independent artists
• do not have transparent and inclusive leadership and governance frameworks in place, and HR policies to support these

Yes. Please nominate a lead-organisation to make the EOI and describe how you will work together. We recognise the added value of collaboration and welcome applications that play to different organisations’ strengths to provide transformative opportunities for early-career artists.

No. This fund is only for organisations to apply. If you are an independent producer or individual with an idea for a programme and would like to make an application to the Jerwood Developing Artists Fund, you may wish to collaborate with an organisation.

The funding we have for the Jerwood Developing Artists Fund is likely to support between 15 and 25 organisations at an average grant of £30k each year.

We would prefer to see ideas for development programmes that respond to current early-career artists’ needs and sector context. Therefore, programmes need to have been recently reviewed and determined to be the organisation’s best response. If the programme has run previously with funding from another source, there will need to be a compelling reason for Jerwood Arts to make it a priority.

Yes. Please ensure that you have evaluated the programme previously funded and incorporated the learnings into the planning for the next cycle/edition/round. We would like to ensure that the programme remains the most impactful and relevant way of supporting artists in your field.

No, we cannot fund activity that has already taken place.

Our decision making will be informed by what we are currently funding, alongside where there is greatest need and opportunity for investment in artists’ development across the UK. Jerwood Arts’ mission is to support a wide range of exceptional early-career artists from all backgrounds, identities and corners of the UK and to do this we aim to fund a broad range of programmes running across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales at any one time. Our capacity is limited to funding around 15-25 active programmes per year, inevitably meaning our resources will never be able to address all areas of under-representation and the wider challenges the sector faces.

All programmes should be fully inclusive by design, focused on identifying early-career artists with potential from all backgrounds and identities. We expect programmes to take steps to address inequalities with the selection and decision-making processes e.g. through targeted marketing and applying positive action. We are open to funding programmes that address specific areas of under-representation where the organisation is best placed to do so. Organisations wishing to create a programme for marginalised artists and/or those facing structural and institutional barriers, should have demonstrable experience in providing the expert support and care required to ensure these artists can thrive.

The term ‘early-career’ is widely recognised as hard to define and may look different depending on a range of factors including art form/s, career pathways and personal circumstances. Our definition is rooted in our extensive experience targeting those at a critical moment in developing their artistic practice, in line with our mission to identify and support the next generation of exceptional artists. Across all Jerwood Arts funding, we are looking to support practitioners who have some existing professional experience and momentum for their practice but are still in the early stages.

Identifying this moment is complex, and we expect organisations to take a nuanced view when selecting artists for their programmes.

Artists with less than one year’s professional experience and less than two public outcomes clearly showcasing their practice outside of formal education tend to be too early-career to be able to make the most of the opportunities provided by an artist development programme.

Below are some markers which we have found suggest an artist is beyond the career stage that the Jerwood Developing Artist Fund can best support. If somebody meets two or more of the following criteria, they are likely to be ineligible:

• They have extensive international touring experience with their own work.
• They have long-term commercial representation such as gallery representation or an agent.
• They have more than one major commission with national or international coverage and profile.
• They have significantly more than ten years’ experience with their practice. Across the majority of our awards, we tend to support artists, curators and producers with less than ten years’ experience.
• They are spending the vast majority of their time directly on their artistic practice.

Until recently, we defined ‘early-career’ as specifically those within 1-10 years’ length of professional experience for the majority of our opportunities. While we always recognised that many artists do not take a linear route into their professional practice, and many people might have been practicing for longer than ten years but had breaks due to personal reasons such as health or caring responsibilities. While we made efforts within our guidance and application forms to explain this, we also received feedback that this approach was still excluding too many.

Across all our work we only support those who are not currently in formal education and have begun a professional artistic practice. This means that the Jerwood Developing Artists Fund programmes cannot support individuals who are in formal education (part-time or full-time). Formal education refers to those courses operated by established educational institutions such as further education colleges, universities, drama/dance schools or art colleges. We welcome programmes that support early-career artists who have not and will not complete formal education.

Across all our funding, Jerwood Arts supports early-career artists, curators and producers with a professional artistic practice. Generally speaking, this means that eligible applicants will have had their work performed, exhibited, produced, recorded or broadcast in a professional context on at least one occasion. We do not measure the ‘professionalism’ of an artistic practice based on how much money the individual earns from their work. We know that many professional artists take on other occupations alongside their practice to earn their living. For Jerwood Arts, a professional artist will view their artistic practice as their primary purpose and professional identity, however much time they are able to spend on it or money they are able to earn from it.

Yes, but we only want Jerwood Arts to support those participating in or the parts of the programme that meet our definition of early-career. Those that identify as mid-career or established should be supported with funds from elsewhere.

We are aware that these descriptions mean different things in different artforms and disciplines. Our list of activities is designed to show the breadth and type of work we can support but is not exhaustive. The types of development programmes we can support include:

We are open to programmes that mix and match elements of the above according to the needs of individuals and the expertise of your organisation.

No. We recognise the important role that these types of programmes offer in supporting early-career artists and arts workers gain knowledge and skills within the structure of an organisation. These tend to be focused on career and capacity building within institutions. Jerwood Developing Artists Fund is focused on artistic and professional development of independent artists, curators and producers.

We recognise the value of learning to work in international contexts for early-career artists and welcome applications that include international elements. The programme can include international residencies, exchanges and visits, however those elements must be funded by other sources. Jerwood Arts’ funding can only be used for activities taking place in the UK and for the benefit of artists living and working in the UK.

Yes, but the international artist’s/s’ participation would need to be covered by other funding. Jerwood Arts’ funding can only be used for activities taking place in the UK and for the benefit of artists living and working in the UK.

We will give feedback on why the EOI has been rejected and would encourage you to take this into account when considering whether to make a future EOI. We will not consider another EOI from your organisation for at least six months to ensure we give as many organisations a fair chance of applying as possible.

You do not need to have had a conversation with a member of staff to submit your expression of interest. If, however, you have a question about the Jerwood Developing Artists Fund or have an initial idea you’d like to sense check, please email Clíona Malin our Team Assistant at [email protected] and we will either reply or set up a call with one of the team to explore your idea with us.

We are aiming to fund both organisations new to us and those we already have relationships with, and are seeking to create as transparent, open and fair a process as possible to enable us to do this. We are conscious of the potential for bias and imbalances in the process that offering support to applicants in different ways can create. With limited capacity, we are therefore committed to prioritising conversations with applicants we do not already have a relationship with, who propose initial ideas that meet gaps in our portfolio of current artist development programmes, and those who have a complex question not answered in the guidance or this FAQ.

Yes. If you are invited to make a full application you are welcome to rethink any aspect of the programme you would like to propose to us. This may include adjustments to the amount you request from us and the total budget. The most important thing is that it continues to be what your organisation is best placed to deliver for early-career artists, curators and producers. If you are awarded the funding we will also welcome conversations about if/when the programme needs to adjust to stay relevant and to deliver the most impactful opportunities for the artists.

Yes. We are a signatory to IVAR’s Open and Trusting Grant-Making and committed to being transparent about our funding. Deadlines for expressions of interest and applications will be published on a rolling basis.

A programme of activity may take anywhere between a few months and a few years to complete, and we are open to your suggestions for how long a programme needs to run to realise the planned benefits for the individuals involved. We can fund programmes for up to two years and will consider funding one or two cycles/editions/rounds of a programme if it comfortably fits within this timeframe.

Yes. Please ensure that the programme plan can comfortably support more than one cycle in the timeframe, and there is enough time to evaluate and apply learnings from one cycle to the next. It is unlikely we will support programmes where the cycles overlap unless you can demonstrate the organisation has capacity to deliver this and a clear reason for the overlap that benefits the supported artists.

Our aim is to create excellent opportunities for early-career artists, curators and producers. We expect your organisation to already have the relevant core staff, capacity and experience to deliver the programme before making an application. This is because the programme should be aligned with the mission of your organisation, and should not require core capacity building. As part of your budget, you can include 10-25% contribution from Jerwood Arts’ grant towards overheads, plus the costs of any freelance, support staff, mentors and advisers to bring in specific skills and expertise as required.

We welcome proposals where artists are either identified or they are not, recognising that the most impactful opportunities will respond specifically to the needs and context for early-career artists in their artform/discipline and/or location. Where you do not already know the beneficiaries, we would expect to see a robust recruitment plan that shows how the opportunity is inclusive and accessible.  Where you do know the beneficiaries, we would like you to explain how and why they were selected, and how your programme meets their specific needs and ambitions.

Yes. Whilst the focus of the programme must be on the artists’ development, we would like to see a public outcome as part of the programme cycle/edition/round. Jerwood Arts funding may cover all of the costs of a public outcome if it is small scale, or contribute to the costs if it is a more substantial outcome. We would expect to see the nature of the public outcome discussed with the artists, curators and/or producers benefiting from the programme to ensure that it fits their needs. This means we will remain open to the possibility that the public outcome element of the programme may shift or change during the programme.

Yes.

Our definition of public outcome is deliberately broad and we recognise it may look quite different across art forms and types of development activity. Here’s some examples:

• A residency might have a sharing at the end with other residents or an invited audience
• A seed commission might result in a scratch or showcase performance
• An online/digital performance and/or documentation
• A larger commission might result in an exhibition, or in the performing arts, any length of performance run
• An artist embedded in an organisation might work on a range of events, installations, exhibitions and/or productions

The public outcomes should be a logical outcome to the development activity in the programme and fit within the organisation’s commission and production plans.

We expect between 10-25% of the budget to contribute towards overheads. Where the costs of salaried staff are included, we expect to see how they will be working to deliver the programme.

We expect your organisation to have the basic core capacity to deliver the project. Whilst we do acknowledge that some smaller organisations will need our contribution towards their staff time to deliver the programme, we would prefer as much of our grant to go in direct support of the early-career artists, curators and/or producers targeted by the programme as possible. You are welcome to show in-kind support and/or other income sources in a budget to show how the organisation’s overheads are covered.

We would expect the key team members and partners to be aware of the programme plan and available to work on it if your application was successful.

The narrative of the proposal should describe how the consortium will work and what additional benefits each partner provides to the opportunity for artists, curators and/or producers.

No. We are happy to be the ‘first funder to the table’ and for our funding to be used to leverage further resources. Grant offers may be conditional on other sources of income being confirmed.

Fees for freelance individuals will vary according to their discipline, experience level and the type of activity they will be doing as part of the programme. We expect individuals benefitting from our programmes to receive at the very least the minimum standards set by the industry bodies, and would encourage organisations to pay above these rates as a fair compensation for freelancers time, training and experience. We also expect to see access support funds for people’s safety and wellbeing, and would encourage these principles to be applied across the organisation’s work.

Yes. Jerwood Arts has some capacity to support with all of these areas of programme design and delivery. Our staff will be happy to act as a sounding board for the development of selection materials and guidance, and the support provided to individuals applying for opportunities or benefiting from the programme. We sometimes help with selection processes where there is a clear reason for us to do so, including by being part of selection panels. We always promote calls for entries and the outcomes of funded work on our website and digital platforms.

We are happy to be involved in the selection process where there is clear reason for it. We would encourage organisations to think about the diversity of the selection panel in the first instance.

We expect to be kept up to date with key developments and decisions made in the course of the programme.

We do not require your organisation to make any in-kind contributions, but where you plan to contribute in-kind resources, we would like to see what that is and how you have calculated it. It is helpful for us to see who is working on the programme and how much time they will spend on leading, coordinating and administering it.

No. During the application process you do not need to include Jerwood in your programme’s title. If your application is successful, we welcome development programmes carrying our name and we can have a conversation about it at that time. However, there is no requirement for this, especially if the programme has multiple funders. We offer our name to help with the profile and recognition of the opportunity, and do not seek named opportunities in the way that sponsors might do. Using our name in a programme’s title does not carry with it an expectation that we will fund it in the future.

Yes. There will be an opportunity to request written feedback on rejected applications. This will be sent within 8 weeks of the request being made.

We will offer written feedback on the application that is rejected and would encourage you to take this into account when considering a future proposal. We will not be able to take forward a revised proposal from your organisation for at least six months to ensure we give as many organisations a fair chance to apply as possible