In Autumn 2020 we launched the £660,000 Live Work Fund in partnership with the Wolfson Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Linbury Trust to support artists whose practices focused and relied on live performance which at the time had been halted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Live Work Fund offered awards of £20,000 to 33 artists, creatives and producers, and aimed to give them the time to think imaginatively about how they could adapt their professional practice and make a vital contribution to the future of their wider artistic community. The selected artists were also supported by Jerwood Arts expert staff for advice and introductions, and established mentors were brought on board to support career development, answer discipline-specific questions and signpost opportunities.
We were keen to learn from the artists’ experience of the Live Work Fund and in October 2021 we appointed Hybrid Consulting (Samina Zahir and Pam Jarvis) to evaluate the programme. Samina and Pam worked with the 33 artists to gather insights into their experience of the Live Work Fund financial and non-financial support through surveys and one-to-one conversations. The evaluation focused on their response to the application process, their motivations to apply, the impact the funding had on their artistic practice and livelihoods, and how Jerwood Arts could develop our working practices to better support artists in the future.
Alongside this final evaluation report, we are releasing a recorded conversation between Jon Opie, Deputy Director and Kaya La Bonté-Hurst, Project Manager as they reflect on the insights from the report and how the programme continues to influence the way Jerwood Arts develops funding opportunities and supports artists.
You can also read a process report written by Jon and Kaya, which documents Jerwood Arts’ working processes for this funding opportunity including the approach to the selection process, announcement of the awarded artists, how the team supported the awarded artists throughout 2021 and the feedback offered to unsuccessful applicants.
Find out more
Read the Live Work Fund Evaluation Report here.
Listen to Jon Opie and Kaya La Bonté-Hurst in Conversation here.
Read the Live Work Fund Interim Report here.
Find out more about the Live Work Fund here.