Ikigai Journal #015
23rd September 2020
One of my particularly self assured teachers once told me to never make assumptions at least that what I think they were saying I confess I spent a lot of time in school daydreaming. I have also been told emphatically that listening was the the key to success, along with meticulously remembering whats important.
Never make assumptions, listen attentively and remember whats important. Sure, that sounds great, but for what purpose am I developing these super powers. What does it matter if I cultivate these skills if I haven’t defined what success means to me?
I guess the same goes for these opportunities that we painstakingly research for you. What does it matter that the Arts Council and National Lottery are giving away up to £100K for creative projects if you have yet to define what you want to create next.
When you have a definiteness of purpose you will not be distracted by anything that takes you away from pursuing this purpose. My purpose is to connect you to the funding to create work aligned with your Ikigai. I hope the opportunities in this newsletter help you develop your most ambitious ideas.
Much Love & Respect.
Solomon.O - Editor
2k20 SLS Short Film Grants by South London Shorts
Deadline – No Deadline
Funding range – £500
Blossom of My Heart - Directed by Shawna Gnutel (2017)
“This was an excellent festival. Lee, the organizer enjoyed my short film Blossom of My Heart, and I think the audience did as well! Really happy I attended!”
SLS is currently offering grants for short films in production or post-production on a case-by-case basis. There is no deadline for submission. Community is important for SLS. If you’re a local to Peckham, South London or are a London-based artist/filmmaker they would like to support you. Your pitch should demonstrate how you, your crew or your film is engaged locally.
The Digital Forest_ by Grizedale Forest & Signal Film and Media
Deadline – 5 October 2020
Funding range – Up to £1,300
Grizedale Forest & Signal Film and Media, with support from Art Fund, are seeking a socially engaged digital artist/collaborative to create a new, online participatory artwork responding to Grizedale Forest in Cumbria in the North West of England.
Short Film Fund by Shore Scripts
Deadline – 31 October 2020
Funding range – Up to $15,000
Claire Fowler
Claire won their first Short Film Fund. Her winning film Salam played at Tribeca, BFI London Film Festival, Austin, and many others. She has gone on to create the TV show ‘Merched Parchus’ for BBC. -- “I am so blown away and honoured. This is an amazing opportunity to make a film I care about.”
The Shore Scripts Short Film Fund offers an opportunity for emerging screenwriters and filmmakers to have their short film financed and produced. The fund welcomes submissions from screenwriters and filmmakers from around the world. The fund is open to new and previous entrants.
Sonica Glasgow 2020 Open Call by Cryptic
Deadline – 26th November 2020
Funding range – £500
Cryptic is inviting Scottish based musicians to submit existing live music performances with visuals to be shown at Sonica Glasgow which returns for its sixth edition with new dates in 2022. Sonica Glasgow, sonic art for the visually minded, is an award winning 11-day biennial festival, dedicated to world-class visual sonic arts, presenting exceptional international artists alongside UK talent.
They are looking for existing innovative live music performances with visuals which require no further development as this is something they are unable to fund. All Scottish based professional artists, regardless of age or stage in their career, are welcome to apply.
The Open Fund For Music Creators by PRS Foundation
Deadline – 5th October 2020
Funding range – Not Stated
The Open Fund for Music Creators supports the development of outstanding songwriters and composers of all genres and backgrounds at different stages of their career. The fund can support projects by songwriters, composers, or artists, bands, producers and performers who are writing their own music or commissioning others.
Sampo Artist Residency 2021 by Musinfo
Deadline – 11 October 2020
Funding range – N/A
In an effort to support the creation and interpretation of contemporary music, Musinfo association organises a residency for soloists who wish to transcend the sound boundaries of their instrument with the Sampo. Intended for performances of any instrument, the Sampo is an extension whose purpose is to widen the sound field of an acoustic instrument. It allows to deepen the musical expression in any place and in complete autonomy.
RAFT Transition Fund by The Fore
Deadline – 19 October 2020
Funding range – Up to £15,000
The Fore’s RAFT Transition Fund is offering unrestricted grants to help fantastic small charities and social enterprises plan for the longer term and gain a stronger footing in a post-coronavirus world. The Transition Fund is the next phase of RAFT.
The Fore is particularly looking to fund small organisations working with marginalised groups and led by people in the community that may have found it hard to access trust and foundation funding in the past. They want to be different. Their funding process is specifically designed to level the playing field and give no advantage to those with fundraising experience or connections.
Covid-19 School Holiday Activity Fund (SHAF) by John Lyon’s Charity
Deadline – 16 November 2020
Funding range – Up to £4,000
The SHAF is designed to enable organisations to deliver fun and accessible activities for children and young people during the school holidays. This includes all half-term breaks, Easter, Christmas and the summer holidays. The Fund will pay for the running costs of holiday programmes that are delivered during school holidays which provide young people with activities in accordance with Government guidelines.
Grant Funding by Help The Homeless
Deadline – 15 December 2020
Funding range – Up to £5,000
Furniture Plus
Furniture Plus is a Furniture Re-Use, Recycling and Repair charity based in Fife. It has a mission to “Help Furnish the People of Fife” and offers low cost or discounted items to anyone while simultaneously delivering employability options through work and skills based placements/training. Help the Homeless made a grant of £2,000 towards the construction of a new workshop for training.
Help The Homeless are able to help only small and medium sized charities with an annual turnover of under £1m and with ‘unrestricted reserves’ of under six month annual running costs based on their latest published annual accounts.
Walking and Cycling Grants London by Groundwork
Deadline – Ongoing
Funding range –Up to £10,000
Walking and Cycling Grants London aims to make sure all Londoners benefit from the joys of walking and cycling. Transport for London in partnership with The London Marathon Charitable Trust are offering community grants of up to £10,000 - over 3 years - to fund projects that engage communities across London in safe, enjoyable and inclusive walking and cycling activities.
#Female by ArtJobs
Deadline –30 September 2020
Funding range – N/A
Chloe Massey (UK)
“My love of pictures is deeply entwined with a love of people and is always an ode to great women. Throughout my work portraits of mothers, grandmothers and young women are intrinsic, for it is their stories I wish to tell, beautifully.”
“Female” is a thematic art open call focused on the characteristics of women. This open call is aiming to have a visual vision of the powerful stories of women around the world.
Supported by BestPicture and ArtWeek, the selected works will be promoted through ArtJobs Instagram and newsletter to all the connected galleries and publications. Photography, illustration, mixmedia, sculpture and installation are all accepted media.
Call for Sculptors by Fresh Air Sculpture
Deadline – 30 September 2020
Funding range – £250 - £1,000
Mim Brigham
Mim Brigham is a Cornish glass artist who specializes in hot and warm glass. Her work fuses together her passion for science and art and her use of different glass techniques produces works that have abstract individuality with a literal twist.
At Fresh Air Sculpture, they favour experimental work in the traditional applied arts and crafts. They aim to support and promote makers in a multitude of disciplines. They take pride in blurring the lines between crafts, design and fine art. Occasionally they will look at work in bronze and stone, if the concept behind the piece is fresh and exciting.
Annual Exhibition 2020 by The Royal Institute of Oil Painters
Deadline – 2 October 2020
Funding range – Up to £2,000
Artists are invited to submit their work for exhibition alongside members of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters at their Annual Exhibition 2020. The ROI seeks work in oils and is the only national art society devoted to oil painting.
This year’s mini-theme is ‘Reflections’, which can be interpreted literally or otherwise, “giving the artist an opportunity to create a site-specific painting or perhaps a piece that has a more contemplative focus”. Selected works on the theme will be hung together as a special display within the show. The theme is optional, one aspect of a larger exhibition, to which oil paintings of all subjects, in any style, are welcome for consideration.
The exhibition offers several cash prizes and awards, open to all participating artists.
On the Age of Covid 19 by Scopio Challenge
Deadline – 31 December 2020
Funding range – Not Stated
The Scopio Challenge for photographers on the age of Covid 19. The challenge is to create a visual narrative that is grounded on your daily life experience in this difficult moment of isolation because of the Covid 19 crisis.
Project Grants by National Lottery | Arts Council
Deadline - Open and Rolling (1 application at a time)
Funding Range £1,000 - £100,000
National Lottery Project Grants supports thousands of individual artists, community and cultural organisations. Until April 2021, the fund will focus on the needs of smaller independent organisations and individual practitioners
YICCA 20/21 by The International Contest of Contemporary Art
Deadline – 30 October 2020
Funding range – €3,000
Breakfast In America by Arnab Gan Choudhury (Performance Art)
Torn apart between two cultures, ‘Breakfast In America’ serves as an analogy of his own struggle of adapting to the ways of the West - a place where he can never be at one while also critiquing what the world considers to be ‘civilized’ behaviour.
YICCA is an international call for artists, open to professionals and not only from any country in the world. All kinds of contemporary artworks are allowed in the art contest including performance art. The competition’s aim is to promote the enrolled artist, giving them a chance to join the international market of contemporary art. International networking makes this art call a huge chance for the artists. Artists can win a cash prize and have the opportunity to exhibit their submitted works in an art gallery in Europe.
The Jury’s final decision will lead to a selection of 18 artists that will participate in the final exhibition.
Charitable Trust Grant by The Garrick Club
Deadline – Ongoing
Funding range – £2,500 - £5,000
If you are professionally involved in the arts, you or your organisation may be eligible for a grant from the Garrick Charitable Trust. The website is designed to tell you all about the Trust and how you may apply for a grant.
Bursary Award by Stage One
Deadline – 30 September 2020
Funding range – Up to £15,000
Rebecca Stafford - Bursary Award Winner 2016
“Receiving the Bursary Award in 2016 meant that I could access the essential avenues needed to develop my career as a commercial producer. I have now just received my first Olivier Award nomination (Witness for the Prosecution, Best Play Revival) for my first ever London production. Without the support of the Stage One Bursary this would not have been possible for regional based producers.
Stage One is very committed to ensuring producers are supported both financially and professionally especially in these more challenging times. Through the bursary award, they can provide financial and practical assistance to help get your productions up and running and support your overall development. They understand that mounting your first productions can be an intimidating experience and aim to make the process accessible to passionate and dedicated producers, who otherwise may not have the resources to do so.
Stage One is committed to supporting those who are underrepresented in the industry and will prioritise their applicants.
Grand Prix by Europe In Dance
Deadline – 27 September 2020
Funding range – Not Stated
The Europe in Dance Grand Prix (EIDGP) is an international dance competition. A platform for exchange and cultural integration that will allow young dancers to connect with each other, spreading the optimism and joy of the dance event and creating a synergy between all the people involved in this event. !
If you ever want to talk through your project or need any further assistance don't hesitate to Get in touch.
- Solomon O