Ey up, you wonderful creative lot. We know this is an unimaginably tough time for many of you, so we want to point you in the direction of the various funding opportunities that are currently available to artists & musicians alike. This also includes support and resources for mental health and reimagining your practice online. We will be adding to and updating the list below often, so please check back.
We hope having these resources all in once place may help you in some small way.
Love from the Supersonic team x
.
.
.
CORONA MUSICIANS
We highly recommend Corona Musicians as a central source of support and advice for all musicians during the coronavirus period. With all information presented in a clear and organised way, we see this as an essential tool.
- Government advice
- Money worries
- Legal / business advice
- Health issues
- Mental health
- Creative development
- Working online
- Other helpful information
It is being updated regularly as the situation develops. Created as a collaboration between Help Musicians, the Incorporated Society of Musicians, The Ivors Academy, the Music Managers Forum, the Music Producers Guild, the Musicians’ Union, and UK Music, who are grateful for the support of many others in the music industry.
.
.
.
NATIONAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND
Arts Council England are making £20 million available to individuals working in the cultural sector, including artists, creative practitioners and freelancers.
Applications open on 16 April 2020 and applicants will need to register on Grantium by 27 April in order to make an application before the deadline of 30 April.
PRS FOUNDATION
SUSTAINING CREATIVITY FUND
Thanks to the Spotify COVID-19 Music Relief Fund and generous donations from members of the public, PRS Foundation is able to support artists, songwriters and composers to create and develop when they need it most.
- Designed for music creators experiencing hardship from loss of work due to the Covid-19 pandemic
- Grant support of £750 to make a difference and will support outstanding talent in flexible ways
- The grant can be spent on anything that enables music creators to continue to create exceptional new music
- This includes using support to adapt and sustain careers by covering lost income, supporting your costs or cash-flow
- It allows creators to spend time writing, recording, collaborating, innovating and making creative plans
- Funding will be available to those making music in any genre
Applications open Tuesday 21st April. Deadline is Monday 11th May.
.
.
.
HELP MUSICIANS UK
A fund of £5m has been created to help reduce the worry many musicians are experiencing about their mounting household expenses.
Eligible musicians are able to apply for a one-off payment of £500 through an online form. We encourage musicians only to apply if they are indeed suffering significant financial hardship to enable us to provide help quickly to those who need it the most.
.
.
.
MUSICIANS’ UNION
In response to the widespread cancellation of work, the Musicians’ Union have set up a £1M hardship fund that members with genuine and pressing hardship can apply to.
Initially, they will be restricting the individual grants to a maximum of £200 while monitoring the level of applications. If your application has been successful, a BACS payment will be made within a further 5 working days.
.
.
.
SOMERSET HOUSE ONLINE RESIDENCY
Somerset House Studios invites applications for a new online spatial sound artist development programme, Sonic Terrains, taking place from May to August 2020. Five artists will each be supported remotely to make an ambitious new spatial sound work with a £3,000 artist fee and up to 30 hours of online studio sessions with state-of-the-art spatial sound studio Call & Response.
Deadline is Sunday 3rd May.
.
.
.
OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WEST MIDLANDS
Active Reality Research Lab
Open to artists from all art-forms, at all career stages as a professional development opportunity. You must be based in the West Midlands, within travelling distance of Coventry.
Working with ARUP, with input from their Midlands team, based in Solihull, Artists will have the opportunity to explore some of the emerging technologies that ARUP are working with, including LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). Developed by New Art West Midlands and Coventry City of Culture Trust, working with ARUP and artist Simon Poulter.
Deadline: 5pm, Wednesday 29 April 2020.
.
The Utopia Project Zine
The Utopia Project is an art and literature zine, publishing work that uses its creative voice to speak to the political realities that we face, as individuals and communities. We encourage submissions from unpublished/emerging artists and those from under-represented backgrounds in the arts.
Submissions of artwork, poetry, and prose accepted.
Deadline Friday 15 May 2020
.
.
.
Digital art commissions for Coventry 2021, Coventry University and University of Warwick
The University of Warwick and Coventry University have launched a joint project that will fund local artists up to £2000 to work with researchers to create digital art works that will be showcased this summer in a special digital exhibition in conjunction with the Coventry City of Culture Trust. They will then be kept in the Coventry City of Culture Digital Archive.
Deadline Thursday 30 April 2020
.
.
.
SUPPORT & RESOURCES
MUSIC MINDS MATTER
Mental health support is available from Help Musicians via a support line called Music Minds Matter (MMM) available any time of day or night for a listening ear; it doesn’t have to be a crisis. Trained advisors are there to listen, support and help at any time. Through calling MMM, eligible musicians can access free face-to-face or telephone counselling, or online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
contact [email protected]
telephone 0808 802 8008 (24hrs free support line)
.
.
.
DIGITAL CULTURE NETWORK
Having recently attended a Digital Culture Network event ourselves, we can vouch for just how beneficial their resources are.
From working and collaborating with others remotely, to continuing to engage with your audiences and generating income for your organisation, the Digital Culture Network is on hand to help you become more digitally engaged. These learnings will not only benefit you now, but continue to offer your organisation renewed energy in the digital realm for many years to come.
They are also running a series of webinar events in the coming weeks, we recommend you get involved with.
