Baring Foundation: Arts & Mental Health Programme
Overview
Why they fund this area
There are many good reasons for funding in this area.
Everyone has a right to be creative and to take part in what the arts and culture have to offer.
The arts have long played a role in giving a voice to people with mental health problems, including to challenge aspects of the mental health system. Society is experiencing a shift towards greater understanding and awareness of mental health problems and the arts have a role in this too.
The arts are also a route to recovery, building self-confidence and new skills and they can also simply be pleasurable, relaxing and fun!
What are they funding
2020 was their first year of funding Arts and Mental Health.
Over the long-term they know that:
- this programme will run for at least five years across the UK with over £1 million available each year
- the opportunities available each year are likely to vary as they intend to collaborate with other funders to develop and extend the programme
- the major focus of the programme will be on participatory art, where trained artists work with people without their training to develop their creative skills.
For 2024: Attracting new male participants into creative mental health programmes
Purpose of this call
- to fund activity to redress the under-representation of male participants in participatory creative activities in the UK for people with mental health problems and to learn what works in this regard.
32 new grants were awarded to support more men to engage in creative mental health
Funding
Grants of £20k to £50k available for developing new participatory arts opportunities for men with mental health problems. A grant can fully or partially fund the work. Work should preferably take place over two or more years and at least one year. The work must take place in the UK.
These are available for either of the following approaches, or a combination of the two:
- Work which finds ways to achieve equal representation (or a significant increase) of men in mixed gender creative activities;
- Men-only creative activities.
They are looking for projects which provide new and attractive creative opportunities for men who are not already taking part, and target those men who are least ikely otherwise to take part.
Projects should take place over at least one year, and preferably two or more years.
Their resources cannot support work that is already funded. It can though support the extension or expansion of this work. They are particularly looking for improvements and innovation in services, as well as for men who previously have not been accessing a creative service
To be eligible, you must:
- an established arts organisation of any kind (including museums), whether a charity or a regulated social enterprise, e.g. a Community Interest Company, operating in the UK;
- have delivered creative opportunities to people with mental health problems for at least two years;
- have had an annual income of over £75,000 for the last two years.
Current grantholders are eligible to apply for this fund. However, overall, they wish to expand and diversify the group of organisations they are funding and may use this as one factor to consider in assessment.