Space to Dream Fund

Overview

The Space to Dream Fund offers grants of up to £95k to enable Black-led* organisations across the UK to imagine and deliver bold and impactful visual arts projects.

*Freelands Foundation uses ‘Black-led’ to refer to organisations run by, with and for Black and Brown people, those of African, Caribbean and Asian heritage. This could include organisational leadership, trustees, senior management, principal creatives, project managers or artists leading your project.

They invite small- and medium-sized organisations to share their visions with them for programmes that enable them to scale up their ambitions and transform the experiences of Black and Brown artists and practitioners, those of African, Caribbean and Asian heritage.

They want to hear more about your ideas and plans, and to support you in realising your dream project.

What can you apply for?

Grants of between £35,000 and £95,000 over two to three years are available to single organisation applicants.

They are also accepting applications of up to £150,000 by groups of organisations as a consortium of two or more members. If you are applying as a consortium, only the lead applicant should complete the Expression of Interest on behalf of the consortium.

Applicable to bold visual arts programmes by, with and for Black and Brown artists and practitioners. These could involve:

Creativity and artistic practices (including programming exhibitions, events and projects; artistic, curatorial or practitioner development);
People, and organisational culture (including supporting diverse leadership; strengthening infrastructures, partnerships and communities; building arts ecosystems).

They are committed to an inclusive and equitable grant making/funding process, which addresses the structural issues that exist in the arts funding sector through a supportive and empowering procedure; and are directing this funding towards organisations who often miss out on the biggest opportunities.

Aims and Priorities

They are looking for projects that are ambitious and will create impact in one or both of the following areas:

Creativity and Artistic Practice

Delivering high-quality visual arts programmes by, with and for Black and Brown artists and practitioners.

This could include:

Artistic practice, developing artists and creatives
Developing exhibitions or public commissions/events
Curatorial development

People and Organisational Culture

Developing and strengthening organisations, to contribute positively to the experiences of Black and Brown artists and practitioners in the art sector.

This could include:

Diverse leadership, skills and routes to leadership
Strengthening infrastructures for long-term success and organisational growth, such as development of boards and leadership or reviewing and improving processes
Arts ecosystems, i.e. supporting Black and Brown practitioners in the sector, including those working in fundraising, marketing, research, as technicians etc. alongside wider organisational goals

They are open to supporting new projects or developments of existing models that have an ambition to achieve a real impact.

You may have always wanted to programme an exhibition or create space for an artist to work with you in new ways, or see the potential for a pilot to grow and build in order to increase its impact on participants or tackle a specific need.

This fund aims to support organisations to take action to tackle the needs they see in the visual arts.

Who can apply?

Organisations applying to the Space to Dream Fund must meet all the following criteria:

Be a visual arts organisation, or have a significant focus on visual arts as a primary activity
Be a Black-led organisation (run by, with and for Black and Brown people, those of African, Caribbean and Asian heritage. This could include the organisational leadership, trustees, senior management, principal creatives/ project managers or artists who will lead your project)
Be a UK Registered Charity, Exempt Charity or Community Interest Company, or part of a consortium with a lead applicant who is a UK Registered Charity, Exempt Charity or Community Interest Company
The project must have a clear public benefit
Your organisation must have an income of less than £750k per year
You must have three years of accounts produced for your organisation (these do not need to be audited accounts, but must be signed by trustees/treasurer)
You must have a registered bank account
The activity you are applying for must take place in the UK
Projects must have a start date no earlier than October 2022
Projects must be new activity, or a clear development or expansion of existing activity

In the case of a consortium, the lead applicant must meet the eligibility criteria fully.

For more information on eligibility for this fund, please refer to the Space to Dream Fund Application Guidance Notes or use the online eligibility checker.

A Space to Dream Fund grant should enable real change. Your grant can be used to fully fund a new project or to transform the scale and ambition of an already-planned project.