Art Foundation of the State of Saxony-Anhalt Funding Programme (Germany)

Funding Information

• Project Funding:
  • Funding is generally provided through partial financing of the project. Total financing must be secured. As a rule, the Art Foundation’s partial financing does not exceed 50% of the total expenditure. For projects with total costs of up to €5,000, the Art Foundation may, in deviation from this principle, provide full financing.
• Publication funding:
  • The foundation supports publications with a fixed amount of funding as part of its project funding. For example, printing and production cost grants in the fine and applied arts, generally for artist catalogs of living artists, are supported with an amount of up to 8,000 euros. Literary works (not first works) are supported with up to 4,000 euros. In the music sector, the recording costs for musical publications (music files for streaming services, CDs) are supported with a fixed amount of 8,000 euros. Furthermore, the publication funding also subsidizes the design costs of websites with an amount of 2,000 euros. Natural and legal persons with their primary residence/headquarters in Saxony-Anhalt are generally eligible to apply.
• Funding of catalogue raisonnés:
  • Funding is provided as a fixed amount of up to €30,000. Eligible costs include, for example, fees for the consultant and student assistants, printing costs for the printed publication, photography costs, travel expenses for research and documentation in accordance with the Federal Travel Expenses Act (BRKG), office supplies, etc. These costs must be directly related to the creation process and documented and justified. Non-cash (non-cash) contributions cannot be claimed for project financing.
• Promotion of art purchases:
  • Legal entities under public law based in Saxony-Anhalt may be granted grants for acquisition projects of contemporary art, provided that the requested funding share does not exceed 80% of the total costs.

Eligibility Criteria

• Project Funding:
  • Project grants can be applied for by individuals (natural persons) or legal entities (e.g., associations, public foundations, companies, etc.). Artist collectives or groups should consider whether establishing a GbR (German Civil Code) makes sense or whether an individual can assume the application and the associated rights and obligations.
  • The foundation supports artistic projects in the fine, applied, and performing arts, artistic photography, literature, music, film, design, architecture, and media art, as well as interdisciplinary projects. Originality, quality, and feasibility of the project are important criteria.
  • Within the framework of project funding, support is provided for individual artistic projects as a whole, as well as for project components such as concept development or supporting marketing measures.
  • Projects of high artistic quality are eligible for funding:
    • with supra-regional or international visibility and corresponding collaborations
    • with original, unusual approaches or forms of expression, innovative arrangements or with an experimental character
    • with a topic of public importance or reference to questions or conflict situations that stimulate discussion and have a correspondingly lasting effect
    • addressed to children and young people in order to encourage them to engage with art and culture or to refine their aesthetic sensibilities
    • with project goals that cross disciplines, genres or sectors
  • Only projects that have not yet begun at the time of application will be funded. If the applicant wishes to begin the project before the grant is approved (early start of the measure), this generally requires a justification and prior approval from the Art Foundation of the State of Saxony-Anhalt. A prerequisite for funding is an application that is ready for decision.
  • Film projects lasting more than 30 minutes are also supported by the Art Foundation with a non-repayable grant, so that provisions cannot be included in the financing plan.
  • Natural persons cannot claim non-cash (monetary) contributions when financing a project. The financing plan of legal entities may only include non-cash contributions up to a maximum of 10% of total expenditures.
• Publication funding:
  • Only projects that have not yet begun at the time of application will be funded. If the applicant wishes to begin the project before the grant is approved (early start of the measure), this generally requires a justification and prior approval from the Art Foundation of the State of Saxony-Anhalt. A prerequisite for funding is an application that is ready for decision.
  • Natural persons cannot claim non-cash (monetary) contributions when financing a project. The financing plan of legal entities may only include non-cash contributions up to a maximum of 10% of total expenditures.
• Funding of catalogue raisonnés:
  • The Art Foundation supports the creation of catalogues raisonnés of contemporary artists. The program is intended to support artists in systematically researching their work and promote the recording and presentation of the artistic heritage of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
  • The catalogue raisonné is a comprehensive and annotated listing of all an artist’s works, compiled according to scholarly standards. The program only supports the compilation of complete catalogues, not individual groups of works. Artists are encouraged to systematically record artistic works of all genres, prepare them for publication and digital formats, and make them available to a broad public.
  • The program focuses in particular on East German art heritage, the legacy of GDR art, and postwar art history in Saxony-Anhalt up to the present day. The criteria for approval are the work’s art-historical significance and cultural identity for the region, as well as its national and international visibility, which will also be enhanced through a possible catalogue raisonné.
  • The compilation of the catalogue raisonné should be carried out by the artists themselves and may be supported by students. The application must include a proposal for collaboration with a qualified advisor who will advise the artists on compiling the catalogue raisonné.
  • The catalogue raisonné must be digitally recorded using a recording program specified by the Art Foundation. The data will be stored on a server of the Art Foundation and will be published in excerpts on the Art Foundation’s website in the future. This requires the transfer of the non-exclusive right of use (publication right) to the images and data of the recorded works, unlimited in time and space, and free of charge. The catalogue raisonné must also be submitted in print. The work process may last for a maximum of three years; by that time, the results must be available digitally and in print.
  • All artists who generally live in Saxony-Anhalt are eligible to apply for funding. The program is aimed at artists who were born in Saxony-Anhalt, who work here, or who have worked or have worked in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. Applications are open to artists born in or after 1955 who have been working professionally as artists for at least 25 years. To meet these requirements, applicants must provide evidence of artistic activity, exhibitions, catalogs, publications, and/or a degree from an art college. Artists must have a recognizable connection to the state, and this must be reflected personally and/or professionally in the submitted documents. Multiple applications are permitted even if funding is declined.
  • The catalogue raisonné must be prepared in such a way that a presentable final result is achieved. This result consists of two parts:
    • The catalogue raisonné is to be digitally recorded in a recording program specified by the Art Foundation. This digital recording forms the basis for a subsequent digital publication of the results, thus ensuring public visibility for the catalogue raisonnés.
    • A printed catalog, which provides a comprehensive overview of the catalogue raisonné, will be submitted to libraries for safekeeping. Ten of these copies must be handed over to the Art Foundation.
  • Only projects that have not yet begun at the time of application will be funded. If the applicant wishes to begin the project before the grant is approved (early start of the measure), this generally requires a justification and prior approval from the Art Foundation of the State of Saxony-Anhalt. A prerequisite for funding is an application that is ready for decision.
• Promotion of art purchases:
  • Only projects that have not yet begun at the time of application will be funded. If the applicant wishes to begin the project before the grant is approved (early start of the measure), this generally requires a justification and prior approval from the Art Foundation of the State of Saxony-Anhalt. A prerequisite for funding is an application that is ready for decision.

For more information, visit Art Foundation of the State of Saxony-Anhalt.