Deadline: 30 September 2024
Bradford 2025 is delighted to announce the Round 2 of Bradford 2025 Artist-led Projects call out and is accepting applications from artists and companies in the District to create new work that will excite, inspire and entertain people from Bradford in 2025.
Funding Information
- You can apply for up to £15,000
- They expect to fund 10 to 15 projects in this round – for projects where the final output, exhibition, performance, audience experience will happen in the second half of 2025 (August to December).
What are they looking for?
- This call out is for artists and artist-led projects to make exciting creative events happen as part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. They want to see new, ambitious, innovative projects that wouldn’t happen otherwise taking place in every part of the District.
- All of the projects should offer meaningful opportunities for people from the District to get involved – this could be as audiences, co-creators, participants, watchers, listeners or other ways that put them and their experience at the heart. They want to see projects that have thought properly about how they will reach people, understand the communities they want to work with and are committed to access and addressing the barriers that might usually prevent people getting involved.
- Collectively, the ideas and projects they support will celebrate, and be representative of, the diversity of Bradford and the people who live and work here – this includes the team making the project, the stories/ themes/ ideas being explored and the people it is being made for.
- They are interested in all artforms including (but not limited to) music, dance, visual art, live art, theatre, sculpture, craft, textile art, poetry literature and spoken word – or something that combines artforms or blurs definitions in the way that they know Bradford’s brilliant creative sector does so well.
- If you are a community group or voluntary organisation you should wait for their small project awards – they will be announced later this year and will provide around £400 for you to run something creative in 2025.
Eligibility Criteria
- Aged 18+
- Lead artist or company based in Bradford District (ACE National Portfolio Organisations are NOT eligible)
- Work to be realised January to December 2025 – due to the timescale they imagine that for the majority of projects they support the final public output (performance, exhibition, experience etc) will happen between August and December 2025
- Meaningful opportunities for members of the public to get involved/ experience the work in the District
- The work will premiere in Bradford District; this means the first exhibition, unveiling, performance etc will happen in Bradford
- This call out is not open to ACE National Portfolio Organisations.
- They want to hear from individuals, companies, collectives, groups of artists and organisations living or working in the District.
- They will accept applications from companies and organisations outside Bradford as long as the lead artist is based in Bradford and it is clear that they have a central artistic and decision-making role in your creative team.
- Artists at any point in their career can apply. However, they need to feel confident that your project can be delivered successfully and on time, so please make sure you tell them why you know you can manage the project effectively. If you are just starting out or earlier in your career you might want to think about finding someone more experienced to work alongside you (such as a producer or project manager) – make sure you tell them about who will be working with you and their experience too.
- Artists who applied in the previous Round:
- If you are an artist or company who applied to the previous Round of Artist-led projects but were not successful, you are eligible to apply again to this Round – either with the same project or a new one. However, please make sure you have:
- Looked at the feedback around why you were unsuccessful last time and thought about how you will address that
- Properly considered your connection to Bradford District and the authenticity of this
- Studied the ‘Things they will consider when making their decisions’ section – and thought in detail about how your project meets this
- Thought about whether there is still enough time to make your project happen, if you were successful in this Round
- Artists who have already received support/ commission from Bradford 2025:
- This call out is not open to companies or artists who already have a live project in development with BD25
- Artists who have received an Unlimited Micro Commission are eligible to apply to this with the same idea or a different one.
For more information, visit Bradford 2025.