Purpose of Fund

This fund has been established with funding from the Scottish Arts Council. Its purpose is to support craftworkers and makers based in the Highlands and Islands (defined by the area for which Highlands and Islands Enterprise has a remit: Arran, Argyll and the Islands, Highland, Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland and Moray) by helping to meet the costs of a range of activities which can assist the development of an individual maker’s professional practice.
 

Scope of Fund

Grants of up to £500, and in exceptional circumstances up to £1,000, are available to support initiatives which will assist you to develop and extend your own professional practice.  This may include:

• Travel and subsistence costs to attend a major conference or symposium or to visit galleries or fairs with a view to future exhibitions of your work
• Training costs related to extending your practice (eg into a new medium or technique)
• Costs of preparing for an exhibition (eg framing, packing, etc)
• Research and development costs for a new project

This is not an exclusive list.  If you are unsure if your project may be eligible, please consult HI~Arts before submitting your application.

Applicants are encouraged to contact Pamela Conacher to discuss their project prior to making their application. Applicants should request the appropriate funds required for their project and will not automatically be awarded the maximum grant available.  HI~Arts reserves the right to offer an amount different from that requested. Successful applicants will be invited to discuss the outcome on completion of their project.

Note: applications for projects must indicate how the balance of 25% of the costs will be funded (eg sponsorship; applicant’s own contribution, Local Authority grant, etc).  In such cases it will be a condition of the award that you demonstrate that the matching funding has been confirmed.

Who is eligible?

Makers who have been resident in the Highlands and Islands for at least 12 months prior to the date of application to the Fund.  This scheme is not open to Visual Artists who would normally apply to the Visual Arts Department of the Scottish Arts Council: they should apply to the HI~Arts Visual Artists Awards scheme.

We are principally concerned with contemporary creative work conceived, designed and made by individual practitioners in ceramics, furniture and wood, glass, jewellery and metalwork, lettering, musical instruments, textiles and basketmaking. Our remit does not extend to conservation or restoration.

Criteria for decision making

• the extent to which your proposal meets the scope and purpose of the fund
• the relationship of your proposal to your own work as an artist
• the quality of your work
• the extent to which your proposal will benefit your professional practice
• your ability to demonstrate that you can provide 25% of the total cost of the application budget

Decisions will be based entirely on the quality of the applicant’s work, and the benefits which will accrue from the proposed project.

Exclusions to eligibility

• Funding cannot be given towards the costs of undertaking major courses of study (ie lasting 6 months or more), whether part-time or full-time
• Funding is not available, for any purpose, if you are currently undertaking a full-time course of study
• Funding is not available for marketing costs (eg production of posters, brochures, promotional websites, etc).
• Applications will not be considered for projects already started, or planned to start before a decision on funding can be made
• Applications cannot be made simultaneously to this scheme, and to SAC Professional Development schemes, for the same project. It is however possible to apply subsequently to this scheme for a project which has been the subject of an unsuccessful application to the SAC Professional Development scheme.
• Successful applicants cannot reapply for an additional award from this scheme for a period of not less than one year from receipt of the award. Please note, that if successful, applicants can only receive a maximum of three awards in any five year period. They are however eligible to apply to other Scottish Arts Council schemes during this period, but only for a different project.
• This scheme cannot be used to gain additional funds for any project which has already received funding from the Scottish Arts Council. That is, this scheme cannot be used to ‘top up’ grants already received from these agencies.

How to submit a proposal

Applications should be made to HI~Arts using the appropriate application form.  The form should be accompanied by supporting visual material, where appropriate, in the form of 35mm slides, images on CD Rom, photographs, videos, or publications, all clearly labelled and accompanied by an itemised list.

All visual material will be returned. Please note that HI~Arts and the Scottish Arts Council cannot accept responsibility for damage or loss of submitted material.

When to apply

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis throughout the year 2009/10, but should not be submitted less than four weeks before the start of any specific project or event. The budget for the scheme is however fixed for the year, and applications submitted towards the end of the year may not be able to be funded

Your application will be acknowledged on receipt by HI~Arts. Applications will then be considered within four weeks by a Panel consisting of the Director and the Craft Development Coordinator of HI~Arts, and an independent assessor.  You will be informed of the decision by HI~Arts immediately after the panel meeting.

Equal Opportunities

This scheme is open to any maker based within the catchment area, regardless of race, colour, gender, disability, or sexual orientation.  Decisions will be based entirely on the quality of the applicant’s work, and the benefits which will accrue from the proposed project.

Appeals

You can appeal against a funding decision only if there was additional information which existed but was not made available at the time the grant was considered, which would have materially altered the decision, or if the applicant considers there has been malpractice.  Information on SAC’s appeals procedure is available from the officer contacts given below.

Publicity

You should note that it is SAC’s policy to publicise the award of grants.  All grants may be announced by either HI~Arts or SAC through the media or other means.

Officer contact:

Applications should be submitted to Laura Martin, Funding Schemes Manager, HI~Arts, at the address below, and marked ‘makers awards’.  Information on the scheme, and on other SAC funding for makers, is available from the SAC Head of Crafts at 12 Manor Place, Edinburgh EH3 7DD (0131 226 6051).

Laura Martin
HI~Arts
Fourth Floor
Ballantyne House
84 Academy Street
Inverness
IV1 1LU
Tel: 01463 717091

e-mail: laura@hi-arts.co.uk
website: www.hi-arts.co.uk
enquiries: craft@hi-arts.co.uk

HI~Arts operates a formal policy on conflicts of interest, downloadable on this page.

This scheme is funded by the Scottish Arts Council and administered by HI~Arts.