Arts Council of Wales Grants: Supporting Visual Artists Across Wales

The Arts Council of Wales (Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru) is the national organisation with responsibility for funding and developing the arts in Wales, distributing funding from the Welsh Government and the National Lottery to support arts and culture across the country. For visual artists based in Wales, the Arts Council is the primary source of public arts funding, providing grants through several programs that support individual artistic practice, professional development, and the creation of new work.

The Arts Council of Wales has a distinctive mission that reflects Wales's specific cultural context, including a commitment to supporting the Welsh language and Welsh cultural identity alongside the broader arts sector. This commitment to Welsh cultural specificity gives the Arts Council's programs a distinctive character that reflects the particular circumstances of arts practice in Wales.

The Arts Grants Wales Program

Arts Grants Wales is the Arts Council's primary funding mechanism for individual artists and arts organisations, providing grants that support the creation of new work, professional development, and other activities that advance artistic practice. The program is open to artists working in all artforms, including visual arts, music, theatre, dance, literature, and combined arts.

Arts Grants Wales provides funding for a wide range of activities, including the creation of a specific body of new work, professional development through workshops, courses, or mentoring, research trips and residencies, and other activities that advance the artist's practice. The program is designed to support the full range of activities that contribute to artistic development, recognising that different artists have different needs and that the most valuable support is support that gives artists genuine flexibility.

The application process requires a clear description of the proposed activity, a detailed budget, evidence of professional practice, and work samples that demonstrate the quality and character of the applicant's work. The Arts Council provides detailed guidance on the application process on its website in both English and Welsh, and its staff are available to provide advice and support to artists who are preparing applications.

The Welsh Language Commitment

The Arts Council of Wales has a specific commitment to supporting the Welsh language and Welsh-language arts, recognising the central importance of the Welsh language to Welsh cultural identity and the specific challenges facing Welsh-language artists in accessing mainstream arts funding and infrastructure.

The Council administers specific programs for Welsh-language arts and artists, and it has Welsh-language specialists on its staff who can provide guidance and support to Welsh-language artists who are applying for funding. All of the Council's programs and application materials are available in both English and Welsh, and artists can apply in either language.

The commitment to Welsh-language arts reflects the Arts Council's understanding that the vitality of the Welsh language is inseparable from the vitality of Welsh culture more broadly, and that supporting Welsh-language arts is an essential part of its mission to develop and promote the arts in Wales.

The Visual Arts Context

Wales has a distinctive and vibrant visual arts scene, with a strong tradition of landscape painting, printmaking, and craft alongside a growing contemporary art sector. The Arts Council of Wales's support for visual artists reflects its understanding of the specific challenges and opportunities facing artists in Wales, including the relatively small size of the local art market, the importance of international engagement for career development, and the specific cultural and historical context that shapes artistic practice in Wales.

The Welsh landscape has been a central subject for Welsh artists throughout the history of Welsh art, and the Arts Council's support for landscape painting and other art forms that engage with the Welsh environment reflects its understanding of the importance of this tradition to Welsh cultural identity. At the same time, the Council supports contemporary artists who engage with Welsh culture and identity in more experimental and conceptual ways, reflecting its commitment to the full range of contemporary artistic practice.

The National Lottery Connection

A significant portion of the Arts Council of Wales's funding comes from the National Lottery, which provides a substantial and relatively stable source of funding for the arts in Wales. The National Lottery funding is distributed through several programs, including the Arts Grants Wales program, which supports a range of arts activities including individual artist grants.

The National Lottery funding is subject to specific eligibility criteria and reporting requirements, and artists who receive National Lottery funding are expected to acknowledge the source of their funding in their communications and publicity materials. The Council provides detailed guidance on the specific requirements for National Lottery-funded projects on its website.

International Engagement

The Arts Council of Wales places particular emphasis on supporting Welsh artists in engaging with the international arts community, recognising that international engagement is essential for the development of Welsh art and the careers of Welsh artists. The Council's international programs support Welsh artists in undertaking residencies and professional development activities outside Wales, and they support the promotion of Welsh art internationally.

The international engagement programs reflect the Arts Council's understanding that Welsh art is enriched by its engagement with the broader international arts community, and that Welsh artists benefit from exposure to different artistic traditions, approaches, and contexts. The programs also reflect the Council's interest in promoting Welsh culture internationally, contributing to Wales's cultural diplomacy and its reputation as a country with a distinctive and vibrant arts scene.

The Bottom Line

The Arts Council of Wales is the primary source of public arts funding for visual artists based in Wales, providing grants through the Arts Grants Wales program and other schemes that support the creation of new work, professional development, and the broader development of artistic practice. For Wales-based visual artists who want to develop their practice and access public funding for their work, the Arts Council of Wales is the most important and accessible funding body available.