Wellcome Trust Arts Awards

Arts Awards support imaginative and experimental arts projects that explore biomedical science.

The scheme aims to:

stimulate interest, excitement and debate about biomedical science through high-quality, original artistic practice
examine the social, cultural and ethical contexts of biomedical science through the arts
encourage new ways of thinking
promote high-quality interdisciplinary practice and collaborations between arts, science and education practice
support formal and informal learning.

The scheme is open to a wide range of people, including artists, scientists, curators, film makers, writers, producers, directors, academics, science communicators, teachers, arts workers and education officers.

Your project must involve the creation of new artistic work and have biomedical scientific input into the process, either through a scientist taking on an advisory role or through direct collaboration. This expert may be from an ethics, science or history background, but must be an expert in the area of biomedical science you are investigating.

If your proposed project has an artistic dimension but does not involve the creation of new work, then it may be more appropriate to apply for a People/Society Award. Film projects that are not artist-lead films and/or are mass broadcast media projects may be better suited to the People Awards for production, outreach and dissemination costs or theDevelopment Awards (Broadcast, Games and Film) for development costs.Please contact the scheme advisers if you need further information or advice.

You can apply for funding at two levels:

Small Arts Awards (small- to medium-sized projects - up to and including £30 000)
Funding can support the development of new project ideas, deliver small productions or workshops, investigate and experiment with new methods of engagement through the arts, or develop new collaborative relationships between artists and scientists.

Large Arts Awards (larger projects - above £30 000)
This funding can support full or part production costs for high-quality large arts projects that aim to have significant impact on audiences. These awards are primarily for applicants with a track record with the Wellcome Trust or Wellcome Collection; however, special cases can be made for teams that can provide evidence of an excellent track record and a particularly strong project idea where the initial research and development of the project has already taken place.

Projects that are not eligible for Arts Award support include health promotion, education or campaign projects, arts projects for therapeutic purposes, factual documentaries, work that is purely illustrative, and projects dealing with non-biomedical sciences.


ELIGIBILITY:

To be eligible, you must be based in the UK or the Republic of Ireland and the primary audience engagement must take place in the UK or the Republic of Ireland. Applicants are usually affiliated to organisations, but you can apply as an individual for a Small Arts Award.

Small Arts Awards (up to and including £30 000)
You should refer to the application guidelines [PDF], Grant Conditions and evaluation guidelines [Word] before completing your application.

Complete a full application form, via the Trust's eGrants online application system (select the 'Small Arts Awards' form in the 'Full application' drop-down menu), and submit it at any time before the published deadline. A sample application form can be downloaded/printed from eGrants.

Please note that organisations need to be registered on eGrants before an affiliated application can be submitted. This is done by contacting the Trust; for full details, see the About page on eGrants.

All eligible projects will be peer-reviewed and assessed individually on merit and need by a funding committee.

Large Arts Awards (over £30 000)
The Large Arts Awards are now primarily for applicants with a track record with the Wellcome Trust or Wellcome Collection; however, special cases can be made for teams that can provide evidence of an excellent track record and a particularly strong project idea where the initial research and development of the project has already taken place.

In the first instance, you must submit an Expression of Interest form [Word]. Forms should be emailed toarts@wellcome.ac.uk, at which point they will be acknowledged and reviewed by one of our advisors.

If you are successful at this stage, you will be invited to submit an application form, which will be peer reviewed and assessed by a committee. If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited for interview where you will be asked to present your project and answer questions.

You are advised to read the Large Arts Awards guidelines [PDF] and Grant Conditions prior to submitting your Expression of Interest form and full application.