Arts Council England

Arts Council England is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was
divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. They support activities
across the arts from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature and crafts to
collection. Between 2018 and 2022, they plan to invest £1.45 billion of public money from
government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these
artistic and cultural experiences for as many people as possible across the country.

OPEN FUNDS

As the Arts Council England states on their website, their open funds are looking for
“organisations, artists, events, initiatives and others to apply for our funding and help us
achieve our strategy”. One open fund I am eligible for is the ‘National Lottery Project Grants’
because it is open for art projects and it also supports individual artists. This fund would
allow me to develop my ideas for future photography projects. For example, I would love to
do a project surrounding body positivity as not only is it an issue close to my heart but also, I
feel it is important that people become less discriminative of somebody’s appearance as it
could have upsetting consequences such as a decline in your mental health, which we have
seen an increase of mental health issues during the pandemic. Currently, due to COVID-19,
it is important that if you are planning an exhibition you must think about safety regulations
otherwise your project cannot be funded. Personally, I would hold a virtual exhibition at my
local arts centre because not only would this keep people safe, but it would also enhance
my network within my local community for future collaborations with other creative
practitioners who may focus on a different artform such as dance.