ACE relaunches support fund for creative practitioners 

An Arts Council England (ACE) funding stream aimed at individuals working in the cultural sector has opened for its 16th edition.

The Developing your Creative Practice (DYCP) fund provides independent cultural and creative practitioners with grants available to “take a dedicated period of time to focus on their own cultural and creative development, to take them to the next stage in their practice”.

The fund covers all of ACE’s supported artforms for activities including creating new work, research periods, travel for national or international work, training, mentoring or networking.

Grants of between £2,000 and £10,000 are available, with prospective applicants advised to identify a clear development opportunity in their application.

ACE says it received more 19,000 applications to the DYCP fund between rounds eight and 15. The 15th round received 1,261 requests for funding before sharing over £3.5m between 377 individuals.

In light of this high demand, anyone that has made one successful or two unsuccessful applications to the DYCP fund since 10 January 2021 is not eligible for Round 16.

Applications are open until 17 January 2023, with decisions announced by 28 March 2023.