Art Fund opens grant schemes worth £2m

The Art Fund is opening applications to two funding streams this summer, with more than £2m available in total.

The charity’s Reimagine grants programme, designed to increase stability as the sector navigates its post-Covid recovery, opens from 4 July until 12 September.

Arts organisations will be eligible to apply for grants between £10,000 and £50,000 for projects focused on remimagining approaches to engagement. Of the £2m available in total, £200,000 will be distributed by Museum Development UK towards small to medium sized museums for reset grants and resilience programmes.

Meanwhile, applications to The West Loan Programme with Art Fund, which enables museums to borrow works from major lending museums and galleries, will open at the end of June until 12 August. 

According to Art Fund's recently published annual report, the charity delivered more than £5.8m in grants across all its funding streams last year.

Director Jenny Waldman said this was made possible by the 130,000 Art Fund members who have purchased the National Art Pass and donations from trusts, foundations and donors: “Thanks to the generosity we have been able to step up to help museums through the challenges of the pandemic and into an exciting future”.

By the end of the year, the charity expects to have delivered over £6m in Covid-19 response funding.