Grants database

Working in partnership with a local community centre, this programme will engage professional artists to lead participatory projects in Ely/​Caerau, a deprived area of Cardiff, exploring sculpture as an art form and its potential for the creative use of construction skills. Much of the activity will be accredited through the Open College Network; the initiative has a special focus on providing support and mentoring to those in the area who are unemployed or in unsecure employment.

Operasonic is a new organisation based in Newport, South Wales, which creates a range of opportunities for young people to explore, create and experience opera. The Newport Legends programme will enable young people in Newport to create small scale operatic performances and to explore the medium as a powerful vehicle for self-expression.

Following extensive consultation, Hull Truck will provide local, free and family-friendly activities in a defined geographical area of the city – focusing on entertainment and fun – to reach people who think they don’t belong in the theatre.

Recovery Colleges support people with mental health problems on their journey to recovery through education in a non-stigmatising college environment. Working with Sussex Recovery College, Heads On will pilot and evaluate seven arts-based courses to co-produce and co-deliver a programme of arts courses at cultural venues.

This programme of quality participatory art workshops for pre-school children, inspired by the collections, aims to build confidence amongst parents/​carers facing disadvantage, helping to raise participants’ aspirations and improve access to the arts. 

New creative leadership of Essex Book Festival has seen the introduction of a Human Rights Strand into its programme, leading to an increased focus on diversity. PHF funding will enable the piloting of new ways of working with young people aged 14–25 in marginalised communities. It will also help to develop community links, as well as deepen understanding of the barriers currently impeding access to arts, particularly those focussed on the spoken and written word.

De La Warr Pavilion is a Grade One listed modernist building on the South Coast in East Sussex, which hosts high quality exhibitions and live events. De La Warr Pavilion’s new programme will embed a culture of access across the organisation, designing tailor-made interventions to connect adults with learning disabilities, marginalised young people and over 65s as well as migrants and refugees to their artistic programme.

Daily Life is an arts and mental health advocacy charity based in Stratford, East London with a mission to change the way that people think about mental health and a strong track record of producing provocative work. They will develop and test the Roving Diagnostic Unit, where people with lived experience of mental distress co-produce participatory adventures to ​‘diagnose’ local cultural centres including the William Morris Gallery and Vestry House Museum. These interactive performances will explore mental health and the history of psychiatric diagnosis.

Create London is an independent charity, principally funded by ACE and Legacy Trust UK, with a strong track record of bringing art to communities in East London. They will bring the Grade II-listed White House in Becontree back into use to provide artists’ live/​work spaces, communal public spaces and a public engagement programme. The White House is located within the Becontree Estate, an area of high social and economic deprivation within Barking and Dagenham, which is in the top 3% of most deprived authorities in England.

Based on Argyll and Bute, Cove Park hosts residencies for nationally and internationally acclaimed artists in all disciplines. They will develop a new year-round programme, Hands-On, offering arts activities to these remote island communities. 

Dance Base, Scotland’s National Centre for Dance, and Scottish Ballet will pilot a regular programme of weekly dance activities in Edinburgh and Glasgow for people with Parkinson’s disease, their caregivers, families and friends – accompanied by live music. They plan to explore how to monitor the impact of this pilot in partnership with Glasgow University Institute of Neurological Sciences.

Action Space London supports the development of artists with learning disabilities. It plans to trial half-day workshops in public spaces across London. These will be facilitated by people with learning disabilities to enable their peers to explore their creativity and enjoyment of visual arts.