The Angus Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA Angus) are now open for applications to a second round of funding.
Established by Creative Scotland, the Visual Artist and Craft Makers Awards (VACMA) are a programme of small grants delivered with a range of local authorities, charitable trusts and art agencies across Scotland to support visual artists and craft makers in their creative and professional development. In Angus, the awards are hosted by ANGUSalive and delivered in partnership with Angus Council and Creative Scotland.
The awards provide a valuable opportunity for practitioners to undertake specific projects, and to develop and advance their creative practice in ways they may not otherwise have been able to do.
Grants of between £500 and £1500 are available to individuals, enabling them to realise proposals including researching and developing new work, learning new skills, and purchasing equipment.
Across Scotland VACMA can be a crucial transition point – for both emerging and established artists and makers. Applications from practitioners based in Angus are invited until 6 October 2020.
Gill Ross, ANGUSalive’s Visual Arts Lead said: ‘If anyone is thinking about applying for VACMA Angus, please do. We’re delighted to be able to support local artists and makers across the county to develop their creative practices by working in partnership with Creative Scotland and Angus Council. We look forward to seeing VACMA Angus proposals and hearing from creative practitioners from all over Angus.”
The VACMA Angus scheme ran for the first time in February 2020 and funded 5 projects. The VACMA Angus recipient artists and makers came from a range of disciplines including Fine Art, Digital Art, Ceramics and Textiles at different stages in their professional practice.
VACMA Angus recipient and Forfar Ceramic Artist, Carol Sinclair said: “I am delighted to receive a VACMA award as it will support me to develop technical pattern cutting skills, bringing greater precision to the way I make my work and allowing me to expand the shape, scale and range of materials I use.”
Frances Law, Artist and Educator from Kirriemuir received funding to purchase equipment: “An intaglio printing press will advance my practice by giving me the opportunity to study the dynamics of collagraph and intaglio printmaking techniques, a valuable learning and development experience currently unattainable to me in the process of printing by hand.”
Kayleigh Skye Esplin, emerging artist from Letham, received a VACMA Artists Bursary to support the development of her practice. “The VACMA grant will benefit my practice in so many ways because it will allow me to study online. I will hopefully learn more techniques to improve my digital artwork and ways to combine digital and manual art.”
The next two application deadlines for the awards are 5pm on Tuesday 6 October 2020 and Tuesday 2 February 2021, 5pm.
For more information including application forms and guidelines visit the ANGUSalive website.
For advice, applicants can contact ANGUSalive, at visualarts@angusalive.scot
More information about the VACMA Angus Awards can be found at https://www.angusalive.scot/museums-galleries/visual-arts/visual-artist-and-craft-maker-awards-angus/
