New funding for creativity, mental health and people from ethnically diverse backgrounds – now closed

Please note this application round is now closed.

Our Arts programme is today launching a new fund for projects that promote the role of creativity in the lives of people with mental health problems from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Our research so far suggests that there are few diverse-led organisations specifically devoted to arts and health work and that ethnically diverse people are not well represented as service-users or in its workforce. That is despite the fact that there are stark disparities in terms of prompt diagnosis and access to mental health treatment for racialised communities.

This funding round is being launched together with our new report – Creatively Minded and Ethnically Diverse – in which experts and practitioners with personal and professional experience explore the challenges and barriers in this field and draw out good practice.

In this round, we are looking for projects that:

• find ways to attract participatory artists from ethnically diverse communities into this area of work and to support them. Examples might include shadowing, internships or apprenticeships, or mentoring or free training opportunities.
• undertake activity to offer creative opportunities to members of specific ethnically diverse communities who have mental health problems.
• or a combination of these approaches.

Grants of between £10,000 and £40,000 are available.

Detailed application guidelines – including eligibility for the fund – are available here. You may also find this summary of questions and answers from our first funding Q&A (see below) useful when considering your eligibility or application.

Deadline: 12pm midday on Wednesday 21 April.

Find out more at a Q&A

We will be holding two webinars in March – a double bill to introduce our new report Creatively Minded and Ethnically Diverse alongside an opportunity to ask us questions about this new funding round.

These will take place on:

11 March 4pm to 5pm

23 March 2.30pm to 3.30pm

Click here to register.

This funding round is part of new funding for racial justice work across the Foundation’s programmes. You can find out more about our plans in this blog by the Chair of our Trustees.

Photo credit: Lightpost Theatre Company, photo © Kris Askey.