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Arts opportunities and funding
Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA)
VACMA offers small grants to visual artists and craft makers for their creative development, at any stage of their career. The scheme is supported by Creative Scotland through National Lottery funding, in partnership with us and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Two levels of bursary are available:
- £1,000 for career visual artists and craft makers, for applicants with 5 or more years' experience who make a profession of their work
- £500 for early-career applicants, for those with less than 5 years' experience outside of education or training, or who haven't studied formally but have been practising for up to 5 years
To apply, you must be a visual artist or craft maker who can demonstrate a commitment to developing your creative practice, and be living, working, or maintaining a studio space in Orkney.
If you need Access Support to complete your application, or expect to incur Personal Access Costs, check our guidance to see if you're eligible. Allow 4 weeks before you intend to apply.
We recommend speaking to our Arts Officer before submitting an application, they can offer information and support.
There are two award rounds for 2026-27, with deadlines of 20 October 2026 and 2 February 2027.
Related resources
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VACMA Guidance
This document contains guidance for Scotland’s Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards bursaries for 2025/26. It explains who can apply, what the £500 and £1,000 bursaries can support, what isn’t eligible, and how applications are assessed. It also covers application questions, access support, environmental considerations, reporting duties and frequently asked questions. The application deadlines are 5pm on 21 October 2025 and 5pm on 3 February 2026, although local schemes may have different arrangements.
Please be aware that this summary has been generated using AI.
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VACMA Artist Checklist
This document contains tips for applying to the Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA). It covers updating your professional CV, choosing and labelling strong photographs of your work, and making sure your proposal is realistic for the bursary available. Applicants are also encouraged to ask someone to check their application and confirm the deadline for their local scheme.
Please be aware that this summary has been generated using AI.
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VACMA Application Form
This document contains the 2025-26 application form for Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards bursaries in Orkney. It covers £500 early-career and £1,000 bursary applications, including details of the artist, proposed activity, creative development, public engagement, inclusion, environmental impact and budget. Applicants must provide work examples and supporting documents, then email the completed form to Emma.Gee@orkney.gov.uk.
Please be aware that this summary has been generated using AI.
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VACMA Equalities Monitoring Form
This document contains the VACMA Equalities Monitoring Form, which asks about applicants’ age, disability, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexual orientation, Gaelic language and socio-economic background. The information will be used in anonymised statistics to improve equal opportunities and support underrepresented groups; answering is optional, and personal details won’t be shared outside the organisation. Alternative formats, translations and access support are available, and the completed form should be emailed with the application; it won’t affect funding decisions.
Please be aware that this summary has been generated using AI.
Culture Fund
The Culture Fund supports organisations planning cultural events, activities or projects in Orkney between 1 April 2027 and 31 March 2028. Culture includes arts, heritage, and language, such as Orkney dialect. This covers festivals, museums, heritage centres and arts projects, and aims to give Orkney residents access to high-quality cultural events while also promoting Orkney to visitors.
Who can apply
Formally constituted, not-for-profit organisations producing, delivering or promoting cultural activity or programmes. This includes support for general running costs as well as specific activities, and can also support non-cultural organisations delivering cultural activities. You'll need clear financial procedures and signed, audited accounts appropriate to the scale of your organisation.
How to apply
It can help to think of your application as telling a story: what you want to do and why, how you'll do it and who else is involved, and what will be different once you've finished.
The deadline for applications is 5pm on 30 October 2026.
Related resources
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Culture Fund Application Form
This document contains the 2026/27 Culture Fund application form from Orkney Islands Council. It asks for organisation and project details, links to Council priorities, financial information, marketing and evaluation plans, and information on equality and inclusion. Applicants must include supporting documents such as accounts, programmes, constitutions and relevant policies, and send applications to Emma Gee by 5pm on 31 October 2025.
Please be aware that this summary has been generated using AI.
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Culture Fund Application Guidance
This document contains guidance for applying to Orkney Islands Council’s Culture Fund for 2026/2027. It explains eligible arts, heritage and Orkney language activities, who can apply, funding priorities, exclusions and expected standards for finances, Fair Work and accessibility. It also covers budgets, grant payments, reporting, privacy, the application process and contact details. Grants support non-profit cultural activities taking place in Orkney, with requests of around £500 to £3,000 suggested.
Please be aware that this summary has been generated using AI.
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Culture Fund Monitoring Form
This document contains Orkney Islands Council’s end-of-project monitoring form for arts funding recipients. It asks about the funded activity, its results, people involved, public reach, learning sessions, digital activity and benefits for different groups. Applicants must provide budget information, a certified income and expenditure statement, feedback on the funding process and a signed declaration. The completed form should be returned within five weeks of the activity ending, preferably by email.
Please be aware that this summary has been generated using AI.
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Culture Fund Proof of Expenditure Form
This document contains the MH3 Culture Fund proof of expenditure form. Applicants must list eligible invoices, including dates, invoice numbers, suppliers, goods or services, and costs for VAT-registered or non-registered suppliers. Scanned invoices must be supported by a bank statement showing the matching payment, and invoices must be numbered in list order. A continuation sheet is provided for extra entries and records the total expenditure and grant awarded.
Please be aware that this summary has been generated using AI.
Awarded grants 2025-26
£23,000 was distributed through the Open Pot, decided each year through a competitive process and a review panel of OIC officers, elected members, and representatives from Creative Scotland, Museums Galleries Scotland and Voluntary Action Orkney.
| Who | What | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Soulisquoy Printmakers | Master printmaking residency | £3,000 |
| Orkney Traditional Music Project | Running costs of Summer School 2025 | £1,500 |
| Orkney Japan Association | Starting from Kimono: Japanese textiles and design in an Orkney context | £2,000 |
| Orkney Camerata | 30th Anniversary project: Camerata with horns | £1,600 |
| Hoy Heritage Centre | A Window on Hoy: stained glass windows community project | £2,500 |
| Inclusive Orkney | Orkney Heritage for Young People course | £3,000 |
| Orkney Arts Society | 2025-26 Programme | £3,000 |
| Another Orkney Production | 80th Anniversary of the Churchill Barriers series of events | £3,000 |
Other funding opportunities
A number of other organisations offer funding relevant to arts, culture, innovation and enterprise, including Creative Scotland, the Robertson Trust, Nature Scot, and various innovation and enterprise funding bodies such as Innovate UK, UK Research and Innovation, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.