Jerwood Bursaries provide funding to help you explore and develop your next steps, whether through supporting your skills and knowledge development and/or supporting the first stage development of a new idea. We want you to pursue your interests independently and on your own terms.
A Jerwood Bursary can support your skills and knowledge development by funding opportunities to network, find new partners for collaboration, receive mentoring or take part in training, conferences and workshops. It can support development of your practice through covering costs of attending residencies or being on attachment. It can support the first stages of development of a new idea through research and development, experimenting, drafting or workshopping. It can support you with any combination of these, and anything else that you believe will help you learn, grow and take control of the development of your artistic practice and career, and/or help kick start the creation of new work where an outcome is unknown.
Download the Jerwood Bursaries FAQs
What can you apply for?
Any amount between £250 and £1,250 for:
- professional and/or specialised training
- taking part in conferences or workshops
- undertaking research and development
- exploring new or existing artistic collaborations
- undertaking residencies or attachments
- mentoring
- networking or membership of artistic networks
- drafting, scratching, workshopping and other first stage artistic development methods
- developing specific skills and knowledge on your terms
- time and space to test new ideas
The costs of travel in the UK and care can be covered by a Jerwood Bursary in order to participate in one or more of the activities above.
Activities can start once funding is confirmed. There is no expectation for how short or long the activity should be, but proposals that are time-limited and finish within 12 months of receiving the bursary are preferred.
We expect to be the sole funder of this award, although in-kind and other income sources may be taken into consideration where appropriate.
We will run two rounds of Jerwood Bursaries in 2019, one for applicants within 6-10 years of establishing their artistic practice (deadline 4 March) and one for applicants within 1-5 years of establishing their artistic practice (deadline 7 October) (with link). Please see our General FAQs for how we think about length of artistic practice.
Based on our experience of running Artist Bursaries and Performing Arts Micro Bursaries in 2017 and 2018, we will receive around 500 applications for each round and be able to make between 25-30 awards each time. Due to this high level of competition, it is highly unlikely we will fund anyone with less than a year of commitment to their professional practice and/or who has not had at least one piece of work professionally produced, presented, published or exhibited.
Time frames and Deadlines for 2019
1st round: for applicants within 6-10 years of establishing their artistic practice
Guidance for Jerwood Bursaries published and fund opens for applications: 23 January 2019
Advice sessions held on (by appointment): 20 February 2019
Applications must be received by: 5pm, 4 March 2019
Decisions will be communicated by: 5 April 2019
2nd round: for applicants within 1-5 years of establishing their artistic practice
Fund opens for applications: 15 July 2019
Advice sessions held on (by appointment): 10 September 2019
Applications must be received by: 5pm, 7 October 2019
Decisions will be communicated by: 15 November 2019
Eligibility criteria
Across all our activity, individuals receiving our support must be:
- practising artists, curators and/or producers
- within the first ten years of starting a professional practice (this can be self-defined – see FAQs for details)
- willing to be bold and take risks
- living and working in the UK and committed to making a positive contribution to the UK arts sector
- outside full-time, formal education
You cannot apply if you:
- are an organisation, or on behalf of an organisation
- are in, or want funding for, formal education courses, including tuition fees, living costs and associated materials
- have made a previous application for a Jerwood Bursary in the last 12 months
We welcome applications
- from those with and without formal education or qualifications
- from previous applicants, as well as those who have not applied before, so long as you have not applied to us in the last 12 months
- if you work in any discipline and/or across disciplines
- if your situation, background and/or identity is currently under-supported across the art sector, including but not limited to under-represented BAME backgrounds, LGBTQ+ identities, gender identities, socio-economic backgrounds, those with disabilities and those with caring responsibilities
We are committed to making our funding accessible to all and supporting applicants facing barriers to apply. Please email info@jerwoodarts.org and tell us what you need to enable you to apply.
Advice
As well as the guidance on this page, we have created a Jerwood Bursaries FAQ and General FAQ. These cover the most common questions arising and are updated regularly, so please read them.
If you have a question after reading the guidance and FAQs, please send it by email to info@jerwoodarts.org. We will acknowledge your email within three working days and aim to answer your question within five working days.
If your question requires further conversation, then we will book you in to speak with one of our team, which can be in person, a telephone call or a Skype conversation. Please note that the advice we give on making an application is on the eligibility and suitability of the activity for the Jerwood Bursary only, and will have no bearing on its assessment.
What you can expect from us
If you are successful, you can expect us to:
- meet you and connect you with other recipients of our funding through our networks and events
- be profiled on our website and social media (with your permission)
- be available throughout the delivery of your programme for advice
- engage with the events and activities you run wherever we can.
If your application is unsuccessful, you can request written feedback on your application within six weeks of the outcome.
What we expect from you
If you are successful, we expect you to:
- inform us of the progress of the project and any significant changes before they happen
- credit Jerwood Arts as a supporter of the project on all digital and print materials
- participate in the Jerwood Arts network of artists, organisations and events
- contribute to our research on support for artists
- submit a report at the end of the project telling us how it went against your original plan
The selection and decision making process
Eligibility check and longlist:
Applications will be reviewed by at least two Jerwood Arts staff members, who will meet to decide on a longlist of approximately 100 applications per round
Artist Adviser assessment:
Each application on the longlist will be reviewed by at least two Artist Advisers with expertise relevant to the proposed activity
Panel:
The Artist Advisors and Jerwood Arts staff scoring and comments are combined and discussed at a panel meeting including at least two Artist Advisors and a Jerwood Arts staff member.
Examples
We have offered bursaries for individuals throughout our history, most recently the Performing Arts Micro Bursaries and Artist Bursaries. The Jerwood Bursaries builds on our experience of these.
This fund is being piloted in 2019 and we are keen to hear feedback of all kinds. Please share your comments at info@jerwoodarts.org.
For more information
jerwoodarts.org/opportunities/jerwood-bursaries/
