Professional Toolkit: Funding Applications
When thinking about future career paths and progression into further artistic research and discovery, I found Mark Fairnington’s talk on how to write successful applications and funding bids to be particularly helpful. When funding for a project, it is important to visualise whether the project you intend to undertake indeed needs fundraising or warrants it.
Projects often materialise from a glimmer of an idea or concept that once acknowledged, needs time to mature. This understanding has made me realise the importance of documentation and archiving information right from the beginning before choosing a funding root or avenue. Mark Fairnington made me aware of the various funding bodies available in the wider domain, funding bodies such as:
Mark Fairnington, 'Walking looking and telling tales, commission for the English Heritage site Cheryburn, Northumberland (2018)
-
Arts and Humanities Research Council
-
Arts Council England
-
Heritage Lottery Fund
-
Leverhulme Trust
-
Welcome Trust
Understanding the different funding bodies and their purpose made me realise the specifics involved when applying, as each body is set up to engage with certain requirements and funding concepts. Considering my bodily, botanical landscapes, I would therefore need to approach an Environmental Body who distributes funds on behalf of one or more Landfill Operators. In addition to this, Marks’s talk exposed me to the importance of the value of this project to different people. Who are the projects beneficiaries and how successful will it be are two imperative factors that need to be considered when applying for art funds.
Reflecting on Mark’s project brief for the AHRC Research Leave Award, his objectives and needs where very clear, concise, and direct. Applying for funding for imaging in natural history research and display at the Natural History Museum, Mark specifies his total funding needed of £7219. Utilised to go and study the museum’s collections in 2004, Marks’s project explored the ways in which imaging is used in scientific research and museum display. He specifies who will be involved and the subsequent outcome. I will work with scientists based at the museum and use the results of the research to create new works for an exhibition, Mark specifies who will be involved and the subsequent outcome. Through describing his intended exhibition as ‘a core component of a programme of events and activities’ which will explore this theme in depth to ‘a variety of audiences’, Mark directly defines the importance and relevance of his project to the funding body. Mark’s project has direct engagement to the natural History Museums work, especially where imaging is crucial for research and its practical application. Defining a projects pertinence, its relevance and necessity is key to a successful funding application.
On top of this, before applying for funding I need to ensure an explicit understanding and breakdown of the economics involved, this being the artists total fee, plus the added cost of materials and travel etc. Finally, after identifying the projects output, whether that be an exhibition, workshop, publication, conference, or symposium, I must identify the wider reverberations. What will be the resulting impact beyond the output and how will it affect things within that subject area in the future. Mark’s professional toolkit talk has been useful in informing me on the rigorous structure and wider encompassing themes/aspects that need to be considered when making a successful funding application. I now feel more prepared to peruse professional opportunities and for when a future funding idea arises, develops, and materialises.