Arts Support Scheme

The Arts Support Scheme forms part of Arts Council Malta’s support portfolio that invests in diverse artistic and cultural expression and in the development of Malta’s cultural and creative sectors. The scheme enables individuals, groups, and organisations to plan, develop, be represented in, and deliver artistic projects in line with ACM’s Strategy2025, primarily addressing communities and creative practitioners.

The scheme pursues Strategy2025 by actively seeking to:

• Nurture creative potential and support its development, encouraging co-creation, collaboration, and experimentation;

• Invest in artistic excellence by encouraging creative risk-taking, experimentation, and active engagement of communities while supporting quality projects as well as identifying talent and encouraging its development;

• Document and explore Malta’s past and present artistic and cultural communities, as well as Malta’s cultural and artistic legacy;

• Promote and support diversity, inclusivity, and community development by enabling collaborative arts projects, knowledge development, and dissemination of good practice;

• Provide disadvantaged groups with accessibility to a wide range of artistic and cultural experiences and opportunities for meaningful engagement with art and culture

• Facilitate the creation of platforms for young promising talent, intergenerational engagement, as well as intercultural engagement.

In line with ACM’s overarching commitment to cultural rights, this scheme recognises the central role of artists and cultural and creative practitioners in the creation and production of diverse artistic and cultural expressions. The scheme encourages applicants to address specific community needs, such as cultural participation, solidarity, social justice, environmental responsibility, sustainability, community development, and increased holistic well-being. The Arts Support Scheme supports artists, cultural and creative practitioners, and communities to:

• Take creative risks to discover new opportunities, develop their knowledge, and develop new work through experimentation and collaboration;

• Carry out exploratory research projects that allow them to test new work, engage, be duly represented, collaborate, and develop their ideas further.

Submitted applications may:

• Form part of the initial phase of a wider project/body of work;

• Be self-contained projects;

• Consist of a series of projects within a programme of activities.

This scheme comprises of two main areas of focus each subdivided into three types of activities. Applicants may choose to focus on one or more of these areas or types of activities within their projects:

1. Artistic practice and/or research, namely:

o Artistic projects – including the production and programming of quality-driven creative work – which push the boundaries of engaging creative experience for the artists, cultural and creative practitioners, the relevant sectors, and the communities;

o Research into artistic concepts, techniques, and subjects adopting innovative or untested approaches to the conception, creation and development of artistic work;

o Production and/or research relating to Malta’s artistic communities, designed to document Malta’s cultural and artistic legacy in an open and sustainable manner. 

2. Community and audience engagement, namely:

o Artistic production and/or programming which enable and promote cultural participation, creative expression, and/or awareness and appreciation relating to the collective memory, and the cultural and artistic legacy of the community;

o Exploration of participatory and innovative approaches to audience engagement set to deepen engagement with existing and new audiences through artistic practice and/or research;

o Exploration of ways to improve access to the arts and to promote inclusive participation and greater diversity within the arts.

This scheme provides support to artists, cultural and creative practitioners, and communities throughout the development and implementation phases, and covers the time and resources needed for creative professionals and their collaborators to develop their projects.

Who can apply? 

Creative professionals/individual artists; Entities registered with the Malta Business Registry (including companies, partnerships, foundations, and organisations/associations); Groups, collectives and consortia; Registered cooperatives; Voluntary organisations enrolled with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations. 

Deadline

The deadline to apply is Friday 5 May at noon. Late applications cannot be accepted.

Applicants are required to register a new profile as from January 2021.