From 20 September 2021, Arts Council of Wales is opening applications for the third round of the Connect and Flourish fund - its National Lottery fund designed to encourage collaborative projects between organisations, individuals, and creative professionals.
Expressions of Interest opened on 20 September and will close at 5pm 11th October. Successful proposals will then be invited to submit a full application to a second stage in January 2022.
Connect and Flourish is a new type of fund which encourages applicants to find innovative ways of creating work and connect with audiences. A particular focus of the programme is to create more opportunities for unheard voices to contribute towards making the arts in Wales fairer, more representative and accessible. The programme offers grants of between £500 and £150,000 for projects with a strong emphasis on collaboration between individual artists, non-arts groups, and arts organisations. The fund aims to encourage new ideas that will support artists to emerge from the challenges of the pandemic, and to support a strong and resilient arts sector that properly reflects our country’s people and communities.
Guidance notes for the fund have now been published on the Arts Council of Wales website. The Arts Council is also introducing a new simpler and more user-friendly application process. Applicants will be asked to register for a code to access our grants management portal. To register for access to the Arts Council’s grants portal and to apply for Connect and Flourish, visit our funding pages here.
Please note that it can take up to 5 days for receipt of the registration code, so new applicants are asked to allow sufficient time for this in their planning. If you experience any difficulties with your application or registration, then please e-mail grants@arts.wales so that we can help you swiftly.