Arts Council of Wales (ACW) are to restructure its flagship Create arts funding programme, which distributes National Lottery funds to individuals and organisations.
Speaking about the changes, Catryn Ramasut, new Director of Arts at the Arts Council of Wales said,
“The arts sector gave us clear feedback, and we've acted decisively. Our data shows that Wales' creative landscape has transformed dramatically since the Create programme began, requiring a more targeted approach to funding.”
The more targeted approach means that a new six programme funding structure will be fully operational from April 2026, but two of these new funding programmes are set to open for applications this autumn.
These funding programmes are Creative Communities, which will offer one-off grants of up to £1500 designed to encourage new community groups to engage in arts activity, whilst a Major Productions fund will look to support high-quality ambitious productions.
Guidance on how to apply for the Creative Communities fund will be available in September 2025, and the rolling fund will open for applications in September. Guidance on the Major Productions fund will be published in October, and the fund will open for applications in November with a January 2026 deadline.
The second phase of the changes will happen from April 2026, with specific funding programmes for festivals, research and development, developing creative practice, and a general Create and Engage programme where the main beneficiary are the people engaging with the arts activity.
“The main message for the sector here is that there will be no change to how you apply for Create funding until April of next year,” explains Catryn Ramasut.
“We have published the new deadlines for Large Create on our website, and Small Create continues as a rolling programme. However, if you think you have a potential project for the Creative Communities or the Major Productions funds, then make sure you keep up to date by signing up to our newsletter or visiting our website and social media so that you take a look at the guidelines in the autumn.”
More information about Create is available on our Funding pages