Sampad’s 2024 Bursary Programme

After the success of last years bursary programme, we are excited to announce our 2024 programme. In our second year we are awarding three bursaries:

  • Sampad Start Bursary: Emerging Artist Bursary £500
  • Mid Career Artist Bursary £1000
  • Digital Artist Bursary £1500

These bursaries aim to support artists to foster innovation in South Asian arts.

Eligibility Criteria:

– Emerging Artist Bursary is open to any artist of South Asian heritage who classifies themselves as an ‘emerging’ artist and meets the criteria below.

– Mid Career and Digital Artist Bursary is open to artists of South Asian heritage who have at least 3 years experience as professional artist.

– Applicants must be based in the Midlands, England.

– Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.

– Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.

– Artists must demonstrate a strong interest in developing their creative practice and for the Digital Artist Bursary must show a commitment to the use of digital creative technology* in producing artistic work.

*We are interested in the use of creative digital technology in the creation of artistic work to be presented to audiences; for the purpose of this bursary this does not include screen dance or sharing via digital platforms eg live streaming work, podcasts etc.  

Bursary Details:

– The funds can be used to support the artists’ creative projects, including but not limited to their own time, collaborator fees, rehearsal space, research, production, and exhibition costs.

– The bursary is a one-time award and should be used within one year of the award date.

We cannot support (this list is not exhaustive, if you are unsure that your proposal fits into our criteria, please do reach out to us prior to application):

  • Generic off-the-shelf residencies or visits that are not tailored to your personal professional development.
  • Applications that are dependent on other unsecured funding.
  • Higher education tuition fees and associated costs.
  • Applications from part time students (statutory education, further education or higher education) for activities directly linked to their formal course of study.

Application Process:

Interested applicants should complete the Application Google Form here and attach the equal opportunities monitoring form which can be found here.

Video Format Applications: If you would like to submit an application for a bursary by sending us a 3 minute film answering the key questions below, please send us a link to the video and copy and paste this into each answer. Please ensure you upload a CV and examples of your work. If you do not have a private link please email James@sampad.org.uk to arrange an alternative way of submitting your information. 

The google form will ask you to submit:

  • A short biography or CV, maximum 2 pages.  (This can be submitted as a 2 minute audio or video clip) which includes a brief artist statement highlighting your creative vision and goals.
  • An outlined proposal of no more than 2 sides of A4 or 4 minute of video (format) answering the questions:
  • What is your previous experience as an artist?
  • What do you want to do with this bursary? Describe what you want to do and how you will make it work.
  • Why your proposed bursary activity is crucial to your professional development at this time? How will the activity benefit you in the short and long term?
  • The Possible Outcome: what you would hope it will enable you to achieve at the end of the process and how you might share this with a potential klaudience of artists or public. Please note that we do sometimes ask artists to write a blog or produce a vlog as part of the bursary and artists must be willing to be part to take part in promotional activity about the bursary if requested.
  • The Timeframe:  timeline for your work.
  • A simple budget outline detailing how the bursary funds would be utilised.
  • A sample of your previous or current work – no more than 3 images/videos of short clips (please direct us to a maximum of 3 minutes of film in total) as an example of your creative practice.
  • A referee that knows your work with contact details that ideally include email and telephone number
  • A completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form**

**This will be separated from the application and does not form part of the shortlisting process. Information obtained from the form will not be available for the persons preparing the shortlist with the exception of obtaining information about disability required to make reasonable adjustments if required for interview. Data obtained from the forms will be used solely for monitoring purposes and no one individual will be identified.

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their submission.

Access

If you have access needs, please outline these in your application.  If we offer you a bursary we will work with you to find practical solutions to any barriers you encounter.

Important Dates:

Deadline for submissions: 11th October 2024.

We aim to let applicants know by 7th November 2024 of our final decision.

If you have any questions regarding the bursary or the application process, please contact Sabra Khan, Executive Director via email sabra@sampad.org.uk

We look forward to receiving your applications!

ABOUT SAMPAD

Our mission is to connect people and communities with South Asian and British Asian arts and heritage. Sampad believes in the power of arts and heritage to impact widely on all communities – breaking down barriers, raising important issues, amplifying unheard voices and bringing people from all walks of life together. 

Sampad has been at the forefront of and continuously proactive in supporting and developing South Asian arts in the UK over the past 3 decades, delivering high quality and well informed development programmes that have raised the profile, quality and diversity of South Asian artists.

We are committed to promoting and encouraging British Asian arts, so that they progress, break new ground and enrich mainstream culture in the UK. We support, commission and co-produce a huge variety of arts and heritage activities inspired by diverse art forms that originate from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.  We regularly run artist development programmes and offer informal mentoring and support to a range of artists across the country.

The Sampad Bursary programme is part of our commitment to supporting and developing artists of South Asian heritage to develop their skills and practice and to realise their ambitions.