Visiting Arts is the national agency sustaining the flow of international arts into the UK and strengthening intercultural understanding through the arts. Our work links England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with countries prioritised by our Board. We develop cultural links, strengthen the knowledge and understanding of audiences about world arts and culture, build positive cultural relations and exchange, and foster mutually beneficial arts contacts at community, local, regional, national, and institutional levels. Visiting Arts activities include advice, consultancy, information, online cultural profiles and knowledge resources, networking opportunities, partnership building, professional development, project funding, publications, and we cover a wide range of art forms. Visiting Arts is an independent educational charity (registered in England as a charity number 1085506) jointly funded by the Arts Council of England, the Scottish Arts Council, the Arts Council of Wales, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and the British Council. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport also provides support. http://www.visitingarts.org.uk Visiting Arts resources which may assist you when planning your project can be found on the Visiting Arts website or in hard copy and special formats on request. These include: - Advisory documents to the legal implications and requirements regarding the presentation of international art in the UK Red Tape - a guide to UK work permits, visas, tax for performing arts projects NailtoNail - a guide to UK work permits, visas, transportation for visual arts projects - Other information sources Help sheets - a series of documents offering advice on presenting arts in the UK UK Festivals - a list of arts platforms that regularly programme international work Other sources of help - UK funding for international arts projects International Artists - preview list of incoming artists looking for extra tour dates http://www.visitingarts.org.uk/information http://www.visitingarts.org.uk/calendar - examples of projects supported by Visiting Arts - Websites http://www.culturalprofiles.org.uk - a series of online, searchable knowledge banks for a range of countries including Scotland http://www.culturalprofile.org/scotland http://www.culturebase.net - an online, searchable database of international artists http://www.artschoolpalestine.com - an online platform for the exchange and development of contemporary Palestinian art Project Awards 2006/07 Criteria, Eligibility and Guidelines This document should be read carefully before you submit your application. If when you have read these guidelines you have any further questions or are unsure whether your project is eligible for support then please contact the Arts Administrator projectawards@visitingarts.org.uk The deadline for applications for projects taking place between 1 April and 30 September 2006 is 13 January 2006. A further deadline for projects taking place between 1 October 2006 and 31 March 2007 will be 28 April 2006. We are unable to consider any applications submitted at any other times. The Project Awards exist to advance the presentation of international art in the UK and to stimulate intercultural understanding. We are looking to support projects that present the highest quality professional innovative artistic practice in the fields of applied arts, architecture, artists film, circus, dance, digital and new media arts, drama, installation, interdisciplinary arts, literature, live art, music, painting, performance, photography, physical theatre, print-making, puppetry and sculpture. The financial support we can offer is modest and each application we consider should also demonstrate a high level of partnership funding. We can consider requests for awards of between ?750 and ?6000 and the average award granted is ?3000. Please note that currently we are only able to support around one in five proposals we receive. Visiting Arts works with geographic priorities and we seek to support art from countries and regions that are culturally underrepresented in the UK. We are looking for projects which present artists from outside of North and Western Europe, North America, Australasia and parts of Asia. For a list of our current regional priorities please see the criteria for assessment. What this scheme is unable to support Academic, education or student projects Activity that has already begun at the time of application Awards and competitions Bursaries, research or scholarships Capital projects including equipment purchases Commercial film Commercial productions Operational costs or overheads Private events or those not open to a public audience Research and development visits for individuals Single performances Standalone publications, recordings or websites Traditional or Folkloric work Criteria for assessment Quality of project Innovative arts projects that stimulate intercultural understanding by seeking to strengthen the knowledge of UK audiences about world arts and culture Artistic practice that reflects the contemporary culture of a country High professional standards of artistic practice, presentation and project management Audience Impact Wide audience impact: - range and number of venues - geographic spread of presentations - length of the tour or exhibition - new audience development - how the work is contextualised - extent of outreach and education activity Visiting Arts encourages presentations in rural venues or areas where international art is underrepresented. Projects that tour to three or more UK regions / nations are a greater priority for funding. An effective, wide-reaching marketing strategy Visiting Arts Priorities We can currently consider presentations from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, Central and South America, China, Mongolia and Taiwan, the Middle East and South East Asia. The first presentation of a professional artist or company. In some instances we will consider applications where the artist has previously been shown in other UK regions. Projects that emerge as a result of Visiting Arts initiatives, programmes and strategic partnerships. This includes our curators' and promoters' visits, artists' residency programmes, and arts management professional development programmes. Our aim is to ensure that these schemes have substantial, sustainable impact and in future an increasing proportion of our resources will support projects developed in this way. Quality of application A balanced budget with good partnership funding. Visiting Arts can consider an award of on average 20% of the expenditure relating to the international presentation. Applications from professional British-based promoters, venues and arts organisations for projects taking place in the UK. We can consider one project from any organisation or individual in each financial year. A complete application submitted on time with all the required supporting material. Incomplete applications will be returned and cannot be considered for support. How to Apply 1. Read the guidelines and criteria carefully 2. Complete the application form fully. If there are any sections that you feel are not relevant to your project mark them n/a. Please ensure that you include your full contact details and list in the space provided the supporting material you are sending with your application. 3. Print, sign and date your application and post it to the Arts Administrator at the following address along with any supporting material you are providing. You are recommended to send your application by recorded delivery. Your application should be sent to: Arts Administrator Visiting Arts Bloomsbury House 74-77 Great Russell Street London WC1B 3DA What happens next? 1. Visiting Arts will acknowledge receipt of your application within two weeks of receiving it and you will be issued with a unique reference number that should be quoted on all further communication regarding your project. 2. Once the assessment has been completed, we will inform you in writing of the decision usually within eight weeks of the application deadline. Visiting Arts decision is final!When would a successful applicant receive the Award? Successful applicants will receive a cheque a minimum of six weeks prior to the first presentation and we will use the information you provide in your application to determine the earliest possible date to release the Award. We will contact you before issuing the Award letter to request a project update and confirmation that it is going ahead as stated in your application. We will also request a press release and images with full credits and acknowledgements to use as publicity for the project at this stage. Along with the Award letter we will send you the necessary grant acceptance paperwork. This should be completed and returned to Visiting Arts within one month so that we can arrange payment.