Develop Your Creative Practise is back! You can apply for up to £10,000. I’m really pleased to be able to share that I’ve been awarded £9,500 from DYCP for a project involving Ghana and Tapes! Really excited about starting this as it is something I have been building up to for a while now. I’m going to share with you parts of my application form and break down the process in a bit more detail in the hope that it will help you with your application. I’d really like to see more artists and practitioners from Birmingham and those involved within the Black music scene getting this support. Let’s go!
Here is a bit more info about DYCP, taken from the Arts Council website:
The fund supports creative practitioners thinking of taking their practice to the next stage to research, have time to create new work, travel, training, develop ideas, network or find mentoring.
Listed are some examples of what we mean by creative practitioner:
Dancers, choreographers, writers, translators, producers, publishers, editors, musicians, conductors, composers, actors, directors, designers, artists, craft makers, curators, DJs, performer/creators, arts and cultural educators, community practitioners/engagement specialists, movement directors, cultural conservators, creative enablers, creative technicians.
So the criteria is quite broad - if you have at least a year's experience in your creative practise, you are eligible. You gotta have a grantium account to apply - it’s really easy - just go on the website and apply for a grantium account. This is the portal you will submit your application through. I’ll take you through the application step by step. Each question tells you what you must address in your answer - it’s important to pay attention to it!
Step 1:
Your work - tell us about yourself and your creative practice
Think about:
- the main focus of your creative or cultural activities
- your main creative achievements to date - for example, exhibitions, productions etc
- any important commissions & or pieces of work
- if you’ve worked with any established creative or cultural partners
- whether you have shown that you’re at the right stage in your practice to make a
step change, and benefit from a development opportunity
This is where you really have to sell yourself! Do you have a creative CV? If not, now is a great time to put one together. List everything you have done and achived over the years and pull out the most exciting elements. Quality over quantity here - also make sure it’s time relevant. If you haven’t been active in the past 18 months, this probably isn’t the grant for you.
I have a short introductory paragraph to myself and activities, followed with a timeline of my most impressive work spanning the last 5 years. You’re looking to demonstrate here that you are at a stage where there is a next step for your career and this grant will help make that difference.
Step 2:
Your development - tell us about the developmental opportunity you want to undertake, what you hope to get out of it, and how you will go about it.
Think about:
- how you will seek out opportunities that will benefit your development
- how ambitious your activity is. We can fund small, one-off opportunities (such as a research trip), but we’re more interested in supporting extended periods of development which give you the time to really explore and work in new ways
- How you will manage the activity successfully, and whether what you want to do is realistic and well-planned
- if you have plans in place to access the networks you want to work with
I always say, live in your project before filling out the form. Really know what it is you want to do and how it will push you further in your career. This will help you flesh out any weak areas before you even get to the form. This way, you can really give your answers life, as opposed to just trying to fill in a form. It’s key to be clear here - if your project is over complicated, you won’t be able to articulate it well. Here is my summary:
A 12 week trip to Ghana, to research how UK diasporan music fits into the Ghanaian music scene & how Tapes can facilitate its access. I’ll work with BeatzBakers - a music producer collaboration platform & BBnZ, a media house for TV & radio.
I’ll interact with Ghanaian tastemakers via live forum events (to develop personal relationships) & get insight into how they currently access music, knowledge gaps & how Tapes can expose new & established artists to a Ghanaian market.
BeatzBakers founder has strong industry networks & speaks local languages. They will help organise events, arrange interviews & use their network to target tastemakers & music organisations to participate.
Ghana’s 2019 ‘Year of Return’ boosted the music economy with events such as Afronation putting a spotlight on Accra. Ghana’s Covid measures ensure daily activities continue to operate which I experienced on my recent trip to Ghana.
Outcomes:
Host 3 forums targeting: >Radio, DJ’s & bloggers >Artists & producers >Music organisations
Submit 10 UK tracks to tastemakers
Gain feedback on how Tapes can be a tool for accessing UK music
Ongoing partnership with BeatzBakers to deliver artist/producer collaborations & events
How:
I had meetings with BeatzBakers recently while in Ghana & we agreed on the project. I’ve also built networks with artists, The Ghana Music Alliance & Aftown (music streaming app). I’ll work closely with BeatzBakers to deliver this project, using Zoom to work to project timelines before traveling.
I did several drafts of this - you will definitely be over the character count if you’re doing this properly - you will ‘trim the fat’ to make sure what you are left with is just the good stuff. If you’re not used to doing this, show it to someone and see if they get it. If they’re left asking a load of questions, it’s not good enough.
Why is this important for your practice at this point, and how will this help create future opportunities?
Think about:
- what your main aims for the project are
- why this is the right point to take some development time
- what you want this development to lead to; and
- what will be different about your practice as a result of this development
This is the second part of the question in the Your Development section. Here, you explain why what you want to do is important and the impact on your career. Again, pay attention to the sub headings here - they will help you! If you have your project already mapped out on paper, you will already know the answer to this. What are the main aims and how will this have an impact? Here is my own summary - I’ve been very clear about what I want to achieve and how this project will have an impact:
Main aims:
To increase engagement of UK music on Tapes by building lasting relationships with music producers, radio stations & DJ’s in Ghana. This will include research on:
How UK music fits into their music scene How radio stations access UK music How tastemakers can engage with Tapes
Why now?
Tapes is running in private Beta - I’ve developed good relationships with music organisations, artists, labels & DJ’s & provided outcomes for artists. (I secured a label deal for an AfroRap duo from Birmingham & facilitated a collaboration between a Ghanaian artist/producer & a Birmingham artist) I’m getting ready to launch Tapes publicly & having tastemakers on board from the diaspora exposes creatives to an international audience & encourages collaborations.
Benefits:
I’ll be able to provide significant benefits for UK artists including international exposure, audience growth, foster relationships with tastemakers & Tapes will have increased engagement from tastemakers & artists within the UK & Ghana.
Longer term benefits:
Artists
Distribution & management deals Bookings for events in Ghana
Tapes:
Sponsorship opportunities for events Partnerships with industry br&s
Ongoing improvement work on Tapes platform
Differences in practise:
I will be in a position to be aligned with mainstream music tech organisations who have a stronghold within the industry. As a result I’ll be able to:
Advise artists on international strategies Serve popular black music genres in the UK Contribute to charts, playlisting & trends
What does your impact look like? What are your aims? Why is this the right time for you? This is something you should have an idea of before you fill out the form. Again - you will be over the word count but that’s okay! Trim it down and then trim it again!
Step 3
Your work - attachments
This could be a video, a sound clip, some images, or anything you think demonstrates your work. You can either provide a web link or attach a document.
We also need one supporting document, written by someone that supports the quality of your practice. This can be a review, external views of your work or a letter of support from an organisation or partner you have worked with.
Sell your work! Show Arts Council how great you are at what you do. Try and be varied if possible - don’t just send YouTube links, create a cool document in powerpoint that really shows off your best bits. You want to paint a good impression and show off your professionalism. This will be their first encounter with you - make it count! In addition, have a strong letter of support from a professional organisation or individual you’ve worked with. My pdf included flyers from events, a book I've written, screenshots of the Tapes website and two YouTube links that showcase my work.
Step 4:
Finance
Break your figures down clearly. Your budget should be for the total cost of the activity.
Provide detail in your figures. The total cost of the activity can be a different figure to the amount you are asking for - eg.
Total cost of activity: £23,000
Amount requested from Arts Council: £14,000
Income from other sources (in kind, grant, project income) £9,000
Here is an example taken from my application - note the level of detail in the description:
Expenditure Description Amount
Artistic and creative costs Return flight to Ghana from Birmingham £550
Other Malaria tablets x 3 months @ £85 per month £255
Other Covid 19 test on arrival in Ghana £120
Other PCR Covid test in UK (pre flight) £100
Overheads Insurance including Covid cover £55
Break down all of your costs - it shows a well researched application. It’s important not to leave anything to the imagination. Make a separate list of all the costs involved in the project and research quotes.
Step 5:
Activity Plan - outline how you will plan your development period, including key milestones.
Whenever you apply for a grant, there is usually a requirement for a timeline or breakdown of the activity. Completing this properly, will enable you to think through the key milestones and steps to achieving them. It’s a tool you can use when awarded the grant - it makes the planning easier as you know what you are doing and when. All you need to do is press go! I’m a super organised person so this helps me to stay on top of duties as well as monitoring of the project. Get someone to help with this if you get a sort of writers block - it can be really helpful to have input from a third party. I planned out some of my timeline with BeatzBakers directly as I knew there would be things I needed input on, from the Ghana side. Here is a snippet from my activity plan.
Start date End date Activity or task details
26/02/2021 05/03/2021 Meet with BeatzBakers on Zoom and confirm project timelines 05/03/2021 12/03/2021 Travel preparation: Book flights, secure malaria tablets, book
accommodation, book covid test
12/03/2021 19/03/2021 Meet with BeatzBakers on Zoom and confirm itinerary for the
first 4 weeks in Ghana
19/03/2021 26/03/2021 Take Covid test and Travel to Ghana Meet with BeatzBakers
and start planning the events
26/03/2021 02/04/2021 Venue research: visit venues and confirm final choices. Book
and secure venues
Note that my timeline is in date order - I planned mine out week by week in a separate document - the Arts Council activity plan tool is quite fiddly and not intuitive at all so it’s best to plan it out separately, then copy and paste.
Step 6
There are a couple of check boxes and income requirements for the evaluation section - once you have completed these, simply read through your application, double check you have everything attached and once you are happy, SUBMIT!
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