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Get £12,000 to boost your creativity

This opportunity only happens a few times a year!

Author

Saziso Phiri
April 24, 2025

If you’re an artist or creative practitioner looking to grow, explore, or simply take time for yourself and your practice — the Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) fund by Arts Council England (ACE) might be a good fit. This is not an official endorsement for Arts Council England or a paid partnership. Just sharing something that benefited me, and that I believe can also benefit you.

WHAT IS DYCP?

DYCP offers grants of up to £12,000 to individual artists and creatives in England to support their personal and professional development. It’s designed to give you space to grow your practice, and there is no expectation to produce finished work. You can use the fund for:

  • Research and experimentation

  • Learning new skills

  • Time to reflect and plan

  • Mentorship or training

  • Exploring new ways of working or connecting with others

  • Accessing new workspaces or environments

Applications open at midday on Thursday 24th April, and close at midday at Thursday 22nd May. Decisions will be shared in July,

I RECEIVED DYCP FUNDING IN 2022 AND I USED IT TO:

  • Pay myself to take time out and learn new skills

  • Work with a mentor

  • Do a couple of focused courses

  • Buy some much-needed equipment and software

  • Rent a desk in a shared studio space so I could work in a more focused environment

It gave me the time, space and confidence to explore what I really wanted from my work. I know how transformative this fund can be, and I’d love to help others make the most of the opportunity.

WHO CAN APPLY

You can apply if you:

  • Are based in England

  • Are an individual artist or creative practitioner (not an organisation)

  • Work in the arts, libraries, museums or cultural sector

  • Have a track record (at least one project completed)

  • Are not in full-time education

DYCP is open to a wide range of disciplines — from visual artists and writers to performers, producers, and digital creatives.

If you’ve made two unsuccessful or one successful application to DYCP since 05 August 2021, you won’t be eligible to apply to Round 23. 

HOW TO APPLY

Read the guidance carefully
Reading these things can feel a but tedious at the start, but they are worth going through, especially if you haven’t applied for this funding before. You will find that it’ll answer question you may have, and also help you determine if this is the right fund for you (ACE have other funds outside of DYCP), and if now is the right time to apply.

Click here to access the DYCP Guidance for Applicants

Register for Grantium
This is the online portal where you’ll submit your application. .It can take a few days for your profile to be validated (you can’t start an application until you’ve been validated) if you are not already registered, prioritise this step so that you’re good to go and you can access the application portal.

Click here to access the Grantium and register if you need to.

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR APPLICATION

  • What you want to do

  • Why now

  • How you’ll do it

  • When and where it will take place

  • What support or resources you’ll need

  • Prepare your documents

  • A schedule of activity

  • A clear, accurate budget

  • Supporting information if needed (Letter of support/reference, quotes, links)

The resource below, which features successful funding applications (many of them DYCP) compiled by The White Pube, is my favourite funding reference. It was incredibly helpful when I applied for my own DYCP, as it allowed me to see how others responded to the questions—clear, direct, and to the point. It’s not a resource to copy from, but one to draw inspiration from. Hopefully, it will give you the motivation and confidence to craft your own application.

Funding Library - The White Pube

Open source library by the brilliant art criticism duo, The White Pube, of successful Arts Council England grant applications, submitted by artists who have successfully received funding. There are a lot of DYCP applications in this library. Take a look below, see if anything is relevant to what you're hoping to do, or learn from other applications' writing and shape. Look at what is being applied to and where, and check out the funders these are addressed to see to if they are appropriate for your project.

thewhitepube.co.uk/funding-library

ACCESS SUPPORT

Arts Council offers additional funding to help make your application dnd your project accessible. You can apply for an experienced access support worker to support with making the application.

You can also apply for additional access costs on top of the £12,000 limit to support your needs during the project.

Click here to access more information for access support form Arts Council England.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO HELP WITH YOUR APPLICATION

Over the next few weeks, a range of workshops, surgeries and guides will become available for those preparing applications for DYCP. I will share them in the opportunity listings in my weekly newsletters. Here are a few existing resources for now.

Application for Funding Workshop - Future Artists

In this 90-minute live online workshop, you'll learn how to apply for DYCP funding, what makes a compelling case, and how to avoid the common pitfalls. Whether you're aiming for international travel, new collaborations, mentoring, or creative research – this is where your journey begins. This isn’t a generic webinar – it’s a focused, limited-capacity session (20 participants max) designed to give you space to ask your own questions and get tailored advice. Can’t make it live? No problem – the recording will be available on-demand for 30 days.

Some advice on applying for a DYCP - Steve Angstrom

This is a quick helper for anyone applying to the Arts Council of England (ACE) for a Developing Your Creative Practice grant (DYCP). I was lucky enough to win one of these grants, so I wanted to pass on some help for people wishing to submit a DYCP. Also, I’ve included my actual DYCP form responses, so you can see the questions and how I answered for a successful DYCP submission .

angstromnoises.com/my-dycp-advice-applying-for-dycp

HOW I CAN SUPPORT YOU

On top of the existing resources I can offer 1-2-1 tailored support:

  • A 1-hour call to talk through your idea and help shape your approach

  • Feedback on your draft before you submit

These services are available on a donation basis.

Email me to get in touch if you’d like to book a session:

FINAL THOUGHTS

DYCP is competitive — not everyone who applies will be successful. But if you’re in a place where this support could really help, and you have a clear idea, it’s worth going for. You’ve got to be in it to win it, and you definitely won't be successful in receiving it if you don’t apply. We don’t know how long these types of funding opportunities will be around for, so it’s good to take advantage of them whilst they’re available.

Additional benefits from doing an application like this is that:

  • You’ll clarify your direction

  • Build a project plan

  • And create something you can reuse and adapt for future bids

Go at your own pace, take your time, and ask for help if you need it. You’ve got this — and I’m here if you’d like some help.

Was this newsletter helpful? Let me know if so, and if you will also be applying for DYCP in this round.