Open Call for The Supporting Act Foundation

Aug. 18, 2023

The Supporting Act Foundation is about to announce its second open call, following its inaugural year which saw 600,000 Euros distributed to artists and initiatives, including Berlin-based community radio Refuge Worldwide. The call is specifically aimed at emerging artists from marginalised backgrounds and organisations with a strong community-driven programme. Established by WeTransfer in 2021, the foundation offers Impact Grants and Creative Bursary programmes with a no-strings-attached approach.

Impact Grants are offered to grassroots art non-profits, which are both community-driven and offer support to emerging artists, particularly those from under-recognised groups. This programme offers €50,000 per organisation over the course of two years. The Creative Bursaries are aimed at students from marginalised groups, whose practice is directed towards art for social change. Ten bursaries will be offered, totalling 10,000 Euros per artist.

The Impact Grants panel includes Richard Akingbehin, Daniele Carlini, Hannah Robathan, Amahra Spence, Abi Tariq and Nandita Vasanta. The Creative Bursary panel includes Malab Alneel, Seonah Chae, Lara Costafreda, Elijah, Meryem Meghraoua and Marco Palmieri. Through the foundation’s “trust-based philanthropy,” the funding is unrestricted and the application process is intentionally straight-forward. Students and organisations must be registered in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Spain in order to apply. The Supporting Act Foundation will officially launch this year’s call on August 29th – interested applicants can sign up to their mailing list to be notified.