We are thrilled to share that SPAN Arts have been announced as partners in Unlimited’s UK & International Partner Awards for Disabled Artists.
Unlimited is an arts commissioning body that supports, funds and promotes new work by disabled artists for UK and international audiences. Since 2013, they have supported over 460 artists with over £4.9 million reaching audiences of over 5 million making it the largest supporter of disabled artists world-wide.
In April 2022, Unlimited became an independent organisation with a mission to commission extraordinary work from disabled artists until the whole of the cultural sector does. In its first year of becoming an independent organisation, Unlimited are doing things differently to dismantle barriers disabled artists face and to support systemic and sustainable change.
SPAN Arts is one of 17 UK organisations partnering with Unlimited to offer 20 awards to disabled artists. These awards will offer a grand total of £584,000 to commission artists on a national and international level. The awards will give disabled artists the chance to develop and present work across the country and/or internationally across rural and city locations, with a partner organisation for digital or in person, collective or individual experiences.
The total commission pot sees generous funding from Arts Council England, Arts Council Wales, Creative Scotland and the 17 partners. This funding will then be split into 20 awards across those partners. This includes £280,000 directly from the British Council which will go towards international awards for artists. Award amounts range from £15,000 – £60,000 with the opportunity for artists to apply for awards that suit them, their art form, and what stage of development their work is currently in.
Unlimited commission extraordinary work by disabled artists that is rebellious, radical, adventurous, inspiring, and playful. They believe in the power of disabled artists’ work to spark radical and positive change. Previous commissions have varied in artform and scale, ranging from debut albums, cookbooks, art installations, an interactive multimedia comic book, art set in swimming pools, dance, forest symphonies, theatre and much more.
All the information on the award can be found here.
Applications have now closed. Stay tuned for updates!
