€600,000 to empower emerging artists:
The Supporting Act Foundation’s 2025 open call is here.
In response to the increasing precarity of arts funding, The Supporting Act Foundation is as committed as ever to its mission of creating opportunities for underrepresented voices in the arts, working to empower emerging artists and arts-focused nonprofits and enabling them to meet their creative potential.
The foundation has announced its fourth open call, launching on 16 September, which sees €600,000 of funding on offer as follows:
- 10 Impact Grants of €50,000, awarded over two years, to support arts-focused nonprofits ● 10 Artist Grants of €10,000 for emerging artists from underrepresented communities
Applications will open on 16 September and will close on October 13, at 11.00AM CET.
The grants are available to artists and organizations based in the following countries: Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom. Non-profit organizations outside of these countries can apply with a fiscal host that ís based in one of these countries.
No-strings attached
In keeping with The Supporting Act Foundation’s commitment to trust-based philanthropy, all of these grants will be unrestricted. That means recipients are free to use the funding however they see fit. This no-strings attached take on arts funding is informed by research into the most effective methods for addressing the precarious conditions and restricted opportunities that face both non-profit organizations and emerging artists from marginalized groups.
In tandem with a lightweight application process, the Foundation’s grant-making model plays a major role in helping recipients expand their practices and operations, with 95% of last year’s grantees citing the unrestricted nature of their grant as a key factor in meeting their financial needs. This open and unobtrusive approach to grant-making also builds confidence in grantees who feel validated by both their selection for grants and the processes involved.
10 grants of €50,000 will be offered to arts-focused nonprofits that are already supporting emerging artists from marginalized communities. The grant is given over a two year period, allowing nonprofits’ leadership time for thoughtful and coherent evaluation of organizational improvements and programming.
“For small groups like ours, longer-term funding is crucial. It’s rare to have an opportunity like this. This gives us the context to step back, breathe and develop a strategy for change making – to ask how we can truly embody our values.”
– York Anti Racist Collective, 2023 grantee
10 grants of €10,000 are to be allocated to emerging artists from underrepresented groups whose practices involve some form of collaborative, collective, or creative processes that incorporates or benefits their community.
The grant aims to improve living conditions for artists and to enable them to dedicate more time to developing their practice and increasing the visibility of their work.
“Being able to breathe with the security of a monthly support base has given me the freedom to explore new possibilities in my work, and led me to discover my creative self from a different angle.” – Daniela Tovar Rodriguez, 2023 grantee
Selection committees
Independent selection committees have been appointed to review applications for this year’s programs. Each independent committee is made up of cultural leaders, artists, and activists–including previous Supporting Act Foundation grantees–all of whom have first hand experience of the challenges emerging artists face today.
| Impact Grant selection committee
● Giorgi Rodionov ● Poetra Asantewa ● Maria-Thalia Carras ● Jacquill G. Basdew ● Cassie Robinson |
Artist Grant selection committee
● Holly Fraser ● Hicham Khalidi ● Myah Asha Jeffers ● Lukas Feireiss ● Honi Ryan |
About The Supporting Act Foundation
The Supporting Act Foundation is an Amsterdam-based independent nonprofit organization. Its mission is to enable emerging artists dedicated to fulfilling their creative potential, prioritizing those from underrepresented or marginalized groups. The foundation aims to support ambitious non-profit organizations, helping them build more equitable art scenes and creating opportunities for growth and expansion in their work. Earlier this summer, the foundation collaborated on a music-focused grant with Will Smith, and it released its first-ever Impact Report, sharing their findings on how to make an impact in a continuously decreasing arts funding landscape.
For more information visit the website thesupportingact.org
