Jerwood Arts announces £1m funding to support early-career artists

Jerwood Arts has announced 19 projects that will receive a total of £1 million funding to support early-career artists.

Organisations to receive the funding include queer and trans artist-led company Milk Presents, which will offer shadowing opportunities for producers and directors and run a residential training retreat for queer creatives.

Performance poetry organisation, Apples and Snakes, will use the funding to support 10 artists in a 10-month research and development programme, while Nottingham-based dance organisation Dance4 will support residencies for emerging producers.

Other recipients include Birmingham’s Fierce Festival, young people’s theatre company Imaginate and Northern Irish theatre company Prime Cut Productions.

The funding will continue to support schemes at prominent London theatres, such as the Royal Court Theatre’s Jerwood New Playwrights programme, which will offer a full commission to six emerging writers, the Gate Theatre’s Jerwood Design Programme and the Young Vic’s Jerwood Assistant Directors Programme.

In addition, Jerwood Arts has announced a new partnership with PRS Foundation’s Composers’ Fund, which will award a grant of £20,000 in 2020 and 2021 to support early career composers writing primarily for live performance.

The organisation has also unveiled three artists who have been commissioned in partnership with outdoor performing arts company Activate and Spill Festival. These are Lorna Rees, Sonia Hughes and Dave Young.

Following a pilot fund this year, Jerwood Arts will be offering a total of £150,000 of funding in 2020 as part of its New Work Fund, with applications opening on April 1, 2020.

The philanthropic organisation will also be remodelling its Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries scheme, which provides support to artists from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Further details will be released on December 5.

Lyn Gardner: We will face a crisis if early-career theatremakers aren’t supported