July 25, 2019

Poets, artists, dancers and singers are among the creatives who have been awarded grants totalling more than £10,000 by InvestSK to develop their skills and support their careers.

Now the door is open to other artists in South Kesteven who are being invited to apply for funding in the latest round of the Creative Artists’ Small Grant Fund. 

InvestSK is South Kesteven’s economic development and regeneration company and the funding is being made available by South Kesteven District Council.

 The latest awards follow a previous round announced in March 2019 when five artists received grant funding.

Among those who have been awarded grants in the latest round was Cathi Prince, a glass artist from Bourne who works with stained glass and fused glass to create art pieces and panels. The £600 grant will help her to buy a specialist glass-cutting saw.

Meanwhile Shalini Austin, a metalsmith artist from Stamford who works with copper and produces individual jewellery pieces, has been awarded a £685 grant to help her buy an enamelling kiln to support the delivery of her schools workshop programme.

Other recipients include:

• dancer Evie Venables from Rippingale
• dancing sisters Joséphine and Marianne Vié from Stamford
• Stamford Gilbert & Sullivan Players
• chorister Tom Fletcher from Grantham
• Stamford poet Lynn Parker

Michael Cross, InvestSK’s Head of Arts, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be able to support these talented creative individuals in our district and we congratulate them on their success.

“It’s always a difficult task to make the final decision since many of the applications are excellent, but in general we look for applications where the funds can make the most impact on the recipient.

“Don’t forget that there’s now another opportunity to apply for grants in the latest funding round.”  

Councillor Matthew Lee, the Leader of South Kesteven District Council, said: “InvestSK and South Kesteven District Council are particularly keen to support home-grown talent across the district.

“This fund offers a simple application process to help artists across a range of disciplines to develop their skills and realise opportunities to progress.

“We all know that there’s a wealth of creative talent in South Kesteven and we’re looking forward to discovering some hidden treasures when the latest round of applications comes in!”

The Creative Artists’ Small Grants Fund is designed to help both individuals and groups enhance their skills, develop performance opportunities, invest in specialist equipment or promote their activities more effectively in the local area.

To be eligible for an award applicants must have been living in South Kesteven for the last three years. To apply for a grant of up to £1,500 visit www.investsk.co.uk/creativeartists