OIC Culture Fund Opens for Applications

Orkney Islands Council’s Culture Fund is now open for applications.

The fund is being launched a lot earlier this year to allow for projects to be planned well in advance of the 2024 – 2025 financial year

The scheme aimed at supporting cultural activity in Orkney, is for events, activities or projects taking place between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025

Funding can be awarded for projects related to arts, heritage or Orkney dialect, and can support new or existing projects.

The 2023/24 funding pot was £23k - with next year’s subject to the Council’s budget-setting process.

Gwenda Shearer is Chair of the Council’s Education, Leisure and Housing Committee: “Over the last ten years now, the Culture Fund has supported an incredible range of cultural activity, enriching and strengthening our community -and contributing significantly to the rich tapestry that is cultural life in Orkney.

“The fund is always in demand, and applications are determined on the basis of merit, so I’d encourage interested groups talk through project ideas with our Arts Development service before starting their application.”

Soulisquoy Printmakers was one of the organisations to benefit from one of the last rounds of funding.  Laura Drever, the  group’s Chair says the fund was hugely important to their project. 

Laura said: “ The project has enabled three young people to form their own group within the organisation – Soulisquoy Young Associates.  These three young people have taken the initiative in this project, established a clear outcome of producing a set of individual lanterns and developing a set of inter-connected workshops that involved papermaking, creating lino cuts, and then printing these onto their handmade paper.

The group are highly motivated and independent in their approach to recruiting and working with their peers. They saw this very much as a ‘pilot’ – an opportunity to test their organisational skills, as well as develop their printmaking skills. They recruited a small group of a further 5 young people to participate in the project. As an organisation we were able to provide the technical support as well as safeguarding for the sessions.

“The availability of funding pots like the Culture Fund is hugely important to organisations like ours and the continued success of cultural activities and events in Orkney.”

The online application form and guidance can be obtained from the Culture Fund web page

The deadline for applications is 5pm Friday 27 October 2023

For further information contact Emma Gee, Arts Officer on 01856 873535 Ext 2406 or by email at emma.gee@orkney.gov.uk.