Cumbria Cultural Fund

The Cumbria Cultural Fund provides grants to support individuals across Cumbria who are striving to achieve excellence in their chosen field of the arts. The Fund champions innovation and equity and aims to remove barriers. Applications are welcome from individuals who can demonstrate artistic talent and who seek to grow, learn, and develop their practice. The fund prioritizes individuals who originate from or live in Cumbria, can demonstrate talent or the potential to develop their creativity, and are least able to afford to develop their talent or creativity. The Fund supports people of all ages with a focus on young people, those with the least opportunities or exposure to the arts, and established practitioners seeking to grow and develop their practice. It promotes quality and excellence while recognizing that the pursuit of artistic practice is an objective in itself. The fund particularly supports individual voices committed to conveying messages about societal change, challenging the status quo, and producing new and unconventional work. The fund was established by the late Miss Mary Burkett and friends, along with other individual donors. Grants normally are less than £500 over one year, though there is no minimum or maximum award amount, and multiple-year awards will be considered. The fund does not support artists in residence or activities exclusively for school children, in addition to the foundation's normal exclusions.