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Westmorland Arts Trust Fund

The Westmorland Arts Trust Fund provides grants to help make artistic presentation and facilities more widely available to people, particularly young adults and children, in the former county of Westmorland. The fund aims to ensure that residents of the former county of Westmorland experience the highest quality of music, drama and the visual arts. The Trust was set up in 1996 by the provisions in the will of Dr Elizabeth Kemp, for the purpose of the education of the public in the arts of music, drama and the visual arts. The fund supports activities that allow residents to have access to the Arts at the highest level, including productions such as lectures, dance, touring theatre, art exhibitions, workshops, art, writing and drama residencies, puppet theatre and music concerts of all kinds. Applications must have professional input and be able to demonstrate artistic excellence. The Trust prioritizes events in more rural areas. Previous activities supported include school activities for summer exhibitions, choral and orchestral performances, and arts projects and artists' residencies in schools. The fund is currently closed and will reopen in April 2026.

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.