The EFDSS Creative Bursary and Residency Programme, now in its twelfth year, aims to support artists in exploring new creative ideas inspired by and sourced from traditional folk music relating to England. This programme provides artists with an opportunity to undertake creative exploration without the pressure of a final product.
We have awarded five bursaries. This year we are delighted to be partnering with Black Lives in Music, Drake Music, and the Glasshouse International Centre for Music (Gateshead) to offer at least one bursary to each of
- a project led by a global majority artist
- a project led by a Disabled artist
- and a project to be based at the Glasshouse.
Bursaries for 2024 have been awarded to:
Lucy and Hazel
Amy Hollinrake
Remorae
Emily Portman
Randolph Matthews
Please see the News Page for more information.
The award offers
- a bursary of up to £2,000
- research facilities at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (online and in person)
- up to five days of rehearsal space at Cecil Sharp House (London) or the Glasshouse International (applicants that wish to work elsewhere will be considered but no additional funding will be available).
- additional funding for Access needs (Disabled artists led projects only)
Alan James was the former Chair of EFDSS who died suddenly in April 2019. In the spirit of Alan’s eclectic musical tastes and his ability to foster exciting artistic collaborations, we are particularly interested in receiving applications which explore folk music in the context of cross-genre or cross-art form collaborations.
The award is aimed at artists with a track-record as professional creative artists. An application can be from one artist or a group of artists, and from existing groups/bands or new collaborations. While applications can be for cross-genre or cross-art form projects, the primary art form must be music and the project should be taking its inspiration from folk music.
Previous bursary awardees have gone on to develop their R & D work further to produce material for recording and performance. Recent examples are albums from You Are Wolf ‘Hare//Hunter//Moth//Ghost’; Tamsin Elliott and Tarek Elazhary ‘So Far We Have Come’; Angeline Morrison’s ‘The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience’.
Access
Additional funding is available for Disabled artists led projects with additional access needs.
Applications for Alan James Creative Bursaries are now closed.
Applicants will be informed of the outcome by 2 August 2024.
All projects must be completed by 31 March 2025.
For more information on the EFDSS bursaries please contact [email protected] and [email protected].
Some stories about recent bursaries
All these bursaries are funded by individual donations, and grants from PRS for Music Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme and Arts Council England. They come under the umbrella of EFDSS’ Artists’ Development Programme, which provides professional development support, both creative and business, to artists at all levels of their career.
Each bursary is worth up to £2,000, and supports artists’ creative research and development together with use of rehearsal space at Cecil Sharp House and access to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.
We are a founder signatory to Sound and Music’s Fair Access Principles – a code of best practice for running successful, open and inclusive artist development programmes, competitions and awards.
Join our mailing list to hear about Artists' Development Opportunities
Follow us on LinkedIn for more news and opportunities You could help us to do even more: donate now
EFDSS is a member of the PRS Foundation Talent Development Network, supported by PPL.
