President’s Fund for Creativity now open

The President’s Fund for Creativity is now receiving applications for projects, programmes and practices that strengthen inclusivity, community development, and well-being through cultural engagement and creative expression. The fund is managed jointly by the Office of the President of the Republic and Arts Council Malta with the goal of supporting participatory creative practices with hardly-reached and marginalised groups. Applications close on July 7 at 12:00 noon.

Conceived in line with the principles outlined in Arts Council Malta’s Strategy 2030, the President’s Fund for Creativity champions the sharing of lesser-known stories that bind us together, ensuring that no one is left behind. It recognises the power of arts and culture in addressing a pressing need for social sensitivity and authentic voices, while promoting an inclusive society that fosters creativity.

The fund invests in collaborative creative processes that strengthen communal connection, encourage critical thinking, and enable collective creation. Applicants may seek support for a pilot initiative, or for the development of an initiative that the organisation has already tried and tested.

The fund falls under the umbrella of funding programmes designed for community exchange, which aim to increase cultural participation across Malta and Gozo, while improving understanding and engagement between artists and communities, and fostering more diversity in cultural programming. It also supports sustainable development through cultural participation and community engagement.

How it works

The President’s Fund for Creativity brings together creative practitioners, on the one hand, and hardly-reached and marginalised groups, on the other. Its purpose is to foster safe and trustworthy spaces where people feel empowered to engage and explore their creativity to express ideas and feelings.

In order to achieve this aim it supports practices that are designed to foster diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, well-being, and regeneration through cultural engagement and creative expression. It provides hardly-reached and marginalised groups with access to a wide range of arts experiences and cultural engagement opportunities. It also incentivises the contribution of creatives, organisations, entities, and institutions towards community development and well-being through cultural engagement and creative expression.

The application must clearly demonstrate the benefits of the project, programme, or practice to hardly-reached and marginalised groups. The emphasis is not limited to artistic output, but includes the process through which creatives build deeper relationships with communities and facilitate cultural engagement as a pathway to holistic well-being.

Initiatives that challenge creative stagnation and actively advocate for the inclusion and celebration of diversity are particularly encouraged, as well as projects that expand how people envision themselves, others, and the world around them. This makes the scheme particularly relevant to organisations and practitioners who want to use creativity as a tool for expression, participation, connection, and positive social change.

Applicants are encouraged to give due consideration to the strategic areas of fair practices, community, and inclusion, in line with Strategy 2030. Applicants are also advised to consult the Right to Culture Resource Pack, particularly in relation to community engagement and the adoption of a rights-based approach to their work.

Applicants are also expected to give due consideration to the principles outlined in the Charter for the Status of the Artist. These include fair and just working conditions for artists, artistic freedom, accessibility, formal, informal, and non-formal skill recognition, appropriate socio-economic conditions, non-discrimination and equity, due ethical considerations, and the upholding of intellectual property rights and international labour law.

Who can apply

Applicants must be working in the field of social and community development, or active in any cultural and creative field. The proposed project, programme, or practice must target the needs of disadvantaged groups through arts, creative expression, and cultural participation.

The lead partner may collaborate with one or more other organisations, or with one or more individual practitioners, to develop a community arts project, programme, or practice. The proposal should combine the highest standards of quality and good practice, both from the artistic perspective and from the social perspective.

The fund is applicable to organisations, entities, institutions, and practitioners that have direct engagement with communities, and that can create safe, trustworthy, and participatory spaces. It is also relevant to creative practitioners who want to work with communities in a way that supports diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, well-being, and regeneration.

The fund offers two options, a State Aid option and a non-State Aid option. The State Aid option is available to undertakings that carry out an economic activity within the meaning of Article 107 TFEU, for which assistance will be granted in line with the de minimis Regulation. The non-State Aid option is available to applicants that do not carry out an economic activity within the meaning of Article 107 TFEU, as well as to proposed projects, programmes, or practices that would not involve such an economic activity.

An online information session will be held on Monday, June 8, at noon. The session will provide practical guidance on the aims of the scheme, the eligibility criteria, and the application process. It will also include a Q&A session.

Applications for the President’s Fund for Creativity close on July 7. Applications can be found on https://artscouncilmalta.gov.mt/en/funding-and-grants/the-presidents-fund-for-creativity-3.